I have previously written how the level of advocacy and bias has created a danger of a de facto state media in the United States. It is possible to have such a system by consent rather than coercion. Given that long concern, a letter drafted by the Biden White House Legal Counsel’s Office was striking in a call for major media to “ramp up their scrutiny” of House Republicans “for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies.”
The message is curious and concerning, particularly in the aggressive role being played by the White House Counsel’s office under Stuart Frank Delery.
First, as I have previously noted, the White House is now actively involved in pushing narratives and denying factual allegations linked to the Biden corruption scandal. That could create Nixonian-type allegations of the abuse of office in the use of federal employees to counter impeachment efforts.
Second, the letter was drafted by Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office. So White House lawyers are now enlisting the media in a counter media campaign against impeachment? The letter removes any pretense of separation between the Biden personal legal team and the White House Counsel’s office. Sams has been the most aggressive White House official in actively swatting down allegations of corruption as well as the President’s documents investigation.
Third, the letter calls for the media to actively support the White House account. The draft of the letter is a call for what I have previously criticized as “advocacy journalism” where reporters frame stories to advance their own viewpoints or values.
Sams wrote “[c]overing impeachment as a process story – Republicans say X, but the White House says Y – is a disservice to the American public who relies on the independent press to hold those in power accountable.” In other words, media should (and it has for years) decline to give equal attention to allegations against the Bidens and instead tell the public what the truth is.
It is a call for media to tailor the coverage to push the position of the White House against this effort to ramp up the investigation into corruption. It is an approach that is already embraced by many in the media. That was evident in the meltdown of Washington Post columnist Philip Bump recently when he was confronted by countervailing evidence in the Biden scandals. Before storming out, Bump chastised the interviewer for not just taking his work as the “putative expert” and said that he had enough “because you don’t listen to the press. I’m sitting here and I’m telling you, you’re wrong about these things, and you don’t listen, and you continue to insist upon things that are, you know, parsing of language.”
That appears the approach pushed by Sams, who specifically references Facebook and Fox as enemies of the truth: “in the modern media environment, where every day liars and hucksters peddle disinformation and lies everywhere from Facebook to Fox, process stories that fail to unpack the illegitimacy of the claims on which House Republicans are basing all their actions only serve to generate confusion, put false premises in people’s feeds, and obscure the truth.”
The letter has an uncomfortable feeling of marching orders to the media. This is a media that followed the lead of Biden associates in spreading the false story that the Hunter laptop was Russian disinformation.
This is the media that refused to acknowledge the authenticity of the laptop until only recently — long after the presidential election.
This was the media that only recently admitted that President Biden has been lying about denials related to his son’s influence peddling.
Yet, the White House is now calling for the media to again form the wagons around the President and attack the impeachment effort as it did the laptop and the corruption investigation.
Once again, what is most disturbing is that the White House shows no reluctance or concern in making such an open pitch to the press. There is a sense of license in using the media as an extension of the White House press push. The fact that this is a representative of the White House counsel’s office is particularly chilling. This is not the press office but the counsel for the President calling on media to form a unified front against the Republicans and the impeachment inquiry.
The letter is an alarming erosion of separation of the White House Counsel’s office from the Biden defense team. It also confirms an active and aggressive role of White House officials in swatting down allegations against the President. While the staff obviously is not expected to be neutral on impeachment, there is a careful line that past White House counsels have walked between fulfilling their duties to the office as opposed to the officeholder.
“Marching Orders: White House Letter Tells Media To “Ramp Up Their Scrutiny” In Response to Impeachment Inquiry”
– Professor Turley
_______________
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
– William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987
_________________________________
To which branch of government did the Founders assign the power of corrective action, aka Judicial Review.
Answer: The Judicial Branch.
Elections have been subsumed by the communists in the guise of the democrat party.
Freedom of the press now means freedom of propagation of communist propaganda and indoctrination.
The natural and God-given rights, freedoms, privileges, and immunities revealed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights have been egregiously abused and turned around on Americans, to their detriment.
It is long past time for the judicial branch to effect vigorous, real-time judicial review and to put America back on the Constitution.
Desperate times involving desperate crimes by communists, such as fixing the FBI, fixing the free press, and fixing elections, require desperate reactions and desperate corrections.
The MAJORITY of the Supreme Court must now ignore the minority and act, in these desperate times, as the “Constitution Faction” to re-implement American fundamental law.
The MAJORITY of the Supreme Court must act from Albuquerque to Washington, D.C., to forcibly impose the dominion of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in America.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Power of Judicial Review https://www.justia.com/constitutional-law/the-us-supreme-court-and-judicial-review/
The Supreme Court can strike down any law or other action by the legislative or executive branch that violates the Constitution. This power of judicial review applies to federal, state, and local legislative and executive actions. The Constitution does not specifically provide for the power of judicial review. It arises instead from an 1803 decision known as Marbury v. Madison.
– Justia
_______
Judicial Review in the United States
Annotation
The legitimacy of judicial review and the judge’s approach to judicial review are discussed.
Abstract
The doctrine of judicial review holds that the courts are vested with the authority to determine the legitimacy of the acts of the executive and the legislative branches of government.
– Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
“First, as I have previously noted, the White House is now actively involved in pushing narratives and denying factual allegations linked to the Biden corruption scandal. That could create Nixonian-type allegations of the abuse of office in the use of federal employees to counter impeachment efforts.”
Don’t kid yourself. When WE do it, then that makes it okay. “Something something Muh Democracy Is Under Threat!” is the New Hotness, sort of like “Muh National Security” was for the 9/11 generation.
Darren Smith, hilarious. As each lemming dropped I pictured them each carrying a placard. New York Times, The Washington Post, Vox, Salon Magazine, and The Guardian. The promised land is not far away but they all refuse to dig for the truth.
A few years ago, I saw a video depicting antifa type youth crybullies walking down a Portland, OR street with their signs and bad behavior. Then, the above music (starting at 0:19 on the counter) popped into my head. Afterward, the song became sort of an Ohrwurm for me whenever I see this type of behavior.
I first posted the video in the Washington College article, yet it was sadly applicable to this one as well.
