House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has revealed that there are not three but nine members of the Biden family that may have benefitted from suspected influence peddling efforts. For those of us who have long criticized the corrupt practices of the Biden family, the identity of these other family members is intriguing after the Committee secured new bank and financial records. Democratic members again insisted that there is no need to investigate such influence peddling.
The new information on the Biden family is due largely to the takeover of the House by the GOP. Previously, Democrats blocked efforts to investigate influence peddling by the Biden family for years.
After assuming control of the Committee. Comer sought suspicious activity reports sent by banks to the Treasury Department alerting of potential criminal activity in transactions involving President Biden’s family.
He stated on Monday that “We’ve identified six additional members of Joe Biden’s family who may have benefited from the Biden family’s businesses that we are investigating, bringing the total number of those involved or benefiting to nine.” Those six names are in addition to three Biden family members and two associates previously linked to payments from China in 2017. Three million dollars were wired to Biden family associate Rob Walker in March 2017, who then allegedly divided and distributed the funds later.
There remains an “Unknown Biden” who received four payments in 2017 totaling $70,000.
The investigation into the Bidens has made many in the Beltway uncomfortable. Influence peddling has long been the favored form of corruption in this city, but few families seem to have cashed in to the extent of the Bidens.
I frankly do not understand the willingness of so many Democrats to cover for the Bidens. Democratic members have gone all in with censorship, but this is an effort to scuttle investigations into corruption that may have resulted in millions of dollars going to Biden family members.
The Biden family has long been associated with influence peddling to the degree that they could add an access key to their family crest. Influence peddling has long been a cottage industry in Washington. For decades, I have written about this loophole in bribery laws. It is illegal to give a member of Congress or a president even $100 to gain influence. However, you can literally give millions to their spouses or children in the forms of windfall contracts or cozy jobs.
James Biden has been remarkably (even refreshingly) open about marketing his access to his brother. Former Americore executive Tom Pritchard and others allege that Biden openly referenced his access to his brother and his family name in his pitch for clients. James has faced a wide array of litigation over allegedly fraudulent activities as well as a personal loan acquired through Americore before it went into bankruptcy.
Hunter worked with his uncle but also branched off on his own in the family business. While his father recently emphasized that his son was a hopeless addict, that defense stands in glaring contradiction to the fact that he maintained a multimillion-dollar influence-peddling scheme. The question is why foreign figures (including some associated with foreign intelligence) made these money transfers and complex deals worth millions from Moscow to Kyiv to Beijing.
However, the Biden most concerned may be the president himself. Joe Biden has repeatedly denied knowledge of Hunter Biden’s business entanglements despite numerous emails and pictures showing him meeting with Hunter associates. That includes at least 19 visits to the White House by Hunter’s partner, Eric Schwerin, alone between 2009 and 2015.
Emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop make repeated reference to his father as a possible recipient of funds derived from influence peddling. Indeed, in one email, Tony Bobulinski, then a business partner of Hunter, was instructed by Biden associate James Gilliar that the Bidens wanted to avoid such references: “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u [sic] are face to face, I know u [sic] know that but they are paranoid.”
In discussing these deals, Joe Biden is referenced with code names such as “Celtic” or “the big guy.” In one, “the big guy” is discussed as possibly receiving a 10% cut on a deal with a Chinese energy firm. There are also references to Hunter paying off the bills of his father from shared accounts. From his board memberships to venture deals to legal fees to his art deals, Hunter Biden is a tour de force of alleged corrupt practices used in Washington.
Many Democrats and legal experts have objected that influence peddling is not a crime. However, it is corrupt and squarely within the oversight authority of Congress. Indeed, if it is not a matter for criminal charges, such congressional action may be the only way to force accountability for corrupt efforts to sell influence and access.
It appears that a 100% kosher “whistleblower” has come forward to allege that the IRS has given preferential treatment to Hunter Buiden. His attorney wrote to Senators asking for whistleblower protection before his client makes his disclosures. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11992009/IRS-whistleblower-claims-PROOF-Biden-administration-improperly-handling-Hunter-probe.html Will the NYT and WP attempt to reveal his identity so the FBI can arrest him?
