Below is my column in the New York Post on the last ditch effort of the members of Congress and the media to get the public to just “move on” from the Biden corruption scandal. The message has been clear and amplified, as former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) insisted on MSNBC, “Everybody needs to back off!” As evidence and public interest increase, it is a bit late for spin or shiny objects. This week, the scandal is likely to be even more serious for the Bidens and the country. The media is increasingly taking on the appearance of Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun yelling that there is “nothing to see here” in front of a virtual apocalyptic scene of fire and destruction.
Here is the column:
“I wonder after this plea happens if you would advise your party to move on?”
That question from CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan to Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie was raised just days before a former business associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, gives potentially explosive testimony to a House committee in the Biden corruption scandal.
The media’s desire to “move on” from the scandal is reaching an almost frantic level, as millions in foreign payments and dozens of corporate shell companies are revealed, and incriminating emails are released.
The same plaintive demand was made in congressional hearings.
What was most striking about the last hearing involving two respected IRS whistleblowers was how Democratic members avoided virtually any specific questions.
The members discussed everything from the Emmett Till murder in 1955 to whether the term “two-tiered justice system” is racially insensitive … and of course, Donald Trump.
It was clear that the release of the new evidence of corruption had left no room to maneuver for both Democrat politicians and the media.
Any question would now trip a wire on the Bidens, so most avoid the allegations in favor of talking about Trump or other shiny objects.
The only member who was unwise enough to venture into the allegations was Rep. Dan Goldman (D.-N.Y.) and the result was disastrous for the Democrats.
Goldman bizarrely raised one of the most damaging new pieces of evidence in the investigation.
He asked about a “lunch where Joe Biden came to say hello at the Four Season’s hotel to a lunch that he was having with CEFC executives.”
He then read how Biden associate Rob Walker described the origins of the meeting with the Chinese officials to get his dad to stop by: “Hunter told his Dad that ‘I may be trying to start a company or try to do something with these guys.’ “
Goldman asked slyly, “Now let me ask you something, that doesn’t sound much like Joe Biden was involved in whatever Hunter was doing with the CEFC, if Hunter Biden is telling him that he is trying to do business with them, does it?”
That is when Shapley stated the obvious: “No, but it does show that he told his father that he was trying to do business and . . . ” Goldman finally saw that problem and cut him off with “OK, well that is true that Hunter Biden does try to do business, that is correct.”
The problem is that Goldman just elicited sworn testimony on how Joe Biden did in fact know about these business dealings despite years of categorical denials of having any knowledge or interaction with Hunter or his business associates.
Goldman demolished the Biden defense in less than five minutes.
Now, Archer is expected to testify that Joe Biden participated in actual telephone calls with them. That will allow investigators to build further on the foundation Goldman laid.
Archer will join other witnesses like Hunter’s business associate Tony Bobulinski, who said that he sat down with Joe Biden to discuss the deals. Bobulinski was instructed by Biden associate James Gilliar not to speak of the former veep’s connection to any transactions.
No matter the severity of the revelations, the liberal media calls the investigations a “clown show.”
Others have continued to tell the public that there remain no alleged ties from Hunter to President Biden despite emails, pictures and witness testimony.
Yet it is becoming harder and harder to avoid these details.
With the possible testimony of Hunter’s business associates, the only hope is that Republicans might be convinced to “move on.”
What was most notable about the question to Christie was the reference to the plea bargain.
A year ago, I wrote a column on how the political and media establishment would likely use a “scandal implosion” approach as the evidence mounted over the corruption allegations.
After the Democrats lost the House, there was a need to cap off the scandal and I suggested that the Justice Department would secure a light plea on a couple tax counts with little or no jail time.
Members and the media would then declare the scandal closed and demand that we all “move on.”
It is unnerving to see how the response unfolded so precisely as predicted. Members made repeated reference to the plea bargain to avoid further discussion.
Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D.-Md.) was positively irate that “We are doing this all over again for the Hunter Biden show to someone who has pleaded guilty and has taken responsibility for not filing taxes for two years. This is ludicrous. Beam me up, Scotty. There’s no intelligent life down here. None.”
He then tore up papers in disgust.
Members and the media were literally citing a plea bargain as dispositive, even as two lead investigators were saying it was fixed and politically influenced.
Some in the media attacked these two IRS veterans as “so-called whistleblowers” (just as members previously attacked “so called journalists” for discussing censorship records).
Others insisted that the allegations were still “unproven” or “unverified” while showing the same lack of interest in establishing the truth.
Notably, these same media outlets did wall-to-wall coverage of the false Russian collusion claims in the Steele dossier.
They are now simply shrugging off what could be one of the most serious corruption scandals in modern history despite the testimony of highly credible whistleblowers and thousands of pages of supporting evidence.