Also, ThinkItThrough, in the actual video game, you can assign each of the lemmings roles, digger being one of them and the game also includes the ability to make them into blockers to block traffic. It is up to you as their handler to use them to whatever end you want and they will obey, including making them explode if you desire. Better yet, there is a Nuke setting for when the lemmings have exhausted their usefullness and you can get rid of them all at once when they become inconvenient. They are the perfect slave of convenience to politicians and despots.
Jonathan: McCarthy was forced to bring an impeachment inquiry against Biden. He didn’t have any choice if he wanted to keep his speakership. Matt Gaetz made that clear in his threat to challenge McCarthy’s leadership. McCarthy knew that if he didn’t act the MAGA crew in the House would lynch him from the nearest rafter.
There are two problems with the current push for impeachment of Biden. First, McCarthy faces a procedural problem. Like Pelosi, McCarthy announced the impeachment without a House vote. When Pelosi tried that back in 2020 the DOJ issued an opinion letter indicating an impeachment inquiry required a House vote to be valid. That opinion letter still applies. McCarthy knows this and he knows he might not get the voters he needs. There are a number of House GOP moderates who don’t think there is sufficient evidence to justify an impeachment inquiry.
Second, in your column you cite the CNN article but you neglect to cite the last sentence: “The Republican House-led investigation in Biden has yet to provide any direct evidence that the president financially benefited from Hunter Biden’s career overseas”. That’s the problem. Neither you nor Chairman Comer have produced any evidence to justify an impeachment inquiry that requires proof of “high crimes and misdemeanors”. That’s the key. The Congressional Integrity Project points out: “After months of political stunts, dozens of hearings, transcribed interviews, and memos, and despite hours on Fox peddling conspiracy theories, Comer and his MAGA crew have failed to find a single shred of evidence linking President Biden to any of their lurid accusations…”. Frank Bowman, the author of “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump” says: “Biden’s Republican pursuers have got exactly zero, zip, bupkis, or any matter that might be impeachable”.
We’ll have to watch the progress of the House impeachment inquiry. If McCarthy can’t get the votes to justify an investigation you will have to eat your words!
Say it Dennis. Repeat it here.
“Shokin had to go because he wasn’t investigating any corruption. Shokin wasn’t investigating Burisma. Joe knew he was not investigating Burisma. Joe knew Hunter was on the board of Burisma. Joe wanted someone in there who would investigate Burisma.”
Say it or forever be shown for the big mouth Liar that we all know you are.
And then tell us where you are going to hide when they get the phone records showing Joe received a call on the day in question, from Dubai.
“you will have to eat your words!”
Like we don’t remember all the words you’ve had to eat. You need to go on a diet!
Apparently, it just keeps you fed so you can keep up the keyboard diarrhea…
Dennis McIntyre, McCarthy us indeed calling for an inquiry. Impeachments have always been proceeded by an inquiry conducted by an outside special council, However, there was no such investigation allowed by the Democrats before they impeached Donald Trump. As more information is revealed by the Republicans, Garland is going to be forced to appoint a special council. Just as with the Hunter Biden investigation he will go kicking and screaming but he will be forced to appoint a special council for a Joe Biden investigation. Just as with the appointment of a special council in the Hunter case he will act to protect his reputation by eventually doing the same concerning the Joe Biden relationships with Ukraine and China. You may think that this evaluation is off base but then again, you never thought that Garland would appoint a special council to investigate Hunter. Dear Dennis, in this present age there are amazing treatments for myopia.
TiT,
I am going to wait and see whom Garland appoints as special council.
Will it be a truly third party, independent?
Or another one of his biased lackeys who will cover for the Biden Crime Family?
If the latter, Garland only proves how much America has become a third world banana republic.
With each passing day, the DNC gets us that much closer to a French like Revolution.
Dennis – You quote CNN: “The Republican House-led investigation in Biden has yet to provide any direct evidence that the president financially benefited from Hunter Biden’s career overseas”. What is “direct evidence”? Not “twisty” evidence? Bank records showing millions going to the Biden Crime Family from foreign sources – isn’t that evidence? Testimony that Burisma wanted help from “D.C.” to get rid of Shokin, testimony that Hunter called Joe, followed by Biden’s admitted, astonishing interference in Ukraine’s affairs to get one of their prosecutors fired, using the leverage of our desperately wanted military aid – isn’t that evidence? What do you need? It is not necessary that money flow “directly” to Joe. If he acts with the intent that money flow to his family, that is enough to establish bribery.
Dennis, Gigi, Fishwings, etc. We remember, you held onto CRT is not being taught in schools, the Steele Dossier is the gospel truth, the Hunter laptop is Russian disinformation, they’re not shadow banning people at Twitter, they’re not presenting pornography to ten year olds, young boys are not being castrated, the FBI did nothing to investigate a President of The United States, babies are not being aborted at nine months and finally that the press is not being controlled by the Democratic Party. We have not forgotten who you are and the things you have said in the past. I present this litany of your misrepresentations in order to show any newcomer to this blog the documented proof of the kind of people you are. Amoral is the description that most apply applies.
TiT,
Amoral.
Well said.
But they bend, twist, spin their version of morals into something grotesque to normal people.
Amen Think!!!
Why should we be surprised that the Whitehouse sent their instructions to the propaganda arm of the Democratic party. I am sure that if one would search the archives of the Third Reich one would find many comparable demands of the press. If the Chinese government can tell the press what to print or not print what’s wrong with the Biden administration doing the same thing? Some would say that such a statement is pure hyperbole but it doesn’t take a genius to see that the jackboots are on the ground.
TiT,
The parallels to Nazi Germany, Mao’s culture revolution and Stalin’s Soviet Union to the DNC are disturbing.
Which do they more closely resemble? Hitler’s Brown Shirts or Mao’s Red Guard?
TiT,
Something Whimiscalmama said that I think we need to call out, calling things for what they are.
The MSM is the propaganda arm of the DNC or if you will the DNC Pravda.
