Below is my column in The Hill on the growing list of aliases used by President Joe Biden in prior years and the unsuccessful efforts of public interest groups and Congress to gain access to the emails. There may be innocent explanations of why the President used aliases to send information to Hunter Biden. For example, one message concerning Ukraine also mentioned his plans to go to Delaware. However, in the midst of a major corruption scandal, there is an obvious reason why Congress must be able to review these emails. It will win if this goes to court but the Biden Administration is still delaying release. In the meantime, the President has established a “war room” to deal with impeachment. Yet, he can forestall any impeachment inquiry by simply releasing his financial and email records. If these records show legitimate transactions and innocent messaging, as claimed, they will exonerate the President. In other words, this is a war that can be avoided by simple transparency. Conversely, using White House staff to cover up any wrongdoing could make this situation far worse for the President.
Here is the column:
Last year, at an event at the White House, former president Barack Obama jokingly referred to the current president as “Vice President Biden.” At the time, it was described as the more popular politician “reminding Biden who’s boss.” Yet, this needling carried an added bite, given reports of Obama’s private doubts about Biden’s judgment.
In 2020, Obama had famously warned fellow Democrats, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f— things up.”
Obama is now being asked to bail Biden out from another debacle of his own making, going back to his time in Obama’s administration. Various committees and private groups are seeking more than 5,000 emails from Biden in which he used an array of aliases during the Obama administration.
Under the Presidential Records Act, Obama has 30 days to bar the release of the emails and to help shield his former vice president in a growing corruption scandal over the influence-peddling operation run by Biden’s son, Hunter.
Recently, it was learned that Joe Biden went by a variety of code names and false names, including Robin Ware. Robert L. Peters, JRB Ware, Celtic and “The Big Guy.” House investigators believe that may only be a partial list. For many Americans, it is understandably unnerving to learn that their president has more aliases than Anthony Weiner. However, while the number seems unusual, the practice is not unprecedented.
Top officials have used such aliases in the past for emails, including former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch. During the Obama administration, the practice was defended by then-White House press secretary Jay Carney, who assured the public that any such emails would still be subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and congressional inquiries. He added, “We do not use and should not use private email accounts for work.”
The problem is that there was “work” being discussed on some of these emails, including official foreign travel plans and the hiring of associates of Hunter for high-level positions. More importantly, some emails are relevant to the clients of Biden’s son. Biden has previously lied that he knew nothing of these dealings, but these emails could reveal even more about his knowledge and involvement.
Congress is investigating more than $20 million that was transferred to members of the Biden family from foreign sources through a labyrinth of shell companies and accounts. Even the Washington Post has been forced to admit that the president has lied in the past about aspects of Hunter’s dealings. Devon Archer recently confirmed that Joe Biden’s long-standing denial of any knowledge of their business dealings is “categorically false.”
Most reporters now admit that Hunter was clearly engaging in influence-peddling, Washington’s favorite form of corruption. Yet in the face of this growing evidence, Democrats insist that Hunter and his associates were merely selling “the illusion of influence,” not actual access or influence over Joe Biden.
Obviously, these foreign clients believed that they were buying more than an illusion for the millions they spent. One corrupt Ukrainian figure said that Hunter Biden was dumber than his dog, but that he paid him anyway for access to his father.
There are indications that these clients did receive more than illusion. For example, Archer described how Burisma executives were worried about the anti-corruption investigation being conducted by Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. Archer testified that Hunter immediately “called D.C.” in response to the plea. Shokin was later fired at Joe Biden’s demand.
The House Oversight Committee has hit a wall in trying to get material from the Bidens and the administration on these past dealings. It has also learned that the president communicated with this son through alias accounts. That led them to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which has resisted the release of the emails. It has been over a year since a group requested these documents, and the NARA review is expected to take years at this pace — until after the next election.
Both Biden and Obama could easily allow the release of these emails to Congress. After all, the use of aliases has been defended on the basis that these emails are trivial or personal matters. If so, transparency will put all the allegations to rest. If it is not true, it would mean that Biden was using false names to convey important information to third parties, and the question would be why.
In one email from Hunter’s laptop, Biden associate James Gilliar explained the rules to Tony Bobulinski, then a business partner of Hunter. He was not to speak of the former veep’s connection to any transactions. “Don’t mention Joe being involved,” he wrote, “it’s only when u [sic] are face to face, I know u [sic] know that but they are paranoid.” Instead, they referred to the Big Guy or Celtic.
