Below is my column in the Hill on the Hunter Biden scandal and how the media is attempting to cover a story that was dismissed as Russian disinformation throughout the campaign. The media like the Daily Beast is spinning the sudden disclosure of one and possible two related investigations as based on details that were “largely unnoticed” before the election. They were of course noticed. They were largely ignored.
Here is the column:
“Hunter is stuck on the roof.” That is what the transition team for Joe Biden should have said this week, instead of declaring that Hunter Biden is under federal investigation. The surprise was a lot to handle for many who have been insulated from real news about the case for weeks. The Biden team evidently never heard the old joke about the man who calls home during a trip to speak with his brother who was house sitting.
When asked how things are going, the brother blurts out, “Fluffy is dead.” The man is shocked and yells that is not how you tell someone their cat died. Instead, he claims, you build up to it and say the cat is stuck on the roof, and then call back to say she fell. After the brother apologizes, the man asks how their mother is doing, and the brother pauses before replying, “Mom is stuck on the roof.”
The problem is that Americans were assured that Hunter Biden was nowhere near the figurative roof. Before the election, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the story involving the laptop was a “smear” from Russia. Some 50 former intelligence officials also insisted the laptop story was likely the work of Russian intelligence. Cable hosts and journalists laughed at the laptop story as fake news, and there was a virtual blackout on further coverage, until that loud thump after the election.
Most striking about the media blackout is that, as with the Trump-Russia collusion story, the media was coaxed to buy into a false narrative. Reporters became so invested in the denial that they couldn’t afford to acknowledge growing evidence of possible wrongdoing. If Hunter Biden and his uncle did conduct a global influence peddling scheme, these reporters were at best dupes and at worst enablers of a coverup, so the story could not be true.
The public shock was palpable because so many have been hermetically and journalistically sealed off from any negative reports on the Bidens. The media was openly in the bag for candidate Biden, and he was left unchallenged in ridiculous claims like his often repeated line “no one has suggested my son did anything wrong.”
Now some media outlets are trying to explain how Hunter wound up on the roof when, before the election, they told us he was resting comfortably. The Daily Beast reported the story by referring to “markings on a series of documents that were made public” but “went largely unnoticed.” It was referencing serial numbers that I and others discussed in detail when the story first broke in October. There was much speculation about what those numbers meant, and how the laptop may have been seized by the FBI to look into underlying business transactions, including possible money-laundering. So that aspect was not “largely unnoticed” — just largely ignored by virtually every media outlet.
There is little pushback on Hunter Biden claiming he just heard about an investigation into his taxes this week. This investigation appears to have been ongoing for two years. The laptop was evidently subpoenaed in 2019, and its emails were said to be packed with incriminating accounts of millions in payments or gifts and references to Joe Biden himself. A key business associate of the Bidens, Anthony Bobulinski, confirmed the authenticity of the emails and accused Joe Biden of lying about his involvement before the election. Yet most media reported none of that.
We now know that Joe Biden’s brother, James, is implicated in a separate federal investigation. But the Hunter Biden investigation remains more notable. The Biden transition team issued a statement saying this is solely Hunter’s “tax affairs” — but tax investigations can be a tad more intrusive and far more damaging than a “tax affair” gone wrong. They require scrutiny of underlying transactions and gifts, like those reportedly detailed on Hunter’s laptop.
The laptop reportedly refers to the Biden family discussing a $5 million interest-free unsecured loan from a Chinese state-owned enterprise that allegedly was part of a discussed wire transfer of $10 million. Since these exchanges strike some of us as raw influence-peddling, there may have been an effort to conceal or disguise them; accordingly, there reportedly were gifts like a 2.8 carat diamond for Hunter Biden from the firm’s founder and former chairman.
The laptop also reportedly contains direct references to tax problems. A former business partner sent Hunter Biden an email in 2017 warning him that he did not disclose on his tax returns some $400,000 in income from a Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma. Eric Schwerin, then president of Rosemont Seneca Partners, wrote: “In 2014 you joined the Burisma board and we still need to amend your 2014 returns to reflect the unreported Burisma income.”
Moreover, reports indicate the investigation may not be simply about “tax affairs” but about money laundering and other suspect dealings. The New York Times reported a separate investigation into Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine “has escalated this year” in Pittsburgh. There is a possible investigation risk from the Senate, if Republicans win at least one of two seats in Georgia. A Biden administration would have to deal with those Hunter Biden inquiries while dealing with a special counsel looking into actions taken during the Obama administration to investigate Trump campaign figures in 2016.
