Below is my column in the New York Post on the indictment of Alexander Smirnov and the use of the charges by Hunter Biden to seek to dismiss his own charges. That dog won’t hunt.
Here is the column:
The Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff once joked that “in America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find you.”
Alexander Smirnov is no comedian, but he is about to discover the truth of that statement.
Alexander Smirnov is now a defendant in federal court after being charged by special counsel David Weiss for spreading a false story about Hunter Biden receiving $5 million from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company.
The allegation has produced a stampede of Democrats who view his indictment as a much-needed talking point as the House continues to build the case of influence-peddling by the Biden family.
Some are using the charges to revive a previously debunked story that Hunter Biden’s laptop could be Russian disinformation. But a closer reading of the filing dispels those claims and contradicts a new effort by Hunter Biden to dismiss charges against himself.
The filing itself is actually an argument to keep Smirnov in federal detention.
The government points out Smirnov’s admitted contacts with Russian intelligence officials and previously scheduled meetings with such figures to argue he is a flight risk.
However, there are a couple of aspects to the filing that undermine the claims of a “bombshell” revelation of a Russian disinformation campaign. First, these disclosures were not the result of surveillance or interceptions by American intelligence. Smirnov appears to have been cooperating with the United States and told his US “handler” about all of these contacts.
Second, Smirnov’s contacts were described as “recent” and did not apparently precede 2020. They have nothing to do with the laptop or the evidence of influence-peddling found in emails on that computer. This is solely a claim of a large payment to the Bidens from Burisma.
Third, the Justice Department states that Smirnov had expressed “bias” against Joe Biden and used “his routine and unextraordinary business contacts with Burisma” to make the bribery allegations.
So Smirnov operated off a bias against Biden, made an allegation separate from the laptop, and ultimately disclosed his communications to his U.S. handler. He detailed conversations with the “son of a former high-ranking government official” and “someone with ties to a particular Russian intelligence service.” Reports indicate that Smirnov was not only an asset of American intelligence but on the payroll for roughly a decade as a trusted informant.
That does not mean that the Russians were not eager to spread false claims, though it shows again how low-grade such efforts could be. It does not address hundreds of confirmed emails of Hunter Biden cashing in on an array of foreign contacts.
Hunter Biden’s legal team is citing the filing in seeking to cast doubt on all of the allegations and even the pending charges: “It now seems clear that the Smirnov allegations infected this case.”
They insist that the bribe allegation was key to the loss of the plea agreement that they struck with the president’s son. They argued that “having taken Mr. Smirnov’s bait of grand, sensational charges, the Diversion Agreement that had just been entered into and Plea Agreement that was on the verge of being finalized suddenly became inconvenient for the prosecution, and it reversed course and repudiated those Agreements.”
That is not how it happened.
Hunter Biden had received a sweetheart deal so rich as to put most defendants into hyperglycemic shock. Hunter would have avoided any jail time and been given sweeping immunity from future charges.
The reason that the deal fell apart was not any particular allegation of bribes. The alleged bribe was not part of the case. It fell apart because the judge asked a simple question on the meaning of the immunity. The deal immediately imploded as the prosecutor was forced to admit that he had never seen a deal like this for anyone other than Hunter Biden.
In relation to the influence-peddling investigation, this filing does not change the evidence that the Biden family made millions in shaking down foreign companies and business figures.
On Wednesday, Capitol Hill will witness something that many thought would never come. The House is calling a Biden to actually answer questions under oath about influence-peddling. James Biden, brother of the president, will testify on his long history of leveraging the name and influence of his brother. That includes $200,000 given to him by a collapsing hospital chain company, Americore.
Biden reportedly pitched a percentage deal with his brother and immediately turned over the money to Joe Biden to pay off a prior “loan.”
That was not the creation of a “biased” Russian but the Biden family itself. Smirnov was not at the dinners and meetings where Joe Biden called in to chat. He was not the recipient of messages from Hunter threatening that his father was “sitting next to” him and waiting for transfers of money. He was not the source of gifts and expense accounts to cover Hunter’s lavish lifestyle. .
Most importantly, Smirnov was not the reason that Hunter was indicted by the same prosecutor, David Weiss, who just indicted him.
OT, re: the Alabama ruling that extrauterine embryos (e.g., frozen embryos) are “children”…
1 of every 65 live births in Alabama was the result of IVF in 2022. But two of the state’s four IVF clinics have already announced they’re halting all IVF treatments.
Next thing you know, the state will demand that IVF embryos be implanted or put up for “adoption.”