Likewise, a trusted FBI source said that a Ukrainian businessman had said that he paid a bribe to Joe Biden, but noted that they were told to avoid using his name and to transfer the money through a complex series of accounts.
Moreover, the request of Congress followed the discovery that staffers had used Biden’s fake government account, Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov, to send a message about meeting then-Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko with a cc to Hunter Biden.
Once again, there may be innocent explanations for such emails and the use of the alias. However, given the other evidence of corruption and influence peddling, it seems obvious that the information must be reviewed.
That brings us to the confrontation with NARA. The agency could rely on the PRA statute to enforce the refusal of Biden and Obama to allow Congress to review the evidence. Biden actually is supposed to be consulted twice under the law: as the former vice president and as the current president. Both Joe Bidens are likely to have the same negative reaction to exposing his emails.
However, special access to presidential records is expressly allowed under the PRA “to…Congress” and “to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, to any committee…if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available.” A refusal would deny Congress critical evidence into a corruption scandal and also a possible impeachment inquiry.
The added resistance to the review of the emails only adds to an already strong case for an impeachment inquiry. Such an inquiry does not mean that impeachment is inevitable. Rather, there is enough evidence to warrant an investigation into whether the Bidens were selling the illusion or the reality of influence. By acting under its impeachment authority, the power of Congress would be at its apex in forcing these disclosures and finding answers on the alleged corrupt practices.
None of this should be necessary, of course. Biden could remove these obstacles instantly to assure the public that his aliases were innocent, even playful, pseudonyms. “JRB Ware” may be a pun, but it is not necessarily the next “Carlos Danger.” We simply do not know, but there should be no reason why the president would not want to clear the record, particularly in an election year.
Otherwise, the effort to withhold this evidence could itself prove damaging, if material evidence of corruption or false statements are found. As Obama would say, one should never underestimate that prospect when it comes to his former vice president.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law for George Washington University.
Jared??? Was Jared in on these e mails???
Please help us by connecting the dots
I’m inept? I’m well versed on today’s topic.
I’ll wait here patiently while you connect Vice president Biden’s secret email accounts to Jared Kushner.
Where is your “incontrovertible proof”, bug face? Red herrings dont swim ‘round here, yard man.
The defaults for the trolls are Fox and Trump (the Big Guy or the family).
When you take bribes, you can’t have transparency. It doesn’t work. And Merrick Garland and (especially) Chris Wray understand this. Team Biden will fight this for as long as it takes. They have no choice. Thank you, Jonathan, for an excellent article.
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence.
Thomas Jefferson
This was supposed to be the WH admin that would bring back “norms,” “adults” back in the room, and “transparency?”
What kind of “norms” are we going to see once the Republican candidate is confirmed? Will Biden debate that person?
I’m more and more convinced that if the GOP were to nominate a ham sandwich other than Trump, the ham sandwich would beat Biden hands down.
Republicans should let this play along. No impeachment until after the November 2024 Election and before the 2025 Inauguration.
A Hunter and Other’s Convictions can come after the 2025 Inauguration.
This way, the GOP guarantees that Joe is the 2024 Candidate with VP Harris (Unless the DNC drops them both before Nov. 2024), a loosing ticket, and after 2025 Joe can not Pardon Hunter or Himself.
Maximum Pain – No Deals. Like Trump’s persecution.only with actual validity.
Seriously how could a putz like that get into Yale Law? And how is it no one at Yale got skewered for that pay off? Why couldn’t the Biden’s just use the time honored payoff in the form of lectures instead of convoluted bank accounts, aliases and assorted meshugas….it’s the Presidential Family that couldn’t shoot straight.
The complicated labyrinth of LLCs and bank accounts slows down detection and gives the media the excuse of not covering it.
It also befuddles many voters who cannot unravel the ball of yarn to get to the facts.
Ok JT
Dont tell me you’re buying that “there was also a family cookout mentioned in that email”. That is the cover…remember what Jim said…plausible deniability was a core strategy of the biden enterprise.
Dont forget, loving dad joe talked to hunter on the phone “literally every day”. Why would he need an email reminder as well???
I am looking forward the mental acrobatics these uninvited nutjobs here are going to go thru between now and when biden resigns.
Very similar to the “archer was just at the White House for his sons science project”. Problem is the admin had already refused to release visitor logs that were for purely personal reasons. Ostensibly that means archer’s visit wasn’t purely personal.
I hesitate to put it out there, but many readers of Turley’s blog have already said it — how long before the American equivalent to the death squads of Central and South America come out and begin doing ‘their thing’ against a long list of those what are systematically tearing down our constitutional rights ?