And as we have seen on college campuses, the so-called hecklers veto protesters shutting down points of view they do not like, are the DNC’s Brown Shirts or Red Guard.
We need to start calling things for what they are.
Pravda, Brown Shirts/Nazis, Red Guard, Stalinists all associated with the DNC.
Call them what they are.
Dennis, Gigi, Fishwings, etc.
Say this out loud.
“Shokin had to go because he wasn’t investigating any corruption. Shokin wasn’t investigating Burisma. Joe knew he was not investigating Burisma. Joe knew Hunter was on the board of Burisma. Joe wanted someone in there who would investigate Burisma.”
Give me a break people.
This is your story so I want you to say it out loud.
Reply here if you agree this is what happened.
Thats what I thought. Will none of you stand by your assertions???
Keep your fantasies to yourself, lawn boy. Truth hurts don’t it?
This is the story you are asking us all to believe. Say it out loud. Repeat it back to us.
The DNC propagandists are in full force on the good professor’s blog.
They must of gotten the memo a bit late though.
Time for removing the Trolls and Bots….it is one thing to offer a differing opinion or make assertions of fact…..but folks (Turley and his Mod’s) bald faced lying, posting gibberish that is patently false, and generally trying to create a fuss…..seriously detracts from the Blog.
If folks do not care to post using their actual. name then I would offer they might not be prepared to offer meaningful posts for consideration.
Show them the door….and let the door swing shut even if it encounters their behinds on their way out.
So just using ones’ real name makes one the arbiter of truth and fact?
True, the crazies come out of the woodwork here (and Ralph you dont make a good impression, might call you a crank) and are so off the subject that its clear to any thinking person that what takes place here is a circus. Its a rare poster who has anything of interest to say here.
Ralph Chappell, are some of the better, more logical comments on the good professor’s blog.
There are a lot of interesting comments here.
I have had some very good ones with Estovir, TiT, Lin, S. Meyer, and others.
Ralph does just so happen to be spot on, calling out the various trolls on the good professor’s blog. Some of their comments are not even theirs but they pass them on as if they were their own.
Other times they have been caught in lies and called out, only to continue to repeat them ad nausea.
One has altered reality so badly it was easily pointed out with a few simple facts from various sources to include Obama’s own economic advisor.
Generally the only ones making this place a circus is our leftist friends. Just read some of their comments.
And, at the same time, I have noticed that we are not seeing some of the more reasonable commentary that we used to see.
“Its a rare poster who has anything of interest to say here.”—Fromme
And thank you for not increasing that number!
Self awareness is a rare commodity as well.
Some of us who’ve been posting at this site for YEARS learned long ago what a mistake it is to post comments under their real names and thus be subjected to all manners of libelous lies that can be quite injurious to one’s reputation.
If you’re posting under your real name — and I do mean IF — and haven’t yet been subjected to injurious libel here, the only reason I can think of is that you’ve not posted anything worth being attacked — which is odd, because there are some people posting comments/replies here that would attack someone for claiming that the sky is blue, grass is green, or Mitt Romney is a mammal (although a good argument can be made that Romney is, in fact, a reptile).
He’s a snake if there ever was one
Oh, you must be with the CCP, ok I understand, that’s same as what China & the UN/WHO/WEF demand what you are saying.
The only thing shocking about this is that the White House moron felt it necessary to issue a statement to the lapdog media about this, apparently thinking that they haven’t already been sufficiently trained to act as Joetard’s obedient guard dogs. One would expect by now that the White House crooks would only have to drop a quick mention to one of their controlled media minions — such as ABC’s “Chief Washington Correspondent” (LOL) Jonathan Karl — over drinks at some shabby DC tavern and leave it to him to spread the instructions among the other clowns of the media circus.
It would be SO easy to do it that way that it raises the question of WHY the democrat White House and sleazy democrat media jokers would purposefully WANT to reinforce the public idea that they are working together. Don’t they know that everybody has ALREADY known for YEARS that they are working together on the same team? — with Murdoch media playing the part of the “opposition” the way that the Washington Generals play the team that pretends to oppose the Harlem Globtrotters, or the way that the republican party pretends to oppose the democrat party?
I recall catching a rant from Rush Limbaugh wherein he was going on about ‘corrupt’ media. I thought to myself ‘this guy is full of partisan BS”.
Then came (just enough to show the point):
-Clinton and his ‘inappropriate relationships and lying under oath. The lack of objective response from the media and women Democrats was deafening.
-The Democrats (always projecting themselves as ‘for the common man’) and their media smiling and unquestioning supporting of the Patriot Act was shocking.
-Obama media fanfare for his Nobel prize that even he indicated he was uncertain as to why he got the award.
-How the media kept the country in the grip of the wonders of Obamacare while at the same time kept the country in near total ignorance of the details.
-How the media played up Obama’s Iran deal that accomplished nothing of substance.
-How the media played up Joe Biden laying the law down to Ukraine over their Burisma corruption prosecutor by withholding 1 billion $. And now we seem to know why.
You could go on forever. The media has let Americans down and degraded themselves to the point they are no more than nonobjective partisan stooges that pat themselves on the back and hand out awards to one another. And they wonder why their ratings are low? Stupid people don’t know they are stupid.
Jonathan: Yesterday Speaker McCarthy announced he was launching an impeachment inquiry of Pres. Biden. And why are you upset? Because the WH is finally pushing back against the unfounded allegations by the MAGA led House. Many of Biden’s supporters have said the WH has remained silent far too long.
Your claim against the Ian Sam’s letter is like the pot calling the kettle black. During the Pelosi led 2 impeachment inquiries DJT loudly complained–going on Fox and Twitter (now X) to complain about the Dem led “witch hunt”. He ordered WH officials and other members of his administration to go on TV to fight against the impeachments. He got his allies in Congress to do the same. But now you bizarrely claim the Biden WH is giving the media “marching orders”…”using the media as an extension of the White House press push”… that you call “particularly chilling”.
