Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was the target of an ethics complaint from Hunter Biden’s lawyer on Friday stemming from her display of explicit photos of the first son at a congressional hearing earlier this week.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, wrote in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics that Rep. Greene “lowered herself, and by extension the entire House of Representatives, to a new level of abhorrent behavior that blatantly violates House Ethics rules and standards of official conduct.”
Specifically, the complaint accuses Greene of “harassing and embarrassing” Hunter Biden in a “provocative” and “questionable” move by displaying censored photos showing the first son naked and snorting drugs with alleged prostitutes.
Although the photos were blurred, they were aired on television with appropriate content warnings, suggesting that Hunter himself had taken the pictures and stored them on his laptop as “trophies.” It is unclear whether Hunter intended those photos to be private or not, but leaving his laptop at a repair shop was certainly an unwise move.
The complaint does not dispute whether or not Hunter was engaging in falsehoods or took part in the activity depicted in the photos. Instead, it focuses on the unprofessional and inappropriate nature of Rep. Greene’s actions in the House of Representatives.
Many are split on the issue, wondering if displaying the photos was ethical or not. While displaying them without Hunter’s consent is certainly unethical, it is breathtakingly hypocritical to see Hunter and his attorneys now trying to play the victim card when the first son appears to have been flaunting pictures of disgusting behavior he engaged in.
Moreover, Rep. Greene was not simply being “provocative” for the sake of it. She made it clear that she was referencing the Mann Act of 1910, a law still invoked in cases of sex trafficking of minors. Whether or not her message was effectively conveyed is a different story, but her intent – to possibly bring evidence of a crime to light – was noble.
The complaint will now be reviewed and may be sent to the House Ethics Committee if the Office of Congressional Ethics finds the allegations to be valid. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has not yet commented on the matter.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Office of Congressional Ethics will respond to this complaint, but in the meantime, this episode should cause us to reflect on the ethics of our actions and their impact on the lives of others.