There is more to meet the eye than Bug’s recent posting reveals. It involves privacy and poorly understood financial considerations, some of which I will explain below Bug’s deleted text.
.”Knowing Fox paid a multiple million dollar settlement to not have to reveal the staggering amount of evidence of their systematic lying about the 2020 election on the air..”
Your thinking doesn’t pierce the surface and lacks specificity. If you know of the lies that would make Fox responsible for such a payout, state them. You don’t. If they intended to pay such high dollar amounts, they would have retracted whatever significant lies they made when the evidence was clear.
I believe a recent purchase of the company valued it at less than half of the payout. We should assume this tells us some reasons go deeper than any ‘lies’ Dominion can prove.
I believe, disclosing inside information would compromise some reputations at Fox and the entire news division.
Many conservatives left Fox long ago. Many commentators and others on Fox probably have two reputations, one for public knowledge and the other deeply hidden. There is also political disagreement among the children, which might have led to embarrassing discoverable information on the family.
We need to recognize the payout is from Fox, not the family money. We do not know the distribution schedules of Murdoch’s estate or the details behind the payment of ~800 M.
The money comes from Fox, not the Murdochs. When Rupert’s children inherit, tax ramifications probably play a big part. The estate tax is 40%. That means the meaningful payout is less than $480 M, and we do not know the payout terms. That can have a tremendous effect on the price paid.
The right frequently questions Fox’s attitudes. The most recent question remaining open is why Tucker didn’t continue to show the tapes from Jan 6. Disclosure might have revealed an answer.
Finally, I believe the dollar amount paid by Fox was more than the company’s valuation when the last purchase occurred. That adds to the confusion as to why the settlement was so high.
Joe Biden has spent his entire political career lining up cash for his kin. Unless, of course, you happen to be the never-spoken-of, pre-school, granddaughter whose existence Joe refuses to acknowledge.
To rationalize the Gang of Nine’s corruption, the Left asserts: “Making money is not illegal.”
“Making money” means creating a product or service, then trading (via money) with another who has also created a product or service. That is the trader principle.
So what product or service did the Gang of Nine create? Ditto for communist China.
“Those six names are in addition to three Biden family members and two associates previously linked to payments from China in 2017. Three million dollars were wired to Biden family associate Rob Walker in March 2017, who then allegedly divided and distributed the funds later.”
As the head of the kleptocratic Biden clan, JB sold out his country to its greatest enemy — communist China. He makes Benedict Arnold look like a piker.
Professor, instead of beating a dead horse (“influence peddling”) over and over again, you could have asked:
To which extend has then VP Biden (1/20/08 – 1/19/17) been compromised by the dealings of third parties and/or has he personally benefited from it?
For those who didn’t have access to information during the last years (and joined us out of the blue): A good start to begin with is this report [1] from 8/20: “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns”:
“Hunter Biden and his associate, Archer, had a financial relationship with Russian businesswoman Elena Baturina. Baturina is the former wife of the late Yuri Luzhkov, who was
the mayor of Moscow and was fired in 2010 by then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations. […] According to reporting, ‘Luzhkov used his position as mayor to approve over 20 realestate projects that were built by a Baturina-owned construction company and ultimately generated multibillion-ruble profits for his family.’ In addition, a Russian investigation led to a criminal case against the former head of the Bank of Moscow, Andrey Borodin, who “allegedly used money from the Moscow City Budget to lend money to shell companies, which ultimately transferred $443 million to Baturina.’
On Feb. 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC (Rosemont Seneca Thornton) bank account for a ‘Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.’ Rosemont Seneca Thornton is an investment firm co-founded by Hunter Biden that was incorporated on May 28, 2013 in Wilmington, Del. According to The Financial Times,
Rosemont Seneca Thornton is a consortium that consists of Rosemont Seneca Partners and the Thornton Group, a Massachusetts-based firm. In June 2009, Biden co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Archer and Christopher Heinz.[…]”
In the meantime authorities should be in the know about money laundering [2], the content of ‘Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014’ (why did she pay $ 3.5 Mio to a start up?) or Hunter’s FARA registration.
