Hunter Biden isn't the only colorful presidential relative

+ why the US is courting India US Edition - Today's top story: A brief history of colorful presidential relatives, from Alice Roosevelt to Hunter Biden [View in browser]( US Edition | 22 June 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( I have basically nothing in common with Theodore Roosevelt, but I am the mother of a very strong-willed daughter, and so one of his legendary remarks resonated with me this week. “I can do one of two things: I can be president of the United States or I can control Alice Roosevelt. I cannot possibly do both,” the former president once said of his independent-minded daughter. I wonder if President Joe Biden would find that this comment rings true for him, as well. American presidency scholar Shannon Bow O'Brien writes about Hunter Biden following the news this week that he is hatching a deal with the Justice Department to avoid prison time on two misdemeanor charges of paying his taxes late and a felony charge for possessing a gun while on drugs. Hunter Biden is [hardly the first relative of a president to get into legal trouble](, or to attract negative attention. “Presidents are like everyone else. They, too, have family members who do or say things that eventually become stories for the dinner table – or tales people want to push under the rug,” Bow O'Brien writes. Amy Lieberman Politics + Society Editor Hunter Biden embraces his father, President Joe Biden, and his stepmother, Jill, at Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Drew Angerer/Getty Images [A brief history of colorful presidential relatives, from Alice Roosevelt to Hunter Biden]( Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin Presidents have family drama, like all other people. Hunter Biden is simply the latest example of a family member who has brought negative attention to a president’s administration. President Joe Biden meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 at the Oval Office. Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images [Mr. Modi comes to Washington – The Indian prime minister’s visit could strengthen ties with the US, but also raises some delicate issues]( Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University; Larry Diamond, Stanford University The Biden administration is courting Indian leader Narendra Modi in part to deter China’s rise. But India’s decline in democracy could complicate relations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joins government officials from the U.S. and China during a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19, 2023. Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images [China and the US are locked in struggle – and the visit by Secretary of State Blinken is only a start to improving relations]( Krista Wiegand, University of Tennessee The US and China are engaged in a classic power struggle. The question is, who will come out on top? [How pardoning extremists undermines the rule of law]( Michael H. Becker, American University The promise of pardons to offer criminal sanctuary likely undermines the rule of law and increases the risks of political violence. [How ‘constitutional county’ declarations undermine the Constitution – a legal scholar explains]( John E. Finn, Wesleyan University By declaring a ‘constitutional county,’ local leaders assert they are creating a refuge from anti- or unconstitutional actions undertaken by an overzealous state or federal authority. [Fascism lurks behind the dangerous conflation of the terms ‘partisan’ and ‘political’]( Lawrence Torcello, Rochester Institute of Technology When everything is seen as political – indictments, Supreme Court decisions, scientific findings – a democracy may be on its way to fascism. [Trump’s trial will soon be underway in Florida – here’s why prosecutors had little choice in selecting any other courthouse location]( Gabriel J. Chin, University of California, Davis The Constitution says that a trial must be held where an alleged crime happened – while Trump’s indictment mentions Washington, D.C. and Florida, there are a few reasons why Florida was the pick. [Supreme Court affirms Congress’s power over Indian affairs, upholds law protecting Native American children]( Kirsten Matoy Carlson, Wayne State University A Supreme Court ruling has upheld the right of Congress to pass laws about Native American tribes’ rights to self-government. [Juneteenth, Jim Crow and how the fight of one Black Texas family to make freedom real offers lessons for Texas lawmakers trying to erase history from the classroom]( Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Sam Houston State University; Zachary Montz, Sam Houston State University For the formerly enslaved Black people in Texas, Juneteenth meant more than freedom. It meant reuniting families and building schools and developing political power. - [As Ukraine takes the fight to Russians, signs of unease in Moscow over war’s progress]( Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University Putin was put on the defensive during an increasingly rare Q&A over the war’s progress. Meanwhile, disquiet among potential rivals is growing. - [Watered-down LGBTQ ‘understanding’ bill shows how far Japan’s parliament is out of step with its society – and history]( Sabine Frühstück, University of California, Santa Barbara Japan has a rich queer history and is seeing societal changes in favor of greater LGBTQ recognition. That said, national politicians have yet to catch up. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](