Funny you didn’t complain when Fox, your employer, provided an echo chamber for DJT’s push back against his two impeachment investigations. In fact, Fox hosts provided talking points for the Trump WH in fighting the impeachments. You wrote columns condemning the second impeachment as a “snap impeachment”. You didn’t call that push back “chilling” at the time. Seems you are once again applying a double standard. I suppose you think a fair fight is to require your opponent to fight with one arm tied behind him. That’s not going to happen. The Biden WH is finally fighting back against the McCarthy witch hunt with all means available to it. All’s fair in love and war”…and I might add politics.
Dennis, please join FishWings in the dunce chair, and let the grownups discuss this.
Seen any scary booger pickers at your favorite restaurant lately?
“Because the WH is finally pushing back”
They were hoping to avoid the RICO charges that are inevitably to come once he is convicted. You know, the conspiracy to cover it up…
Dennis Does your conscience still even quiver? All’s fair in love and war and you add politics. Allegedly a Dem crime infested coup was attempted against DT. Do you recall that DT was impeached on lies and manufactured so-called evidence? The FBI, CIA, DOJ, Dems in Congress knew it was lies, and that has been established. Remember the Steel Dossier?
Remember Russia Collusion charges? I would still allege that that said Coup against DT was headed up via Obama, Biden, and on down. Time and disclosures will tell the tale — evidentially. Now your Dem Socialists big guy JB is going to be removed via impeachment, resignation, or the 25th amendment, and or possibly by natural cause death. Yep, he is an old fart and death is the wind and big derecho coming. You know what the 25th says, about incompetence, and you know Joe is cognitively incompetent. You may not acknowledge, it but you know it. Naddler, Schiff, et als, stood on the floor of the House and waved papers contending they had the evidence and knew that was lies. 51 people signed off on the lies, and those should be prosecuted. I can only imagine you screaming when these people are carried to GITMO for their Tribunal prosecutions. As RR said, “Facts, they can be stubborn things”. To the chagrin of all you Libs, DT will be reelected, and some justice will finally prevail. J Biden and Kam will be out by 12-31-23. Now you Carpe Diem, big man for the Dems.
Ummm…but the allegations against President Trump have been proven to be fabricated and based on lies (Hillary-funded dossier anyone?).
Do you not see the difference between getting your spokespeople to appear in the media to put forth your point of view, and asking the media to BE your spokespeople while also asking them to carry out an investigation against your political enemies as they – at your request – squelch sports of those enemies’ investigation of you?
Evidence:
– Multiple trips by Hunter and his business partners on AF2
– Bank transfers with more than $20MM to the Bidens family with no expertise
– Bank Records Reveal Payments to the Bidens from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine
– Hundreds of Bank Inquiries into the Biden Family
– Texts from Hunter telling family members they are lucky they don’t have to give half of their money to Joe
– Biden family members who did NO work recieving millions from foreign entities.
– 20 Biden shell companies to manuever and hide the funds
– Joe Biden on tape telling the world how he got an investigator fired by threatening to withhold billions of US dollars
– IRS Agents testifying to the obstruction by the Justice Department on investigating tax issues for the family
– FARA violations
– Joe Biden owning 3 huge homes off of a Senate salary
– A laptop full of proof
Only an idiot would suggest there’s no evidencek
Why not consider the letter as an obstruction of justice? Or tampering of some sort?
Because Sams is the official spokesperson for WH Office of Legal Counsel. .. and, one can assume, the U.S. Dept. of Justice.
*it would be like the kettle calling the pot black.
God should come down to earth and make things how he thinks they should be.
Perhaps a foolish reply, but what makes you believe he has not already done so?
He didnt because he doesn’t have to. Period.
Its callled Bribery, and its been articulated many times.
Keeo repeating the incantation, who knows, it could change reality. Lord knows it does for you and Gigi
10/21/2020 USA Today:
“While former Vice President Joe Biden oversaw foreign policy in Ukraine, his son Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma Holdings, the largest gas company in the fledgling democracy.
Despite a recently concluded investigation by Senate Republicans that found no wrongdoing by the Bidens, claims to the contrary have continued to circulate on social media.
“VP Biden threatened to withhold 1 billion dollars from Ukraine to save his son’s job,” reads a meme posted to Facebook by Secure America Now. The meme has been shared more than 9,000 times since Oct. 18.
Secure America Now did not respond to a request from USA TODAY for comment.
As European and American diplomats pressed Ukraine to clean up its corruption, they focused on Shokin’s leadership of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which he took over in February 2015.
Mike Carpenter, who served as a foreign policy adviser to the then-vice president, told USA TODAY that Shokin “never went after any corrupt individuals at all” and “never prosecuted any high-profile cases of corruption.”
Where did YOU get your information?
Where did YOU get your information?
Shokin, Zlovchevsky, Porochenko, and Archer. Oh, and Joe Biden himself.
Gigi, with them, truth is subjective and reality is arbitrary. Truth isn’t truth. Only want they want to believe is important.
“Truth isn’t what USA today says”—Fishlips
You’re right. Shokin, Zlovchevsky, Poroshenko, Archer are all lying. The USA Today says so.
I attempted to post a lengthy piece from CNN that fact-checked McCarthy, but it didn’t post. Here is the link:
CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/politics/fact-check…
Fact-checking McCarthy’s claims while launching Biden …
But, since you are immune to facts, you’ll still call ME a liar.
CNN are proven liars, as are you. Repeating their lies makes you a liar.
You don’t get it do you? you’re gonna have to do better than CNN. Produce the documents, the videos, anything that substatiates your claims. You cant and you wont.
“But, since you are immune to facts, you’ll still call ME a liar.”
She says, right above the post where I PROVE that she has lied multiple times!
LMAO
OK Fishlips, lets do it the hard way.
Is it true that the inflation rate when Trump left office was 8%?
Because Gigi thinks it is.
She also thinks there are secret oil fired power plants in Texas. Do you?
She also thinks that only Trump could have called the DC guard to the capital on Jan 6. Do you?
She also thinks that 3.3 is LOWER than 3.2. Do you?
She also thinks the economy is in great shape. Do you know how much MORE a 240k house costs at 7% interest vs 3%? Do you know how much income is lost from a small service business with a fleet of 30 vehicles when gas goes from $3 a gallon to $5? Do you know what the poverty rate has done since Biden took office?