Or searches such as “Biden BHR”, “Biden Cafe Milano”, “Biden Bobulinsky”, or in short: Who still believes that President Biden has no knowledge of his son’s business dealing will not be convinced of the contrary even by further indications.
[1] https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf
[2] https://www.occrp.org/en/laundromat/the-russian-banks-and-putins-cousin/
1, 3, 9, 27, 81, 243, …
729
In the Dominion / Fox lawsuit, neither the judge nor the jury determined liability. Instead, the Murdoch family, which controls Fox and leans Democrat, decided to settle out-of-court. There are certainly cases in which companies settle because they believe they are liable. And there are certainly cases in which companies settle for other reasons.
Courts are only necessary when parties cannot settle their disputes. This case was settled which is the best way. Now we can move on.
Neither the judge nor jury determined liability because it didn’t go to court. The fact that Fox settled out of court for over 3/4 of a billion dollars is an admission of guilt. They settled due to their liability, not for “other reasons”. Whether the Murdoch leans Democrat or not is immaterial to the case.
In 1958, Eisenhower Chief of Staff Serman Adams was forced to resign when it was disclosed that he had accepted a coat and rug from a Boston textile manager who may have been an old friend, but who was also being investigated by the SEC. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/10/28/The-vicuna-coat-scandal/8506530859600/ In those days, there were no laws against accepting gifts, and Adams was in no position to influence the SEC, but nevertheless Democrats called him corrupt. We have come a long way.
When the democratic party leadership decides that the Biden family is inescapably a liability, the committee will instruct the news media and the sycophantariat to express hatred for them and all will come cashing down for the president and some of his associates and family. That is when the tide will turn. But until then he is to be propped up and covered by any means available.
OT?; I no longer care. I saw this article today and realized this country is done. This is like Civil Asset Forfeiture without all the red tape that comes from the government doing the taking. Now the groomers can lure children away from their parents and the parents have no right to know or get them back.
SB 5599, sponsored by far-left state senator Marko Liias (D-Everett), permits shelters and host homes to provide housing for runaway minors. Though the current law requires parental notification of the whereabouts of runaway children, this would consider merely seeking so-called “gender-affirming care” a “compelling reason” not to notify parents of the child’s whereabouts. Under the state’s care, the child can undergo surgical interventions, like mastectomy and facial feminization, without parental consent. It just passed the House in a party-line vote and now it heads back to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass.
https://mynorthwest.com/3874914/rantz-radical-wa-trans-youth-law-legalized-state-sanctioned-kidnapping/
Fox News settles case for $800 million. Lying is expensive.
Neither did the Judge find, nor did Fox admit, that Fox lied.
The Judge determined that the statements made by Trump’s lawyers on the Fox network were false.
Fox argued that those statements should not be attributed to it. For reasons the Judge did not adequately explain, he concluded that under NY law, Fox could not make that argument, despite the cases cited by Fox holding the opposite. These are referred to in a footnote but never rebutted.
The Judge also did not decide whether Fox knew or was reckless in not knowing that the statements were false, leaving that to a jury to decide.
In its statement, Fox merely acknowledged that the court found that certain statements were false. It did not say that it made those statements, let alone that it lied.
I think it is untenable that the First Amendment does not protect the media when it reports allegations made by others against a public figure, so long as it does not itself say that those allegations are true. This is especially the case when claims are made by or on behalf of a President, who has access to a great deal of non-public information.
It is too bad that Fox did not fight this out. If relied on in the future, this holding about reporting third party allegations that turn out to be false will make for a very bad precedent. I suspect it will not have much influence in the end, however, since it is likely to be viewed as wrong, once the hysteria over Trump subsides.
This is incorrect.
The judge found Fox’s news anchors (not just opinion hosts or guests) to be making false factual statements. Bartiromo was classified by Fox as a news anchor for example.
Your claim that it was limited to trump’s attorneys is simply not true.
This was the largest media settlement ever. No one has the settlement terms, but context alone should make it clear that Fox was unlikely to win this one. Now they will have to fight suits from their shareholders
The fact that the statements were made by Trump’s lawyers on a news show should not be enough to make them the network’s statements. This will prove to be a one-off holding since it is inconsistent with precedent and the First Amendment. The judge never explained how this case can be distinguished from earlier NY law cases cited by Fox and referred to in a footnote finding the opposite.