None of this is going to work, of course. The public has long ago lost trust in the media. Indeed, the “Let’s Go, Brandon” movement is as much a mocking of the media as it is the President.
Polls show that the public is not “moving on” and now view this as a major scandal. A majority believes that Hunter has received special protection in the investigation. While the media can continue to suppress the evidence and allegations within their own echo-chambered platforms, truth like water has a way of finding a way out.
The scandal is moving forward with or without the media.
Jonathan Turley is an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
Sit back and enjoy the show, watching all those “other shoes” falling. Hang in there joe. Don’t go anywhere. This is way too much fun to end it now.
Fins to the left, fins to the right.
Judge Norieka should put politics, party and personal ambition aside and do the only thing that this abomination of a plea deal requires: Tear it up in open court and toss it back into the prosecutors’ faces as an affront to the principle of “equal justice before the law.”
Any impartial judge would surely at least delay confirming the plea deal until the IRS whistleblowers revelations last week of DOJ’s blatant slow walking of the case and deceptions to IRS investigators, and Devon Archer’s anticipated revelations, are confirmed or rebutted by further investigation. “I’m withholding final confirmation for six months,” she could say, “until I have weighed all developments in this case, many still ongoing.”
But sadly, Judge Norieka may not be “impartial.” She is a Democrat, and in 2021 was (and probably still is) on Biden’s short list for circuit judge appointments.Even more worrisome, as Wiki notes: “In 2023 Noreika ruled against John Paul Mac Isaac, who was Hunter Biden’s laptop repairman, in his defamation lawsuit against CNN, Politico, and Hunter Biden.”
So don’t hold your breath on Judge Norieka rejecting the plea deal.
Don’t hold your breath. Perhaps the biggest difference between Dems and their Pub counterparts is, they don’t step out of line. If they did, they understand it will cost them dearly.
Slightly an aside, but this speaks to it. Look at any dating app. You will see countless examples of libtards putting in their bio ” No conservatives”. You just don’t see that from the right, despite the (subjective) point that, at least in terms of appearance, the lefties would have MUCH more to gain from being inclusive.
This all-encompassing analysis by Prof. Turley is Absolutely Spot-On.. Perfect Precision in a Winning Argument.. . How wonderful it is to see Truth on Fire…
My in-laws, who out of habit still watch NBC, CBS, ABC out of habit, then scream at the screen, tell me there is a total blackout on this story along with many others. News, indeed.
Millions in foreign payments, dozens of corporate shell companies, and incriminating emails…and the dirty Dems impeached Trump over one phone call to Ukraine.
my prediction? Archer has been negotiating for a lesser term or pardon hence the repeated delays of his testimony… I say by Monday, his appearance to testify will be “postponed”, Congress goes on vacation,.. the DOJ cooks up another phony out and Archer goes free.
Congress cannot offer a shorter term.
I meant the corrupt DOJ will get him off in exchange for staying silent.
In other news: “White House Switchboard Scrambles to Fulfill Urgent Request from President to reach Bagdad Bob”
~+~
Two switchboard operators for the White House resigned today after not being able to locate the telephone number for Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, commonly known in the U.S. as “Baghdad Bob”, of whom the President frantically wanted to summon to his aid.
The President was unusually agitated today and after making the request for Bob’s phone number five hours ago and nobody at the switchboard so far has located the former Iraqi minister of information. When confronted with the fact that nobody, not even the secret service, could locate Bob, the president went ballistic.
“How in the Hell am I supposed to contain the spread of misinformation about this laptop and my son’s business practices with these fools in my employ. Some spokepersons you all are. This time I want a professional who can spin like pulsar, that’s why I want Bob, and I want him NOW.”
The president continued: “When the tanks were entering Baghdad, my man Bob was unwavering in slinging the BS and never flinched. He faced a barrage of reporters, live on TV, yet he so eloquently brought to words… ‘There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!’ and ‘They’re not even within 100 miles of Baghdad. They are not in any place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion … they are trying to sell to the others an illusion.’ THE MAN’S A LEGEND! He needs to be put in the White House payroll today!”
Darren, what’s with all the censorship? Comments are getting deleted with no clear violations of the civility rule.
You had me going for a minute there, Darren. Then I realized no way Joe Biden is that cogent 😉
I was going to ask how one can tell when the president is unusually agitated vs ‘regular’ agitated. 😊
Darren,
Hysterical!
Darren, the following may be the bar to surpass regarding snarky memes.
I never learned how to edit music or video files but perhaps you are better versed in these things
What a brave, brave SoS. (not Sec of State)
Estovir,
Good one. I haven’t really done any video work so I’m not the person to ask about doing this. For the moment I’m setting up a new workstation using an operating system flavor I haven’t used in nearly 30 years. It’s getting done but it’s proving itself to be like assembling a machine from old parts in your garage and attic that you haven’t used for decades.