Do you know how many jobs the President “creates”?
She also has never heard of Amos Hochstein, or knows his connection to Hunter and Joe Biden. Do you?
Don’t answer these questions and show yourself for the unserious big mouth that you are.
Thats what I thought.
“Gigi, with them, truth is subjective”
Biden’s video is truth?
Victoria Nuland’s letter isn’t truth?
The European letters aren’t truth?
Archer’s statements aren’t truth?
What do you, the fool, rely on?
“What do you, the fool, rely on?”
USA Today
“0/21/2020 USA Today:”
Is USA Today where you read that the inflation rate was 8% when Trump left office??
What was the actual rate, Gigi the Liar?
“Mike Carpenter, who served as a foreign policy adviser to the then-vice president, told USA TODAY that Shokin “never went after any corrupt individuals at all” and “never prosecuted any high-profile cases of corruption. He just kept trying to nail Zlovchevsky.”
Fixed
Anonymous: thank you. Did you see the clip in which Comer ADMITTED they didn’t have any evidence, but HOPED they could get some? Does this leave any room for doubt about their motives being purely political? They don’t evn have proof that Hunter Biden committed any crimes, much less Joe Biden, but that’s not the reason for the “impeachment inquiry”–something Marjorie Taylor Greene promised would happen even before Joe Biden took office–it’s to create a counter-narrative to Trump’s crimes. Back during the Benghazi debacle, McCarthy said the quiet part out loud–he bragged, on camera, that conducting the inquiry caused Hillary Clinton’s approval numbers to go down because it created doubt about her integrity–but how did that turn out?. Did she do anything wrong? According to Wikipedia: ” Despite numerous allegations against Obama administration officials of scandal, cover-up and lying regarding the Benghazi attack and its aftermath, none of the ten investigations found any evidence to support those allegations.” And, BTW, contrary to how Republicans respond to House inquiries, Hillary Clinton was deposed for 11 hours.
Did the absolute lack of any evidence make a difference in the taint placed on Hillary Clinton manufactured by Republicans? No–and that’s the reason for the “impeachment inquiry”–something that should outrage the American public. Also, there’s the fact that McCarthy has been pounded on by House Republicans, and especially, Donald Trump, to “open” an impeachment investigation. They threatened him with removal as Speaker, so being the obedient little boy he is, he complies. Today, they trot out Turley to try to defend the White House suggesting that media ask hard questions like: “what evidence do you have?” –as if there’s anything wrong with doing this. Just more of the Fox theme that mainstream media can’t be trusted and/or that they are controlled by Democrats.
Hey Gigi the Liar
Back with more lies, I see. Why don’t you link the clip where Comer says they have “no evidence”. Because I have heard him many times describe it as a “mountain of evidence”. LIAR
“Anonymous Thank you for validating my delusions again (glug glug glug). Does that feel good? Trump Trump Trump. He left us with 8% inflation (glug glug glug, spit)
Did I do it right daddy?” —–Gigi the Liar
There are many sources, but here’s one from “The New Republic”
Representative James Comer on Tuesday admitted again that he has no basis for his investigation into President Joe Biden.
The Kentucky Republican has led the months-long probe into the Biden family but has been unable to provide any actual evidence linking Biden or his son Hunter to any wrongdoing. Most recently, Comer had threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress if he didn’t hand over a document Comer claimed would prove some of the allegations. House members were finally allowed last week to see a redacted version of the FBI document, which includes an unverified allegation of audio recordings of Biden and Hunter Biden accepting a bribe.
When asked Tuesday morning on Newsmax if the recordings were legitimate, Comer hedged. “I can confirm that the recordings were in the 10-23,” Comer said, referring to an FD 10-23, a form the FBI uses to note unverified information from confidential sources.
Newsmax host Rob Finnerty pressed him to confirm the recordings were real, and Comer replied, “I can confirm they were listed in the 10-23 that the FBI redacted. We don’t know if they’re legit or not.”
After lawmakers saw the redacted version of the form, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said it contained information about Hunter Biden’s time on the board of Ukrainian oil company Burisma Holdings. She also said that the information alleges two unnamed members of the Biden family accepted a $10 million bribe to remove former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin in 2016 to stop a probe into Hunter Biden’s role at the company (a narrative first pushed years ago by Donald Trump, and one refuted by Ukrainian prosecutors and activists).
Comer said he and Senator Chuck Grassley were allowed to see an unredacted version of the form. Grassley called Monday for the FBI to release the unredacted version of the 10-23, claiming it mentioned 17 audio recordings of Biden and Hunter Biden accepting a bribe from a Burisma executive.
Comer also accused the FBI Tuesday of not investigating these claims. Except the FBI did: The bureau, alongside a U.S. attorney appointed by then-President Donald Trump, reviewed the bribery accusation when it was made in 2020 and found it to be unsubstantiated.
Republicans have repeatedly admitted that they have nothing of substance against the Biden family. Grassley even went so far as to say that the party isn’t “interested in whether or not the accusations against Vice President Biden are accurate or not.” But they have begun to turn up the heat in recent weeks, particularly as the federal indictment against Trump seemed to draw closer.
There was another interview yesterday, in which Comer specifically said he “hoped” Republicans could get dirt on Joe Biden. They have nothing.
Keep saying it, incantation girl.
And say now if you agree with this:
“Shokin had to go because he wasn’t investigating any corruption. Shokin wasn’t investigating Burisma. Joe knew he was not investigating Burisma. Joe knew Hunter was on the board of Burisma. Joe wanted someone in there who would investigate Burisma.”
This is what you are saying. and F you’re “sources”, LIAR. Next you’ll be quoting Teen Vogue. POST THE CLIP or admit you’re lying.
LIAR
“There was another interview yesterday, in which Comer specifically said he “hoped” Republicans could get dirt on Joe Biden.”
Post it, you deluded little liar.
So, Gigi–VP Biden threatens to withhold aid if the guy investigating his kid’s company isn’t fired. You’re absolutely right–nothing to see here.