At some point, Joe Biden should address his repeated denials of knowing about his son’s business dealings, an assertion even his son has contradicted. He also should answer such questions as whether he met with Hunter’s business partner, Anthony Bobulinski, in spring 2017, at the Beverly Hills Hilton to discuss any Chinese business deals. He can still rely on a media that is heavily invested in denying the seriousness of these investigations, but it will be hard for those news outlets to maintain radio-silence with a growing cacophony of investigations afoot.
Hopefully, now that Biden is elected and Trump defeated, some in the media may be willing to report on these investigations, and at least acknowledge that Hunter and his uncle are back on the roof.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. You can find his updates online @JonathanTurley.
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/391720.php
This is the Democratic Party.
Diddler on the Roof.
C’mon man. You know they knew it was true, and were deliberately hiding the info. The 50 ex-Intel agents – all lied.
The lying Deep State was also cheating in the election.
I’m glad you so often fight for free speech. Not quite so often are you fighting for Truth.
I’d like you to keep up your good work.
Now with Biden elected, you might also be more willing to be more truthful – since being truthful while Trump was Pres. would have helped Trump.
This is the foundation for the Dems to be rid of Dementia Joe in order to have Obama’s sock puppet named Kamala as President.
This was accurately predicted in 2017:
“Kamala Harris is Being Aggressively Manufactured for 2020 by Wealthy Clinton Donors”
https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2017/08/01/kamala-harris-is-being-aggressively-manufactured-for-2020-by-wealthy-clinton-donors/
But like Hillary, Kamala is thoroughly unlikeable. So they had to get her in through the backdoor courtesy of Dementia Joe and massive in your face election fraud.
The only question now is exactly what method they use to get rid of Biden.
My guess is they will concoct some sort of physical ill health story that requires Joey to step down because they dare not use the mental health excuse.
The 2022 mid-terms will be a Democratic bloodbath. But then again, they can just continue to use the same fraudulent methods that got Biden millions of non-existent votes.
What a sh*tfest.
Rhodes, you predicted a Trump win. WTF would anyone pay attention to your fevered predictions? They’re what you want to happen.
He did win, easily.
But you know that.
Time for meds, Rhodesy.
people are starting to wake up and understand who is the enemy
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/china-is-not-the-big-bad-guy-in-this-story/
“Far from being this story’s principal antagonist, China is merely the willing recipient of a gift that was bestowed upon it by American business interests”
A lot of us think that he did in fact win.
Rhodes: “So they had to get [Harris] in through the backdoor courtesy of Dementia Joe and massive in your face election fraud.”
Yep — Biden always was Caligula’s horse. Obama, et al., have ridden that horse — and now it’s off to the glue factory.
Sorry Rhodes, t think your wrong. Even the Democrats know what a disaster Harris would be. They’ll keep Joe upright even if they have to use duct tape to do it. Just lean him upright with a 12×2 plank. Attach sticks to his cuffs to make his arms move. Keep his eyes open with transparent tape. Anything they have to do to keep Harris and her silly laugh in the basement. Just imagining the Saturday Night Live skit has their stomachs twisted in knots. The clown show begins.
Think it, he won’t last a year thanks to the drugs they’ve been pumping into him for months.
He’s as good as gone. But you’re right, in that they’ll keep him around as long as possible.
its been suggested that its adderall. No clue what consistent use of it does to you. And we haven’t any clue who is playing Melakon in Biden’s circle.
adderal is amphetamine. at his age it’s no problem unless it causes a heart attack.
of course then they get Kamala, the ones the Silicon Valley billionaires really wanted
Sal Sar
Your post is pretty easy to see. The question becomes, did Barry promise Joe that he was to remain president or just a placeholder? And if only a placeholder then what is in it for Joe. If Joe was never told that he was going to only be a placeholder will old Joe want revenge? Having to fall on your sword is not good for your historical legacy. Especially if it involves being outed as a corrupted seditious political. Would Joe then spill the beans on the whole plan? That would be bad for Obama
I have not commented on the Turley Blog for a long time and now find that I have a few gripes with it:-
1/ I was going to post this on the “corrections” thread but find that is now defunct so will post on this thread as this is as good as anywere;
2/ I find that I can no longer include HTML tags in my posts, is there still a way to get the effects of the BOLD and STRIKE tags?
3/ Most of the time I observe comments via the email notifications but often these omit the gravatar or the name of the poster or both of them;
4/ Anchor tags for links no longer work because the urls are prepended with Turley blog related prefixes.
Then take another hike, Carlysle.
Hunter Biden is on the roof to avoid the flooding.
“At the end of his petulant address, Biden called on Americans to “unite and heal.” But evidently he expects unity and healing to flow in one direction.