“[T]hese same media outlets did wall-to-wall coverage . . .” (JT)
Where there is no evidence, the Left concocts it, then spreads the concoction. Where there is evidence (the *Joe* Biden bribery and extortion), the Left evades and buries it.
So we see, again, the Left’s basic premise: Our desires are reality. And if you dissent, we have ways of dealing with you.
We are right at the tipping point, where the mainstream media, to avoid being shamed by future historians, will have no choice but to aggressively jump into the fray against the Bidens
Maybe, winnsboro. Then again this may just test legacy media’s resolve to protect even the most cringe-worthy members of the Cabal. They have nothing to lose since they know their credibility and trust are worth zero.
It’s obvious to me they don’t care about being shamed or embarrassed either now or in the future.
I’ve said before that when future historians, say 50-100 years from now, compare the official transcripts and other actual source documents of Trump’s speeches to how the MSM reported on those speeches, they will see a massive disconnect between reality and how it was reported by the prestige media. Those future historians will correctly see them as dishonest frauds whose goal was to help Democrats and the deep state try to bring down a duly elected President. Surely, the MSM know this. Yet they don’t care.
It will take time. Current “historians” like Beschloss and Meacham chose to soil their own credibility during this era as well. So it’s probably going to take decades for future historians to set the record straight.
Watching the Democrats and MSM flail about in a panic is quite fun!
We see it here on the good professor’s blog everyday.
CNN, MSNBC, NBC, and ABC will continue to dismiss the Biden scandal as a Republican clown show or Russian disinformation forever. They are way too hard in-the-paint for the Democratic party to change course and actually report the news. Hunter and Mr. Sniffer Whiffer in orange jumpsuits would be dismissed as cool Halloween costumes with catchy new Fall colors. They are true Kool-Aid drinkers these folks……
The Main Street MEDIA is DINISHED including FOX, after letting Tucker Go, rising Media will be X/Twitter/Elon Musk. Many do not trust the mainstreet media. Biden and his entire Staff along with Sanders and Obama people left wing radicals need to go.
This is a great article!! Thank you for having the courage to speak the truth!!
How the Left must revile the Bidens in their private conversations! From the pathetic drug-addled imbecile Hunter leaving the evidence unclaimed with a big ribbon on it in a computer repair shop, to his father’s unrestrainable fits of braggadocio in boasting about getting the Ukrainian prosecutor fired, this whole clumsy, meat-headed affair has been a comedy of enforced errors from the beginning. They’ve utterly botched everything. The DOJ thought they had a nice little hook with Trump’s documents farce, and in stumble the Biden crew with cartons of documents of their own. The tsunami of stupidity is now so overwhelming that even the corrupt media can’t hold it back, after doing their devoir, carrying this bumbler over the finish line and dumping him in the White House like a sack of dirty laundry. They knew he and his clan would do and say stupid things, but they thought they could conceal it. Now they’re stuck trying to defend this vulgar clod, desperate to run out the clock. But they’re out of time-outs and the Republicans have the ball.
Fantastic point. Dennis, Gig, and anonymous the stupid, undoubtedly revile the Bidens in private. Maybe even more than they do Trump.
When the gig is up Biden will suddenly fall ill and Kamala will take over.
Then maybe they will impeach him in absentia, like the morons on the left did Trump.
I wish the “public was not moving on” but EVERY day I read the NYT and WaPo and where is the coverage? For 5 years, these outlets have ignored the Biden’s obvious foreign income streams in favor of screeching almost 24/7 about a fake Steele dossier and the fake news it contained. Then they screeched 24/7 about Covid and the Republican desire to follow the science while Democrats followed the money, politics, and power. Then they screeched and created a made for TV miniseries about January 6 with its 1 dead rioter and $2MM in damage after having ignored 200 BLM riots which cost $1 BILLION and the thousands of people injured and many killed due to BLM.
The average, educated, liberal or moderate is absolutely unaware of the Biden money making scheme – they were unaware of it 10 years ago and they basically remain so. There’s no future for America with 92% of the Press that serves the bidding, amplifies false news, and creates fake news for one political party. The Democrats own the Press and they are destroying our country. I’ve been watching it since the late ’80’s and it’s far worse.
Highly Educated, two events happened that the MSM and the Dems couldn’t hide, the mess in Afghanistan that they told us was a great military operation and inflation that we all see daily. So there is no longer any trust in Biden or his flying monkeys in the media.
After today’s hearing with Biden’s business partners we’ll see how well the Press and Dems can hide. BTW – I think Joe Biden has played the Dem’s and the Press’s useful fool/trojan horse and they are glad to see him taken out. The question is will the average American realize they’ve been played or not?