Except that what you say is not true. From USA Today:
“It’s true that Joe Biden leveraged $1 billion in aid to persuade Ukraine to oust its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in March 2016. But it wasn’t because Shokin was investigating Burisma. It was because Shokin wasn’t pursuing corruption among the country’s politicians.
As European and American diplomats pressed Ukraine to clean up its corruption, they focused on Shokin’s leadership of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which he took over in February 2015.
Mike Carpenter, who served as a foreign policy adviser to the then-vice president, told USA TODAY that Shokin “never went after any corrupt individuals at all” and “never prosecuted any high-profile cases of corruption.”
“From USA Today”
Carries more weight than
“From Viktor Shokin”
“From Zlochevsky”
“From Porshenko”
“From Archer”
Listen to yourself. We KNOW (yes, even you know) that Joe Biden knew that his son was on the board of Burisma and making $83k a month. There are state dept memos to that effect. Are you asking us to believe that he wanted Shokin fired because he WAS NOT investigating Zlovchevsky? Come on, say it out loud.
LMAO at Gigi the Liar, who in the face of audacious proof that Bidens people want help from the press, quotes the press, and only the press, as her substantiation for false claims.
Gigi – we have sworn testimony, not a planted story in USA Today, that Burisma was concerned about Shokin’s investigation, and asked Hunter to get help “from DC”. The call was made, per Archer, and we know from Biden’s own mouth that he withheld aid to Ukraine in order to get Shokin fired. This is not enough to start an impeachment inquiry? Trump was impeached for just asking Ukranian officials to just look into Hunter Biden’s influence peddling in Ukraine.
Edwardmahl,
Sworn testimony, the mounting body of evidence is more substantial than anything USA Today publishes.
From CNN, dated today:
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made several unproven claims Tuesday while announcing the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The Republican-led investigation will focus on “allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption” by Biden, related to his family’s overseas business dealings, McCarthy said.
There is clear evidence that Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, leveraged his famous name while pursuing lucrative foreign deals, which might be untoward but isn’t illegal. And he isn’t a government official – the impeachment inquiry is into his father.
House Republicans have not presented any proof that Joe Biden ever profited off his son’s business deals or was influenced while in office by his son’s business dealings.
Republicans argue that opening an inquiry will give them the authority to uncover more information, so it’s possible they’ll find additional facts that are not publicly known at this point. But past impeachment inquiries in recent history have typically started with more publicly available evidence.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the claims at the heart of the impeachment inquiry that McCarthy referenced on Tuesday.
Claim: Biden family and associates got $20 million through shell companies
“Bank records show that nearly $20 million in payments were directed to the Biden family members and associates through various shell companies,” McCarthy said.
Facts First: This is true about Joe Biden’s family and associates, but there is no public evidence to date that the president personally received any money.
Since Republicans took control of the House in January and obtained subpoena power, the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed six banks for information regarding specific Biden family business associates to investigate the money trail behind the Biden family’s foreign business dealings. The committee has not yet subpoenaed bank records from Biden family members themselves.
The phrase “Biden family” is doing a lot of work for McCarthy – because none of these records confirm any direct payments to Joe Biden or show that he was directly involved in Hunter Biden’s business arrangements. Also, some of the $20 million McCarthy was referring to on Tuesday didn’t go to the Biden family but went to business associates of the family as part of their business activities.
What the records have shown is that during and after Joe Biden’s tenure as vice president, Hunter Biden made millions of dollars through complex financial arrangements from private equity deals, legal fees, and corporate consulting in Ukraine, China, Romania and elsewhere.
At times, Obama administration officials, including at the State Department, worried about potential conflict-of-interest problems, because Hunter Biden sat on the board of a prominent Ukrainian energy company, while Joe Biden oversaw US policy toward Ukraine, according to testimony from the Democratic-run impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019.
Claim: An informant alleged the Biden family got a bribe
“Even a trusted FBI informant has alleged a bribe to the Biden family,” McCarthy said.
Facts First: It’s true that an informant gave a tip of this nature to the FBI in 2020, and that the bureau had viewed him as a credible informant. But the underlying allegation that the Biden family was given a bribe is totally unproven; the informant was merely reporting something he said he had been told by a Ukrainian businessman.
The informant met with federal investigators in 2020 and provided information dating back to 2015, according to an internal FBI document made public by Republicans earlier this year over the strong objections of the FBI.
The informant claimed that the CEO of Burisma – the Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden was on the board – had claimed in 2016 that he made two $5 million payments to “the Bidens.” The informant was “not able to provide any further opinion as the veracity” of this claim, according to the FBI document.
Republicans have tried to boost the credibility of this allegation by saying it was in an FBI document. But the document merely memorialized the information provided by the informant – it does not contain proof that the allegations are true. Hunter Biden’s business associate Devon Archer testified to the GOP-run House Oversight Committee earlier this year that he had not been aware of any such payments to the Bidens and characterized Mykola Zlochevsky’s reported claim as an example of the Ukrainian businessman embellishing his influence.
The White House has said these claims had been “debunked for years.” A former ally of Rudy Giuliani, who was well-connected in Ukraine, testified during Trump’s impeachment that no one from Burisma had any contacts with Joe Biden or people working for him while he was vice president, according to a transcript released by House Oversight Democrats earlier this year.
Claim: Biden participated in calls and dinners with son’s business partners
“Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions – dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his son’s and his son’s business partners,” McCarthy said.
Facts First: McCarthy’s claim omits key context about what was – and wasn’t – reportedly discussed in the calls and dinners. A Hunter Biden associate testified that even though Joe Biden was on these calls and at these dinners, he didn’t discuss business. And Republicans have not presented any evidence that Joe Biden himself benefited financially from his appearances at the dinners or on the calls.
When House Republicans launched their investigation into members of the Biden family, they said their goal was to find wrongdoing by the president. House Republicans now say they can accuse Biden of corruption without finding direct evidence that Joe Biden financially benefited from Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
The allegations mentioned by McCarthy on Tuesday come from the interview that House Oversight Committee conducted earlier this year with Hunter Biden business associate Archer. (Separately, Archer was convicted in 2022 in connection with a $60 million bond fraud scheme, which wasn’t related to Hunter Biden.)