Judge Engeron has just been named Florida’s Real Estate Agent of the Year! LOLOLOLOL!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GG3aRCuWoAAM4d8?format=jpg&name=small
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/cre-investor-4bln-portfolio-tells-team-stop-all-nyc-real-estate-underwriting
Republicans Can’t Acknowledge Russia’s Efforts To Misinform
James Comer, the leader of the impeachment effort, also showed little sign of concern with the truth. Reaching for Trump-like language, he told the rightwing Newsmax network Democrats were “going to play the Russia card again”.
That’s what Dan Goldman’s done, that’s what Jamie Raskin’s done,” Comer said, referring to prominent Democratic voices calling for impeachment efforts to end.
Goldman, from New York, told CNN: “Wittingly or unwittingly, House Republicans have been acting as an agent or an asset of Russian intelligence.”
Raskin said Republicans “just say, ‘Russia hoax Russia hoax.’ What part of it is the hoax? Is it the war in Ukraine? Is it the death of [Alexander] Navalny? What is hoax-like about it.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/22/alexander-smirnov-russia-republicans-biden
……………………………………
Right here, on these comment threads, anyone pointing to Russia as a force of mischief is immediately dismissed as ‘trying to play the Russia card’. These dismissals are totally encouraged by Professor Turley himself. Those within the far-right bubble are incapable of seeing Putin for what he really is.
The Guardian bwahahahahahahahah
“Those within the far-right bubble are incapable of seeing Putin for what he really is.” What is he?
Zen and the Art of Not-Doing – Another aspect of quid pro quo is the “not-doing.” Biden may do a thing in return for money, or for his worthless son getting free money. But Biden may also “not-do.” This is what happens in a Protection Racket. You give me money, and bad things do not happen to you.
Wasn’t Biden in charge of Ukraine, during his VP days? What a perfect position to not-do things! Also, how inherently difficult to prove.
Jonathan: It was going to comment on your earlier column about the Biden dogs but I had second thoughts after reading “Fish Wings” comment. He expressed my thoughts exactly: “After a long meeting with FOXNEWS producers, it became clear to Turley that the President must be impeached because of his dogs” (2/22/24@11:24am).
As to this column of yours what can I say? You seem to think the indictment of Alexander Smirnov is not a big deal because the “House continues to build the case of influence-peddling by the Biden family”. Why do you keeping beating that dead horse? “Influence-peddling” is not in the federal criminal statutes. Otherwise, most of DC would be in prison now. And Smirnov’s indictment IS a big deal. Jim Comer has continued to claim AS was a “key witness” that would prove Joe Biden was taking brides. That false claim is now entirely debunked!
Then you say AS’s confession has nothing to do with the laptop. Besides the salacious photos of Hunter having sex the emails only reveal Hunter was engaged in a concerted effort to use the “Biden” name promote his business ventures. Certainly, something Hunter should never have engaged in but there is no evidence in the emails that dad was directly involved in his son’s business ventures or profited from them.
Finally, your most salacious claim is that the “Biden family made millions in shaking down foreign companies and business figures”. In standard parlance a business “shake down” is an illegal or deceitful attempt to get money by, for example, swindling or blackmail”. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim? Remember Tony Bobulinski who testified before Comer’s Committee? TB had a falling out with Hunter and his other business partners over an email he sent suggesting they give Joe a cut of a proposed business deal in China. Hunter and his partners considered that proposal ridiculous and ignored TB’s email. A pretty good indication Hunter and his partners wanted to keep Joe Biden out of the equation. Whatever you might say about Hunter’s unethical “influence peddling” overseas it didn’t involve using the “Biden”” name to “shake down” their proposed business partners.
So what are you Jim Comer left with? No “high crimes and misdemeanors” unless you count frequent dogs bites as an impeachable offense!
They can add articles of impeachment to include Biden’s open border. And Biden’s lawless loan forgiveness. “The Supreme Court won’t stop me” action. And 10% for the Big Guy’s family bribery business ….
If they can impeach Trump over a phone call….they sure as hell can impeach Biden for truly impeachable crimes. They must bring ALL of Biden’s filthy dirty laundry out in public view from now until the election.
Hang the Biden dirty laundry out to dry in full public view. Day in and day out until the election.
Plus we all know Biden ain’t gonna make it to the election. Just look at him.
Biden’s on his way out, there is no Biden 2nd term.
Kamala is negotiating her exit reward. Feinstein’s Senate seat?
They’re gonna slide Michelle right on in the top slot at the convention in Chicago.
Watch for it.
Oh, and here is another thing. The shills are clamoring, “Hunter Biden NEVER even went to Ukraine!”