I agree, suburban. But I predict they will take steps to deny Republicans the spectacle of a successful impeachment. I think it was no accident that Biden appeared in public with cpap marks on his face recently. The narrative has been set that he has issues with “forgetting to breath” in his sleep.
Led by The Washington Post and its hypocritical motto, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” the media are desperate to bail out this sinking ship but it is no use. The counterpoise to the Post’s cute motto is the 1913 message of Justice Louis Brandeis that “Sunlight is the Best Infectant!” I agree with Turley that the public is leaning more toward the Brandeis solution than whatever nonsense the media try to promote. While last week’s whistleblower hearing revealed significant facts about the Biden family crimes, it also revealed the emptiness and desperation of the Democrats on the committee who tried in vain to deflect mortal blows on the Biden family with fanciful ideas and stories about our Democrat-led past in the U.S. known as the Jim Crow era when our two-tier justice system differentiated itself by race. Today, that two-tier justice system differentiates itself primarily by political party.
Leslie Nielsen played the clown well, progressives are clowns
Let’s see. We progressives brought you:
– 40 hour work week
– weekends off for most folks
– Medicare
– workplace safety
– social security
– proper benefits for veterans
We clowns surely aren’t very clownish.
Wally, do you have a corresponding list of the the federal govts enumerated power to enact any of these?
“– weekends off for most folks”
You mean like the Church provided for centuries?
The difference between the (Republican) Teddy Roosevelt “Progressives” and today’s perverted version of “Progressives” is akin to the difference between being active in radio and being radioactive. Simple as that.
Wally, your grandfather’s progressive’s brought us all of the benefits you mentioned. As for you and your ilk, you have brought us an open border, high food and gas prices, high crime, a war in Europe, a forced closing of all of society for 2 years, boys beating girls in sports, men beating women in sports, kids going to see “Drag Queens” in order to put dollar bills in their underwear, dropping student scores, colleges censoring speakers at an alarming rate, the end of energy independence, a ban on gas cars in CA in the same week that the Governor decrees that people should abstain from charging their cars during “peak” hours, a more volatile Middle East and Straight of Taiwan and a growing and strengthening China around the world.
Nice job Wally, now go eat your bugs that you sautéed on your electric stove as you sit in your hot house that has no A/C.
HullBobby,
Well said.
HullBobby,
Dont forget, the Biden admin wants to ban gas stoves, portable gas generators, and now water heaters.
Someone call the burn unit for Wally! Well done, Hullbobby.
Wally, the progressives you so fondly recall are no more. The latest crop of Machiavelian criminals traveling under that label are a different beast entirely.
He is very wrong, but that is why Wally is still flipping hamburgers at McDonalds.
“We progressives brought you:
– 40 hour work week
– weekends off for most folks”
That is a myth.
Those benefits, along with higher wages and increased buying power, were created by America’s industrialists, e.g., Henry Ford. It is they who created, for the first time in history, a widespread, well-off middle class.
Those progressives were not these progressives. And social security???lmao
Good point Tom. These progressives are not even progressives. They are straight up communists.
silly little clown. Wealth brought you all those things. When Haiti had an earthquake and the resulting destruction leveled nearly all houses (really hovels), many progressive clowns said it proved the righteous of progressive clown building codes. The reality to anyone with a working brain – if Haiti had the BEST building codes in the world, it would not have mattered. Haiti did not have the wealth to build compliant structures. Pick any of the items in the stupid list above, and progressive clowns did not benevolently bequeath them until Americans were wealthy enough to afford the comforts on their own. Child labor the same thing, it was not until most children were not working (with the exceptions of farms – which still exists) that progressive clowns passed that regulation. When kids needed to work to feed the family, no progressive clown swooped in to save the day – because kids would have starved to death.
Wealth, not progressive clowns, provide comforts.
A Mercedes S-class sedan is very safe car, if progressive clowns passed regulation that required all the safety features in a Mercedes S-class sedan, think of how many lives could be saved!
Why don’t progressive clowns that have “given” Americans so much, “give” Americans safe cars?
Because they didn’t, and they can’t.
Rise above your ignorant and simplistic understanding of the world.
While it is healthy for our democracy to hold Joe Biden to account, I think the biggest benefit of all this is that the media establishment has been utterly destroyed. Musk buying Twitter and making it a free speech platform was their final death blow.
The US is lost…start looking for a new country!
don’t worry the Republicans will GLADLY give criminal Democrats more trillions just like a couple weeks ago!
Listen to Vivek Ramaswamy…he gets it….it is THEM against US! Democrats PUSH their insane agenda to distract their multi-trillion dollar stealing! Take a drive to Utica NY or Camden NJ to see your future.
The decline and fall of the US Empire…