Tipsheet

The Major Points Missed in Condemning MTG's Display of Hunter Biden's Photos

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 20, 2023 3:15 PM

During Wednesday's House Oversight Hearing with IRS whistleblowers, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) ruffled some feathers as she held up a poster board displaying sexually explicit images of Hunter Biden from his abandoned laptop. The images, blurred in the clip below, clearly show prostitutes performing sex acts on Hunter. Greene didn't merely show the images for shock value, but to ask Joseph Ziegler, one of the whistleblowers, about how transporting these women across state lines for prostitution could violate the Mann Act. Many who criticized Greene's tactics appeared to only be able to see the shock value factor.

Among them included Arthur Delaney, writing for HuffPost, his headline reading "Marjorie Taylor Greene Shows Photos Of Naked Hunter Biden At IRS Whistleblower Hearing." The subheadline went on to claim that "Greene made a mockery of what was supposed to be a sober examination of political favoritism in the Justice Department." It was included in the Thursday morning edition of RealClearPolitics. 

From Delaney's article, though, one would never actually know that Greene asked about the Mann Act. Sarah, in her coverage of the exchange from Wednesday, did include discussion of the Mann Act:

Greene also questioned the Mann Act, which criminalizes the transportation of women across state lines for the sole purpose of prostitution. 

“I would like to present this to the committee. This shows Hunter Biden paying for a victim’s United [Airlines] flight from LA to Dulles,” Greene said, holding up evidence. “I believe this is a violation of the Mann Act. He bought it for this woman right here. He flew her from Los Angeles to Washington on June 14th and flew her back to Los Angeles, California on June 15th of 2018.”

Ziegler said that he couldn’t personally talk about the act but could turn over compelling information that would justify Mann Act violations to the House Ways and Means Committee, which Greene could then request.

Democratic members on the Committee were among those who don't want the images to be seen. One member can be heard complaining the images are "unbecoming." Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) questioned "should we be displaying this, Mr. Chairman?" 

Delaney in writing about Raskin's concerns left out further context in that time had expired, with Comer promising to "make it right" to Democratic members along the way during the rest of the hearing. 

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In addressing to a point of order from Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY)--who had a memorable exchange of his own during Wednesday's hearing--Comer explained that the "suspicious activity report has been public for years," emphasizing it "has already been publicized."

Greene is also protected by the Speech and Debate Clause. 

Providing selective context is not the only poor take. As our friends at Twitchy higlighted, Jack Cocchiarella, always one for hot takes, suggested that Hunter Biden actually sue the congresswoman for sharing images from the laptop he had abandoned. 

Bad Legal Takes also uncovered how one person, Jennifer Grady, claimed Greene should be arrested. Grady has further tweeted her outrage against Greene. 

Grady, along with Blue Missouri's Jess Piper, tweeted claims that the photos were illegal because they constituted "revenge porn."

But perhaps the most outrageous narrative came from Charlotte Clymer, a biological man who lambasts Republican efforts to protect school children from indoctrination and graphic images like those seen in books such as "Gender Queer." In this specific tweet, Clymer lamented how "these people have the audacity to claim they're trying to 'protect kids' from inappropriate material. 

Clymber's tweet conveniently left out how Greene actually did provide a warning for graphic content at the beginning of her time. 

Through several tweets, Dana Loesch sought to set the record straight for those throwing such a fit. 

We cannot embed other tweets from Loesch, as they contained graphic images from books made available to school children, due to the explicit content. It's worth emphasizing, though, that school children have access to these books, and that those who try to protect them from such adult material are smeared and maligned. 

Earlier this week, as Townhall covered, a New Jersey public library moved one of those graphic books, "Gender Queer," to the adult shelves, prompting swift and ignorant backlash, including from the likes of the ACLU and former President Barack Obama.

David Harasanyi, in a column published last month in Townhall, called on liberals, including those at the Biden White House, who are crying about such "book bans" to read them aloud.