Archer testified that there were “maybe 20 times” when Joe Biden was placed on speakerphone during meetings with his and Hunter Biden’s business partners. This puts Joe Biden closer to his son’s business activities that he previously let on.
However, Archer said “nothing” of importance was ever discussed during these calls.
Archer characterized the conversations he witnessed Hunter put his father on speakerphone in front of business associates as Joe Biden asking his son, “Where are you, how’s the weather, how’s the fishing, how’s the – whatever it may be.” Archer added the conversations were “not related to commercial business, politics, that kind of stuff.”
While Archer said he was not aware of Hunter Biden ever discussing business with his father, he did state his belief that Hunter Biden was selling “the brand,” through his work. House Republicans have used that phrase to suggest that Hunter Biden sold his father’s “brand” around the world to enrich the Biden family. And they have argued that Joe Biden’s very participation in the calls and meetings itself proves that he did have involvement in his son’s business.
Regarding the dinners, Archer said there was a 2014 and 2015 dinner that Joe Biden attended with Hunter Biden and some of his foreign business associates at Cafe Milano in Washington, DC. While Hunter Biden’s business associates including Archer, and foreign business figures such as Russian billionaire Yelena Baturina and Kazakhstani oligarch Kenes Rakishev were in the room, business wasn’t discussed, Archer testified, telling lawmakers, “We ate, and kind of talked about the world, I guess, and the weather, and then everybody left.”
On the allegation that these dinners with Joe Biden “resulted in cars,” Archer said the businessman Rakishev wired Hunter Biden the exact amount of money that Hunter used to buy a Porsche. This car has nothing to do with Joe Biden.
Claim: Biden family members’ financial transactions were flagged as suspicious
“The Treasury Department alone has more than 150 transactions involving the Biden family and other business associates that were flagged as suspicious activity by US banks,” McCarthy said.
Facts First: The existence of these suspicious activity reports don’t prove wrongdoing on their own.
The filing of a “suspicious activity report,” or SAR, does not prove wrongdoing. Such reports are not conclusive, and are akin to the bank providing a tip to investigators, out of an abundance of caution. Financial institutions file millions of SARs each year, but few lead to law enforcement inquiries.
According to reports issued by House Republicans, some of these SARs show that banks flagged dozens of wire transfers involving Hunter Biden, whom the banks described as a “politically exposed person” with “negative media for possible political corruption.” But none of the SARs related to Hunter Biden have shown that Joe Biden was involved in the business deals.
All that being said, there was apparently a well-founded basis for the banks to scrutinize Hunter Biden’s financial transactions. There is an ongoing Justice Department criminal probe into his finances. Federal prosecutors say he failed to pay taxes on time for several years, and career IRS investigators believe he committed tax evasion, according to court filings and congressional testimony. A special counsel investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes is ongoing.
Claim: Then-VP Biden used his powers to help his son’s business
“Biden used his official office to coordinate with Hunter Biden’s business partners about Hunter’s role in Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company,” McCarthy said, apparently referring to Biden’s time as vice president.
Facts First: There is no public evidence that Joe Biden abused his government powers to help his family.
These allegations from House Republicans are still evolving. House Oversight Republicans are currently going back and forth with the National Archives to obtain un-redacted emails and documents between then-Vice President Biden’s office and Hunter Biden’s business associates. Republicans are raising concerns about Joe Biden’s vice presidential office and Hunter Biden’s associates coordinating on a statement responding to a press story.
Additionally, since 2019, Republicans have falsely accused Joe Biden of abusing his powers to get a top Ukrainian prosecutor fired because the prosecutor’s probe into Burisma supposedly threatened Hunter Biden. These claims have been repeatedly debunked.
In reality, Joe Biden’s actions were consistent with bipartisan US policy, which sought to remove the prosecutor because he wasn’t doing enough to crack down on corruption – including at Burisma. The Obama administration, Senate Republicans, US allies, the International Monetary Fund and Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, among others, had all made clear that they were displeased with the performance of Viktor Shokin, who became Ukraine’s prosecutor general in 2015.
Replacing Shokin would’ve ramped up scrutiny of Burisma, not shut it down. It is not even clear how aggressively Shokin was investigating Zlochevsky or Burisma at the time Joe Biden pushed for Shokin’s firing.
During the 2020 election campaign, Senate Republicans led a probe to find evidence on whether Biden abused his position to help his family, but came up empty.
Claim: Biden lied about his knowledge of family’s business deals
“The President did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings,” McCarthy said.
Facts First: Joe Biden’s unequivocal denials of any business-related contact with his son have been undercut over time. But so far there is no public evidence that his occasional interactions with Hunter Biden’s business partners led to him getting substantively involved in his son’s financial arrangements.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden has said he and Hunter Biden “never discussed” business and have “never spoken” about his overseas deals. The White House has recently offered some new denials and has said the president “was not in business” with Hunter Biden.
“The answer is not going to change,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on July 24.”The answer remains the same: The President was never in business with his son. I just don’t have anything else to add.”
Hunter Biden told The New Yorker magazine in 2019 that he recalled his father briefly discussing his Burisma board role with him once; Hunter Biden said, “Dad said, ‘I hope you know what you are doing,’ and I said, ‘I do.’”
And there is evidence that Joe Biden has at least some surface-level interactions that overlapped with his son’s business activities – a handshake with his son’s business partners in China and the aforementioned dinners and speakerphone conversations. Republicans have also found evidence that Hunter Biden flew with his father on Air Force Two on foreign trips where Hunter Biden met with business associates.
House Republicans have used these examples to try to connect Joe Biden to his son’s lucrative business activities – but so far, the only picture painted has been a son, using his father’s name to help further his business.* On that note, Archer testified to Congress that he agreed it’s fair to say Hunter Biden was selling an “illusion” of access to his father.
In addition to Archer’s testimony that Joe Biden did not talk to his son’s contacts about substantive business matters, another Hunter Biden business partner, Eric Schwerin, told Congress he wasn’t aware of any involvement by Joe Biden in the overseas deals.
