Biden has faced scrutiny since December 2015, when the New York Times published a story noting that Burisma hired Hunter Biden just weeks after the vice president was asked by President Obama to oversee U.S.-Ukraine relations. That story also alerted Biden’s office that Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin had an active investigation of Burisma and its founder.
Documents I obtained this year detail an effort to change the narrative after the Times story about Hunter Biden, with the help of the Obama State Department.
Hunter Biden’s American business partner in Burisma, Devon Archer, texted a colleague two days after the Times story about a strategy to counter the “new wave of scrutiny” and stated that he and Hunter Biden had just met at the State Department. The text suggested there was about to be a new “USAID project the embassy is announcing with us” and that it was “perfect for us to move forward now with momentum.”
I have sued the State Department for any records related to that meeting. The reason is simple: There is both a public interest and an ethics question to knowing if Hunter Biden and his team sought State’s assistance while his father was vice president.
The controversy ignited anew earlier this year when I disclosed that Joe Biden admitted during a 2018 videotaped speech that, as vice president in March 2016, he threatened to cancel $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, to pressure Ukraine’s then-President Petro Poroshenko to fire Shokin.
At the time, Shokin’s office was investigating Burisma. Shokin told me he was making plans to question Hunter Biden about $3 million in fees that Biden and his partner, Archer, collected from Burisma through their American firm. Documents seized by the FBI in an unrelated case confirm the payments, which in many months totaled more than $166,000.
Some media outlets have reported that, at the time Joe Biden forced the firing in March 2016, there were no open investigations. Those reports are wrong. A British-based investigation of Burisma's owner was closed down in early 2015 on a technicality when a deadline for documents was not met. But the Ukraine Prosecutor General's office still had two open inquiries in March 2016, according to the official case file provided me. One of those cases involved taxes; the other, allegations of corruption. Burisma announced the cases against it were not closed and settled until January 2017.
After I first reported it in a column, the New York Times and ABC News published similar stories confirming my reporting.
Joe Biden has since responded that he forced Shokin’s firing over concerns about corruption and ineptitude, which he claims were widely shared by Western allies, and that it had nothing to do with the Burisma investigation.
Some of the new documents I obtained call that claim into question.
In a newly sworn affidavit prepared for a European court, Shokin testified that when he was fired in March 2016, he was told the reason was that Biden was unhappy about the Burisma investigation. “The truth is that I was forced out because I was leading a wide-ranging corruption probe into Burisma Holdings, a natural gas firm active in Ukraine and Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was a member of the Board of Directors,” Shokin testified.
The embarrassing and unethical Joe Biden. Get the feeling Barack is wishing he had told Joe not to run, not just encouraged him not to run, but actually told him not to?
Loose lips Joe will be the thing that sinks any lasting legacy Barack might have hoped for.
Joe is unethical and has always been unethical.
He has used his position as a public servant to enrich his trashy family.
We need a real candidate in 2020 -- Joe Biden ain't it.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, September 26, 2019.
Starting in the US where the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues. War Hawk Joe Biden wants to be president. And so does his family. Including his niece who stole over $100,000 and just got a slip on the wrist (see Ruth's "Biden's only tough on crime when it comes to people of color") because, well, "as a Biden." Joe's word as a Biden is looking even more laughable.
Apparently, Caroline Biden's family didn't use that record player enough at night or maybe they didn't have social workers coming in teaching her parents how to parent -- that's Joe's answer for African-Americans, right? What's his answer for spoiled White kids in his own family? Oh, right, look the other way. Always.
With more on the trashy Biden family, Ben Schreckinger (POLITICO) reports:
Crony capitalism.
Joe claims wisdom. His family is unethical and he wants to be president? His niece stole over $100,000 and she's not going to do time? That's not fair, that's not fair and equal. That's the Biden corruption that runs through that family.
Simon Lewis (REUTERS) reports:
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday edged past former Vice President Joe Biden for the first time in a major national opinion poll for the Democratic presidential primary, making her largest gains among white voters with a college degree.
Warren drew 27% support to Biden’s 25% in a Quinnipiac University poll of Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, though her lead was within the margin of error.
The results marked a significant shift from Quinnipiac’s prior polls for the Democratic nominating contest to choose a candidate to take on President Donald Trump in November 2020. Biden had been ahead of Warren by double digits since it began polling in March and by 13 points in the same poll in August.
Joe had been ahead. He had been. Before people started seeing who and what he was.
And what happens to his niece is an issue This goes to the whole 1% argument. And this is not fair -- again, we're talking $100,000. There are actresses who are in trouble for using their money and influence to get their children into colleges. But his niece steals $100,000 and she's not serving time?
If she wasn't his niece, she would be doing time.
Joe wants to be president as this happens and feels no embarrassment. This goes back to Hunter Biden getting caught for cocaine usage while in the reserves and being allowed to walk when many others would have served time.