Ah, how about, No.
A few have commented about a French like revolution involving a guillotine, most of us do not want that kind of outcome.
Things like that tend to spiral out of control and anyone and everyone who is even looks like whatever, gets shot in the streets.
YNOT
GFY
Destroying the left By Any Means Possible is anti-terrorism.
You want to be an anti-terrorist, dontcha?
In this I totally agree with the professor. The question is do any of us believe that the current president carries on only innocent communications with his son and business partners. I would say that for the most part we would answer no. What we do know is that a lot of federal and state politicians do not like their activities scrutinized under FOIA or any other sunlight provisions. We KNOW that these various accounts are there to make it more difficult to do searches of the archives databases. We all get email accounts that pile up if we change providers or leave one employer and join another but somehow I don’t believe that is the issue here. Nor are any incriminating e-mails likely to show up if we search JoeBiden@influencepeddling.com.
Things are hidden for a reason like under the table payments, or cash payments so so don’t have to pay social security withdrawals for certain employees (Ask certain Clinton appointees about that ) or make payments to call girls in cash and not on your credit card account or unexplained hotel room rentals or to hide corruption and influence peddling. As one would say Silence implies Consent, then hiding implies deceit or questionable legal actions.
I don’t think this falls under National Security or some sort of official secrets act (aka Britain).
One can only assume these actions are questionable or illegal unless light is shown upon them and proven to be innocent. I think that this might even be considered obstruction of justice, especially as defined by the democrats.
Thankfully, the wheels are coming off this bizarre and embarrassing crime network.
The cockroaches scramble when the light (truth) is turned on. The attempts at cover up and diversion would be entertaining if the consequences were not so dire.
The complicity of our state media is disturbing.
When one or more conspire it is no longer a theory.
“[T]he NARA review is expected to take years at this pace — until after the next election.”
But the Trump show trials must take place during the election season.
Use a pliant media, 51 spies, bureaucrats and FBI agents, Zuckerbucks, and cowed social media to manipulate the public and steal an election. Been there; done that. For 2024, let’s try a new tactic: Politicize the law.
It gets a little confusing but bribery and influence peddling are not the same, except for those rich men North of Richmond.
So, according to some foreign entities dealing with Hunter, “Hunter Biden was dumber than his dog,”. According to Joe Biden, Hunter is the ‘smartest man he has ever known’. So what does that say about Joe? And what does that say about Obama, Holder and the rest of the Obama administration in terms of dealing with Joe?
Obama claiming executive privilege over Joe’s documents that would incriminate Joe in a criminal enterprise is tantamount to Obama recognizing, condoning and possibly participating in those activities.
So let it be written….so let it be done!!
Why doesn’t Bob Woodward investigate Biden, or does he only care about abuses of power when they are committed by a Republican? Surely, he could find something worse than Watergate if he really wanted to.
Your guy is a crook and you know it, lololol.
But you love abortion and warmongering and pedophilia and crime and being china’s cokholster, so you try to divert attention from your criminal, lolol.
Biden is as rotten on the outside as he is on the inside.
“There may be innocent explanations of why the President used aliases to send information to Hunter Biden.”
Your example, Professor, isn’t such an “explanation”. There is only one reason Joe used those aliases and we all know what that is.
Stop trying to smear our President.
It is perfectly normal for an elected official to take steps to avoid public scrutiny of their official acts. Likewise to create dozens of shell LLCs and bank accounts in the names of your minor family members into which foreign entities can deposit funds.
I wish people would stop insinuating that a 13 year old would have no reason to receive thousands in wire transfers from an energy company without performing any work or service.
Totally nothing to see here.
The other obamaites false names need to be named. If the VP was running a bribery scheme, what were the others doing?
What false names is biden using now?
President.
“President”
DD: Note that the suit filed by the Southeastern Legal Fund under the FOIA to force the National Archives to disclose those emails was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Shoule make for some interesting chatter in Atlanta!
If these emails were indeed innocent, Biden would of course allow the release. In his heart JT knows very well – as anyone with common sense – that the emails will give more evidence of the Biden family’s corruption. The refusal leaves Congress with no choice but to start impeachment inquiries.
In the meantime, we get a televised circus in Fulton County with a prosecutor making accusations against Trump magnified by the main stream media in an effort to undermine his campaign. The impeachment inquiry will be reported on, but I bet it will receive only a fraction of the time granted the Trump trial.
DD,
Only the Democrat party could bring the US down to banana republic status.
And they have. Terrifying times.