Not if you’re a Biden.
This author must be prosecuted, sued, ostracized and exiled for perjury before the court of the people.
Fox most certainly did not settle with Dominion for $800 million.
__________________________________________________
“Fox settles Dominion defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial”
– Reuters et al.
It’s been profitable for the NYT.
If Hunter was, as Joe indicates, a hopeless addict, that makes even more relevant the question of what (other than his family connection to Joe) Hunter had to sell that made him so valuable.
CHOO-CHOO all aboard: the train is now boarding terminal 86!
Jordan says local prosecutors are asking about charging the Bidens.
https://nypost.com/2023/04/15/jim-jordan-says-biden-prosecution-is-likely
Young,
What is telling to me is the number of comments from our leftist friends who insist there is nothing to see here! This is all the “age of rage!” the good professor posts for his MAGA supporters.
Yet, there are few actual MAGA supporters here.
No, reading the comments, there are few MAGA supporters.
What there is, is a large contingent of the rule of law, of justice, of the Constitution.
What there is, is a small yet very vocal minority who screams, whines, cries against the good professor for either pointing out the obvious, the hypocrisy, or the double standard of that very same small yet very vocal minority that attacks the good professor on a regular basis.
Facts that our leftists friends cannot stand. Like a vampire can stand sun shine.
Reading their comments of whining and crying makes me smile.
The good professor must be right.
To Sleezveses, Dennis, Giggi, and all the anoymouses or whatever, I would like to thank you for bringing me to attention of how messed up you have made the Democrat party. How you have blatantly pointed out Bill Maher’s observation that “I did not leave the party, the party left me,” rings so true to long time, traditional liberals like Maher and our good host, professor Turley.
Without your comments, I would of never realized how sick and twisted you and the Democrat party has become.
Again, I thank you.
As a friendly reminder, deli meat is more appealing than Biden!
Ham sandwich! 2024! (or whomever the GOP candidate is, be it Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Gabbard, Youngkin, etc. I am voting for them or the sandwich over Biden or any Democrat!)
Upstate: “What there is, is a large contingent of the rule of law, of justice, of the Constitution.”
+++
Yes.
“[L]eftist friends who insist there is nothing to see here!”
There is only one reason communist China pays money to American politicians: To protect its interests.
Ultimately, communist China has one interest: To destroy capitalism and America.
So we have the revolting spectacle of an American politician (and sitting “president”) who has been paid to destroy his own country.
Jim Jordan says a lot of things. He’s well known for making things up when he has nothing to offer.
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
– Hillary’s Husband, Bill “Slick Willy” Clinton
George,
I always wondered about that statement and suspected he misspoke.
Instead of Miss Lewinsky could he have meant to say ‘Hillary’?
On appearances and personalities alone that seems more likely.
“Truer words have never been spoken”
– M.E. Grant Duffy, MP England, 1878
Like you.
Not withstanding the likely evasion of federal income taxes on much of this payoff money, there’s also the evasion of gift taxes on payments (by Hunter) for the personal benefit of Slow Joe and ALL other Bidens. The donor pays the gift tax so Hunter should be on the hook for a LOT of money to IRS !
G Smith, Hunter’s back taxes were paid by a wealthy Democratic contributor. My guess is that the loan to Hunter will become due and payable on April 15, 3023.
OT; Judge in Dominion case has just authorized a special master to investigate the “discrepancies” during discovery. Did Fox News willfully withhold evidence? Perhaps.
Since we’re all about what aboutism today lest us not forget that Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 for a speech he made in Russia. There’s not much raising of the roof by our leftist posters about this little tidbit of information. The left has done everything they can to rabbit hole Billy Boys speech and the are relying on the same game plan concerning the cash in their bank accounts that has been gleefully provided by the Chinese. The leftist posters on this blog are begging you to go down the rabbit hole with them. You know, the place where they declare the guilty verdict first and then they hold the trial.
One does not amass wealth serving the public interest without also serving themselves along the way. If Willie Sutton robbed banks because that is where the money is, Biden and his ilk are of the kind who run for political office because for them that is where the money is.