This goes to the issue of corruption and his family -- his brother and his son Hunter -- using his name and his positions to make money. It's unethical. This is not a new development. This nothing new. It did not develop last week, last year or last decade. These are policies that have been in effect throughout Joe's political career -- in fact, before his career started.
Joe's allowed this unethical behavior to go on and on. And now he wants to be president. It is a serious issue and he needs to be asked about it and he needs to answer for it. Serious issues are not addressed by sitting down with Jimmy Kimmel, for example. And that's not slamming Jimmy. He does an entertainment talk show, he has no background in news, his audience is watching for laughs. The problem is not Jimmy or any other late night talk show host.
The following sites updated:
Starting in the US where the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues. War Hawk Joe Biden wants to be president. And so does his family. Including his niece who stole over $100,000 and just got a slip on the wrist (see Ruth's "Biden's only tough on crime when it comes to people of color") because, well, "as a Biden." Joe's word as a Biden is looking even more laughable.
Apparently, Caroline Biden's family didn't use that record player enough at night or maybe they didn't have social workers coming in teaching her parents how to parent -- that's Joe's answer for African-Americans, right? What's his answer for spoiled White kids in his own family? Oh, right, look the other way. Always.
With more on the trashy Biden family, Ben Schreckinger (POLITICO) reports:
Joe Biden’s brother told executives at
a healthcare firm that the former vice president’s cancer initiative
would promote their business, according to a participant in the
conversation, who said the promise came as part of a pitch on behalf of
potential investors in the firm.
The allegation is the latest of many
times Biden’s relatives have invoked the former vice president and his
political clout to further their private business dealings. It is the
first that involves the Biden Cancer Initiative, a project Joe Biden
made the centerpiece of his post-White House life following the death of
his son Beau.
Biden’s
brother, James, made the promise to executives at Florida-based
Integrate Oral Care during a phone call on or around November 8, 2018,
according to Michael Frey, CEO of Diverse Medical Management, a
health-care firm that is suing James Biden. At the time, James Biden’s
business partners were pursuing a potential investment in Integrate,
according to Frey and court records. Frey, who had a business
relationship with James Biden and his associates, had introduced the
group to Integrate.
James
Biden told the Integrate executives that he would get the Biden Cancer
Initiative to promote an oral rinse made by the firm and used by cancer
patients, Frey, who said he participated in the call, told POLITICO. He
added that James Biden directly invoked the former vice president on the
call. "He said his brother would be very excited about this product,”
Frey said.
Crony capitalism.
Joe claims wisdom. His family is unethical and he wants to be president? His niece stole over $100,000 and she's not going to do time? That's not fair, that's not fair and equal. That's the Biden corruption that runs through that family.
Simon Lewis (REUTERS) reports:
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday edged past former Vice President Joe Biden for the first time in a major national opinion poll for the Democratic presidential primary, making her largest gains among white voters with a college degree.
Warren drew 27% support to Biden’s 25% in a Quinnipiac University poll of Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, though her lead was within the margin of error.
The results marked a significant shift from Quinnipiac’s prior polls for the Democratic nominating contest to choose a candidate to take on President Donald Trump in November 2020. Biden had been ahead of Warren by double digits since it began polling in March and by 13 points in the same poll in August.
Joe had been ahead. He had been. Before people started seeing who and what he was.
And what happens to his niece is an issue This goes to the whole 1% argument. And this is not fair -- again, we're talking $100,000. There are actresses who are in trouble for using their money and influence to get their children into colleges. But his niece steals $100,000 and she's not serving time?
If she wasn't his niece, she would be doing time.
Joe wants to be president as this happens and feels no embarrassment. This goes back to Hunter Biden getting caught for cocaine usage while in the reserves and being allowed to walk when many others would have served time.
This goes to the issue of corruption and his family -- his brother and his son Hunter -- using his name and his positions to make money. It's unethical. This is not a new development. This nothing new. It did not develop last week, last year or last decade. These are policies that have been in effect throughout Joe's political career -- in fact, before his career started.
Joe's allowed this unethical behavior to go on and on. And now he wants to be president. It is a serious issue and he needs to be asked about it and he needs to answer for it. Serious issues are not addressed by sitting down with Jimmy Kimmel, for example. And that's not slamming Jimmy. He does an entertainment talk show, he has no background in news, his audience is watching for laughs. The problem is not Jimmy or any other late night talk show host.
The following sites updated:
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Curiosity on Mars7 hours ago
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Good news from NPR7 hours ago
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Dario Hunter and Howie Hawkins7 hours ago
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Locked, Loaded, and Ludicrous7 hours ago
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The way Joe Biden mistreats women8 hours ago
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The Thistle & Shamrock: ThistleRadio New17 hours ago
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