OK, so how was he earning a check by being on the Board of Directors? If he never went there to any meeting. If he never went to any of the facilities.
Because it was a sham job. Hunter was reaping the fruit of the bribe. And wasn’t there something once, that Hunter said, about his Dad taking half of everything. In addition to the 10% for the big guy? IIRC
I found it!
“Hunter Biden’s access to lucrative financial opportunities also came with expectations — including kicking back as much as 50% of his earnings to his dad, text messages on his old laptop show.
“I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years,” Hunter Biden groused to daughter Naomi in January 2019. “It’s really hard. But don’t worry, unlike pop, I won’t make you give me half your salary.” Pop is Joe Biden.
The laptop — infamously abandoned at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019 — does not contain any direct evidence of such money transfers, but does show that Hunter was routinely on the hook for his father’s household expenses while Joe Biden was vice president.
The expenses are spelled out in an email to Hunter from business partner Eric Schwerin from June 5, 2010, titled “JRB Bills.” They concerned the upkeep of Joe Biden’s palatial lakefront home in the wealthy Greenville enclave of Wilmington, Del. JRB are President Biden’s initials.
There were $1,239 in repairs to an air conditioner at “mom-mom’s cottage,” and another $1,475 to a painter for “back wall and columns at the lake house.” There was also another $2,600 for fixing up a “stone retaining wall at the lake” and $475 “for shutters.”
https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal/
$5 Million Bribe Was Fabrication
Hunter Never Traveled To Ukraine
Smirnov said he had been told by an executive of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden served on the board, that the executive had felt obligated to pay the Bidens massive bribes, amounting to $5 million each to the president and his son.
The new legal filing starkly notes that these events “were fabrications.” Smirnov was not even in contact with the Burisma executives until much later than he claimed.
Separate from the bribe allegation, the legal filing notes that one obvious flaw in Smirnov’s story was an account of a supposed Hunter Biden trip to Kyiv and a stay in a particular hotel — none of which actually happened. The president’s son has, in fact, never been to Ukraine.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4481888-the-memo-gop-on-defense-over-biden-probe-after-russian-revelations/
……………………………….
The article also tells us that Smirnov had several million in cash assets at the time he entered the U.S. But the source of Smirnov’s wealth is mysterious.
The Hill Responds To Op-Ed By Turley
Law professor Jonathan Turley argued in a New York Post op-ed published Wednesday that the new revelations pertain only to the false allegations of bribery but do “not address hundreds of confirmed emails of Hunter Biden cashing in on an array of foreign contacts.”
That may be true — but it also does not prove anything about the president’s behavior.
At a minimum, the revelations about Smirnov also entirely overshadowed a closed-door deposition of the president’s brother, James Biden, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4481888-the-memo-gop-on-defense-over-biden-probe-after-russian-revelations/
It’s the “that may be true” statement that guts the Hill piece.
I was surprised to learn Hunter Biden, as a board member of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine, has never travelled to Ukraine.
>”In fact, the Obama administration, as well as other figures in the European Union and broader international community, had become disenchanted with the Ukrainian prosecutor in question — not because he was overzealous in taming corruption but because he was too lax about it.” -Story
In fact, the Weiss indictment of Smirnov acknowledges Ukraine prosecutor Shokin was investigating Burisma.
The GOP may be on defense with respect to left wing nut media naratives.
They are not on the defense regarding the facts.
James Biden’s testimony did not yeild clear admissions of guilt, but it did provide lots of evidence of the inner workings of the Biden crime syndicate. It will take time to chase down all the leads James’s testimony provided, as well as determining where he lied.
But if you think that James testimony helped himself or his brother – you are mistaken.
I would futher note that by Indicting Smirnov – the DOJ/FBI made it possible for the house to subpeona and question him – under oath.
You do understand that it is of little consequences when Burisma executives told Smirnov about the deal with Hunter ?
I am sure that they do not get it, but the sad thing is, apparently neither does Weiss.
“Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in sworn testimony that access to Joe Biden was the product being sold.
Archer noted that Joe Biden participated in at least 20 phone calls with clients or potential clients. Joe Biden also participated in two dinners with oligarchs who had documented connections with the Russian and Kazakh oligarchs with ties to organized crime and to Russia’s internal intelligence agency, the Federal Security Bureau (FSB).
The business partner noted that Hunter Biden flew with Joe Biden aboard Air Force Two in December 2013 to Beijing. Joe Biden met with Hunter Biden’s client and business partner Jonathan Li, who heads BHR Partners. The vice president met with Li privately and agreed to write a letter to Georgetown University petitioning it to accept his daughter as a student.”