Biden is, and always has been, one of the most divisive politicians in America. He is personally to blame for the fact that Supreme Court confirmations are fights to the death, for example.
Biden doesn’t have it in him to unite the nation, nor can he restrain the radicals in his party who want vengeance. He didn’t build bridges tonight; he burned them.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/12/14/pollak-bidens-phlegmatic-divisive-speech-burns-bridges-to-trumps-america/
‘This election was not free and fair. I accept the outcome, and I don’t believe there was enough fraud to change the results. But to call what happened in 2020 “free and fair” is just false. One-sided rule changes; violence; censorship; extreme media bias; stacked debates. No way.’ @joelpollak
All of which is precisely why we cannot, and will not, accept the results of this fraudulent election.
I know. Time to ditch the EC. It’s the only prayer for a clown like trump. Just take it off the table, require tax returns and all personal business in trust along with the squashing of dark money and a wide ranging effort to de– gerrymander and increase voting rights. Only way to go.
‘Watching Biden’s speech from tonight. He looks absolutely terrible. He looks tired and sick, he’s repeatedly coughing and having to clear his throat. He was also condescending, arrogant, and divisive toward conservatives. Biden is trying to convince people that he is legitimate and he looks desperate. The truth is he really is not legitimate. The media covered up damaging news stories about his family and the social media companies censored those stories. They had to drag him over the finish line.’ @realsaavedra
Maybe Dr. Jill prescribed something for his cough. Oh my, she’s an Ed.D? not an MD? Not even a Ph.D?
So the Bidens are doing business with the Chinese Communist Party? Accepting millions for services rendered? Does anyone know what services were rendered for nearly $10 million Biden’s family members received from the Chinese Communist Party?
Does anyone in the “new” media care to look into this bribery?
Joe Biden will never be a legitimate president. We will never accept the results of this fraudulent election.
haha that should have been “news” media. We know the only ones actually reporting any of this is “new” media.
Fox News is on the roof.
sure they look into it. they want to learn how to get CCP bribes too
Saloth Sar
Noticed the spring flooding at the tidal pool, JT?
Trump has not been defeated! Biden won nothing, yet! Biden appears to be compromised and is now, most likely, under investigation for election fraud! Is that a win? I think not. It’s a loss to the Biden’s and to the American people, especially when people like you keep pounding a false narrative down people’s throats!
Their are posters here who want to write about anything and everything not related to the article about Hunter Biden being under investigation. Everything about Trump this Trump that but no discussion about Hunter. Your son has dealings with Chinese businesses and somehow you know nothing. Even here, those of the left can not possibly believe that that dog hunts. You know that this is a big story. You know that if it can be shown that Papa Joe knew what his son was doing and helped him in his efforts the new President elect will never be trusted. The damage to the nation by the MSM and the Democratic Party will be sorely felt in the midterm elections. Just when the Democrats seem to be on the verge of control they find a way to screw it up. The cover up never seems big enough to cover their bare asses. they think that plausible deniability will always be enough. Once a thief is successful over and over again he begins to believe he will never get caught because his victims are to stupid to figure him out. DUH.
From the AG to the President:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpO2zCBXYAIp9u1?format=jpg&name=large
Those SOBs AG Barr & FBI Wray, corrupt life long cover up artists, couldn’t even track down the invoices of who bought the Bricks for the Terrorist antifa & BLM & arrest the terrorist/mur.dering funding Aholes.
Enough already with the Pissing down patriotic American’s backs & telling us it’s raining.
Prof Turley, what say you again, I don’t think I heard you right?
‘Bill Barr is a Patriot. His letter to @realDonaldTrump was excellent. I believe Barr will announce major moves before 12/23 but does not want to stay to prosecute. He has done his job & served country well. New AG & assistants will prosecute the massive number of cases coming.’ @llinwood
“He has done his job”
Yes he has. Barr is a lifelong swamp dweller, who is a master at covering his own ass.
His buddies at the Lincoln Project and the money masters they and the Dems both serve, are very grateful that they can get back to endless wars and empire building at the expense of the little people (aka/ “chattel”) who pay for those wars with their lives and their tax dollars.
The Rockefeller’s and the other 3 families will make sure that Barr is greatly rewarded.
Now it is time for the idiots to clamber over each other to get their vaccinations like shoppers at a Black Friday sale trying to get a PlayStation 5 for the mindless little lambs they are raising to be good little mindless sheep. Of course they will all be wearing masks and social distancing as instructed by The Ministry of Truth on a daily basis.
Meanwhile the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and savings as a result of the Corona Canard will be facing evictions and foreclosures after January 1st. Which will make the Bankster rent seekers very happy. It will be just like 2008 all over again.
Yay! Happy New Year!!