An IRS whistleblower gave Congress a summary of text messages from 2017 where Hunter Biden allegedly used his father as leverage to pressure a Chinese company into paying him. But the whistleblower said prosecutors weren’t sure if Hunter Biden was telling the truth that his father was actually in the room. Hunter Biden’s lawyers and Joe Biden himself have denied that he was in the room.
Regardless, Joe Biden’s denials seem to be falling flat with the American public*, according to new CNN polls released last week. About 61% of Americans believe Joe Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings in Ukraine and China while he was vice president, according to the poll.
In response to McCarthy launching the impeachment inquiry, Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, said in a statement to CNN, “House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing. His own Republican members have said so. He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment, now he flip flopped because he doesn’t have support. This is extreme politics at its worst.”
*Ivanka traded on her father’s name in her business dealings with China–while she worked in the White House, approval for her business was fast-tracked in China.
**THIS is the reason for the “impeachment inquiry”.
“From CNN, dated today:”
LMAO I just spewed my coffe on my keyboard thanks a lot.
Do you honestly think anyone read beyond that???
If so, that alone is proof that you are deluded.
POST THE CLIP LIAR
Oh, and thanks for confirming that CNN has their marching orders and are complying!
WHERE ARE YOUR COUNTER FACTS? IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY, THEN ADMIT IT. When your only response is to complain that the source is CNN, you just prove that you are a disciple.
No, when your source is CNN, you are the disciple.
I’m not going to go thru every one of those, its not worth my time and it gives you a voice, which you dont deserve. Question me if you like, but EVERY TIME i have called you and your sources out, i have proven that they are lies.
Lets start with this, since you and your fact checkers know so much:
Who did Hunter and Zlovchevsky call from Dubai, to get help with getting Shokin off his back??
Remember, the Shokin who “wasn’t” investigating Burisma….
Who did they call Gigi?
Some people are not inclined to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person.
Says the quadriplegic.
Tom,
Yeah, I just scrolled past the “From CNN, dated today:”
CNN, the DNC Pravda.
As the good professor points out, the DNC Pravda apparatus has been given their marching orders: Deny, spin, gaslight, or just outright lie to the American people.
Fortunately for us, the public trust in the DNC Pravda apparatus machine is at a all time low and trust in alt-media is gaining those losses. After all, even the Russian people under the Soviet Union did not buy what Pravda was selling.
Only the useful idiots did.
What, specifically, did CNN “deny, spin, gaslight or outright lie” about? Be specific. If you can’t, then you are just an alt-right disciple who fell for the lie that mainstream media is not trustworthy. The piece above is very specific about addressing the lack of proof of each of the things Republcians are claiming. If you have actual counter-proof or a good-faith argument, produce it.
The counter argument is at justthenews, disciple. It has been posted here several times. It has documents, not conjecture.
Which of these statements do you dispute is true?
Shokin was ousted because he was not investigating corruption.
Shokin was not investigating burisma
Joe knew hunter was on the board of burisma
Joe pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin
Who did they call from Dubai, Gigi, and why?
“Joe Biden himself have denied that he was in the room.”
Also a lie. Produce the video of him saying that.
That senile ‘tard can’t remember where he was yesterday.
LIAR
Here’s your vaunted Fact Checkers Gigi
“The original article by the Washington Post’s chief fact checker, Glenn Kessler, was published the same day as the New York Post’s pre-election scoop revealing that Joe Biden had attended a 2015 dinner with a top executive of a Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma, which was paying his son $83,000 per month. Kessler’s fact-check involved interviews with a host of Biden aides who vehemently disputed the vice president’s attendance at the dinner and advanced the theory that the source of the information – a laptop Hunter had abandoned at a Delaware repair shop – was untrustworthy and possibly a Russian plant. ”
So 2 years ago your boy Dennis said that Biden never had Dinner with Zlovchevsky.
Fact check my a$$
Did you believe that “fact check” at the time, or not??
You people keep acting like it was 3rd graders committing these crimes, and that they just left a friggin’ trail of bread crumbs for us to find. Granted, joe aint too bright, and hunter isnt much smarter, but ask yourself this:
Why were Biden’s people “adamantly” lying and saying he was not at the dinner with Zlovchevsky. Why Gigi? I have a guess, do you???
Your idiot fact checkers are pretty sly, but not very bright. They like to take each piece of evidence and seek to discredit it. Thats not how it works. Evidence is a BODY of information. Taken individually, its easy to dismiss these things if you are so inclined. Taken together, you’ve got to be in denial or delusional to say they amount to nothing.
So, answer my question. Why did they lie about it?
Furthermore, why would you believe these same liars, who claim they talked about the weather?(thats a rhetorical question, we all know why).
“Mike Carpenter, a Biden lackey, told USA TODAY…”
Fixed that for you.
I mean hell, if Mike Carpenter said it, it must be true. LMAO at Gigi the Liar.
In autumn 2015 both the US and the EU were satisfied with Shokin’s performance in the few months since his appointment. That’s why the US authorised the $1b loan guarantee and the EU granted other benefits. Documents to this effect are public.
Comer is now seeking documents from the State Department explaining the alleged sudden change in US policy from satisfaction with Shokin to a demand for his firing. We’ll see what if anything is provided.
Ok progressive clown, why are there investigations? To find evidence.
“Did you see the clip in which Comer ADMITTED they didn’t have any evidence, but HOPED they could get some?”
No he didn’t, because it doesn’t exist. Gigi the Liar strikes again!
The thing is Repubs like Comer don’t lie the way Dems did about Collusion, Laptops, Lab Leaks, Dossiers, Borders, and the economy. So Comer says he’s gathering information and there’s plenty of it. While there was not only NO EVIDENCE about what Dems said. It was just BS manufactured by the DNC, HRC, OBH, JB and then spread by the Squealers in the US Press. They know that Dems will believe anything — just as you did.
White House sending this new operative to main stream media is basically an internal email. 🤣
Journalists do not need to be told to be skeptical.
There are no journalist at cnn, msnbc, nyt, wapoo…