OPINION:
Special counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to prosecute President Biden for the willful retention of classified documents because Mr. Biden “would present himself to the jury” as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” reminds me of an old joke by Steve Martin (“It’s only a crime if you’re a Republican,” web, March 13, and “‘Well-meaning elderly man’: Republicans seize on Biden memory issues detailed in Hur report,” web, Feb. 8).
“You can have a million dollars and never pay any taxes,” Mr. Martin said in a 1975 appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” “You say, ’Steve, how can I have a million dollars and never pay taxes?’
“First, get a million dollars. Now, what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, ’You never paid any taxes?’ Two simple words: ‘I forgot.’”
The joke here, however, seems to be on the rest of us.
PAUL KAMENAR
Chevy Chase, Maryland
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