“One does not amass wealth serving the public interest without also serving themselves along the way.”
Trump was doing this when he was in office. He proved there’s nothing wrong with that and Republicans are fine with it.
That you believe Trump to be of Biden’s ilk is fine with me.
It’s not that, I believe. It’s that it is true.
Then you admit that Biden too is a grifter. They are of the same ilk.
Svelaz, because Trump did it it’s alright for Biden to do it? So in your book the answer to corruption is to become corrupted yourself. What you are actually saying is that my crook is better than your crook. If you were really righteous you would say that neither crook is acceptable. That is if you were righteous.
“Svelaz, because Trump did it, it’s alright for Biden to do it?” Yeah. Republicans are outstanding with it. Why should it be an issue if Biden does it? Because if you have a problem with Biden doing that, you certainly should have a problem with Trump doing it and should be demanding an investigation of Trump too. If you believe what Biden is doing is corrupt and illegal, you should also agree that Trump must be subject to the same treatment. You want to apply a double standard because it’s Trump. When he does it, it’s OK. But when Biden does it, it’s not OK.
Svelaz, Trump was a very wealthy man before he became President. Do you really think that he was interested in more wealth that would be equal to a rounding error in his world. Maybe you should look past three feet in front of your eyes. Please oh please tell us that you think that the Bank deposits from the Chinese into Biden Family checking accounts. Short of such a statement we must believe that you are in favor of the Chinese giving millions to American politicians. Just say it like it is.
“Svelaz, Trump was a very wealthy man before he became President. Do you really think that he was interested in more wealth that would be equal to a rounding error in his world.:
Trump is always interested in more wealth. He’s obsessed with it. He is constantly fundraising and selling BS products to his followers because he doesn’t want to spend his own money on the countless court cases he’s embroiled in.
“Please oh please tell us that you think that the Bank deposits from the Chinese into Biden Family checking accounts”
So what? What is the crime? Trump’s own kids got money from Chinese businesses too. it’s not illegal. According to a lot of Trump supporters and Republicans, there’s nothing wrong with that.
I guess that is why he donated his salary. Why hasn’t Biden? Trumps kids actually run a business. What does Hunter make to sell?
According to Yahoo News:
President of the United States from 2017 to 2021
Donald Trump donated nothing to the Department of Health and Human Services during the height of the pandemic, despite claiming publicly to have done so, his tax returns revealed on Friday.
The release of his returns came as the result of the end of a years-long legal battle between the now-former president and the House Ways and Means Committee, which released its final report this week after recently obtaining the returns when the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case.
The picture painted by the documents is crystal clear: Donald Trump claimed zero charitable donations throughout 2020, meaning that his tax burden was not reduced at all (at least in that regard). He would still go on to pay $0 in income tax for the year in total.
If his returns are accurate, they would directly contradict a statement made by his chief White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, in March of 2020 at the heigh of the Covid-19 pandemic’s first wave across America. Stores were beginning to shut down across the country as nonessential businesses were ordered to close in many states.
Guess where Kayleigh McEnany works now?
With all due respect, Bribery may be a way of life in some parts of the world, but in the United States it is illegal, especially with regard to a public official. See 18 U.S. Code § 201 – Bribery of public officials and witnesses.
This has become rampant in our government and crosses political lines. The law explicitly describes what constitutes an act of bribery. With regard to Hunter Biden’s business partners, it has been reported in both left and right news outlets that they visited the White House at least 80 times during the years Joe Biden was Vice President.
If there is nothing to hide, then appoint a special investigator and let the auditors and IRS certify that there is no “there there.”
If there is any malfeasance on his part, his family or any other public official, it is time to send a clear message to those who seek public office that they are there to serve the people and not to feather their own nest and become wealthy from selling influence (bribery).
Trump loss money in office…unless you are referring to people staying in his hotels…payment for services received ( a night spent in a hotel room).
How did President Obama become worth $130 million? Must be the Nancy Pelosi school of investing.
“Red Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win” is an excellent and exhaustively referenced book by author Peter Schweizer. I recommend this book.
Selling influence and feathering their personal wealth is an activity of politicians and government leaders that crosses political lines and is shameful and unacceptable.