“Hunter Biden joined Joe Biden on the flight to the 2013 Munich Security Conference, which included a panel on energy, entitled: THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS BONANZA: THE CHANGING GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY, among other things.
He joined the board of the Ukrainian gas firm Burisma a year later, earning $83,333 per month for doing next to nothing.”
“Hunter Biden Flew Overseas With Joe Biden on Air Force Two at Least 8 Times”
ATS – Smirnov is a crook – the vast majority if not all CHS’s are. The FBI does not seek out the corrupt dealings of criminals by recruiting nuns.
Outside of govenrment whistle blowers who are testifying to the obstruction of DOJ/FBI to their efforts to investigate the Bidens everyone that the House is having testify regarding the Biden’s are crooks. These are the crooks who were in bed with the bidens.
You have spent over a decade investigating Trump and his family – yet nothing resembling this has come to light.
Do you have Trump or his family receiving diamonds from Russian Oligarch’s ?
You have spent a decade trying to tie Trump to Russians and the best you have managed is a friendship with a Russian pop star.
Trump has business deals with people all over the world – people like the brass at Deutche Bank – not russian oligarchs, not Chinese4 companies that are well known fronts for Chinese intelligence services.
Absolutely the witnesses against the Bidens are mostly going to prove to be crooks and liars. Just like the Biden’s themselves.
That is what you find when you pry open a crime syndicate.
I would note in the indictment that the FBI ADMITS to authorizing Smirnov to committ Crimes as part of his role as a CHS.
Attacking the people the Biden’s associated begs the question – why were the Biden’s associated with these people ?
Bank Robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks
he responded – ‘That’s Where the Money Is’.
The Biden’s are associated with criminals – because they are criminals.
Thankfully, there is no evidence that I was ever in Las Vegas, or that I visited a House of Ill Repute while there. For historical purposes. 🙂
You do know that indictments are NOT facts, they are merely allegations.
This indictment comes from the same people who have not managed to get anything regarding Russia or ukraine or china or … right for over a decade.
We all know Turley is paid to try to breathe life and credibility into the ‘Hunter Biden Scandal”, so he says things like this: “…the House continues to build the case of influence-peddling by the Biden family.”. “Continues to build”?–they have yet to come up with the first building block on which to base a case against JOE Biden. House Republicans continue to get their heads handed to them–witness after witness falls apart, and now, their biggest witness, is proven to be a liar and in collusion with Russia. But, will they give up despite enlessly failing and having absolutely NO evidence against Joe Biden? No. Turley should be ashamed.
Gigi – the fact that you have your head in the sand does not change the facts.
Long before the Republican house started to investigate there was a damning case for Joe Biden’s public corruption.
While the Burisma case has ALWAYS been damning, it has been an open secret for DECADES in DC that Joe and James biden were selling Joes public office.
To this point we do not have gold bars under the bed as we do with Sen Menedez, But we have everything else on a larger scale.
Though there are now Two multi million dollar diamonds involved.
Though I will disagree with the claims by some such as Comer that the Biden’s are the most corrupt ever.
The Clintons easily extorted more illicit booty for selling their public power than the Bidens.
The outer estimate of the gains from the sale of office by the Bidens is about 50M. The Clintons received just shy of 148M from russian oligarchs in one year.
I can go through the details – and there are very many of various corrupt dealings of biden’s – though we certainly do not know them all.
But the simplest way to grasp what is going on, is to ask What is it that the Bidens were being paid almost 50M dollars for ?
Lets ignore Joes role – not that he has not been repeated caught lying – No Joe was NOT uninvolved. He is constantly being emailed about buisiness deals or responding. or showing up to meet with “clients”. But lets assume that is NOT so.
What was being sold by Hunter and James and Archer Devon and ….. that was worth $50M ?
What talent does hunter Biden have that is worth millions – besides being able to spend egregious amounts of money on crack, and cocaine and alcohol and hookers ? Money has been paid to the Bidens by hospitals, by credit card companies, by russian oligarchs, by CCP operated intelligence covers. What were they buying ?
Giggly,
You have no clue.
The Biden scandal is real.
Of course the question is which one since he’s also guilty of violating the espionage act.
I can say this because the photo evidence in public view confirms that he violated the statute while being VP and leaving office.
We don’t all know that. Just because you want to believe something doesn’t make it true.
Can I buy a noun ? What is it that “we do not know ?”
That which follows the first three words of GooGoo’s original post; i.e., “We all know Turley is paid to try to breathe life and credibility. blah, blah. blah…”.
Sorry if that was a little obscure.
Here is a better source for the last video. Five Minutes of Biden
So are the people and institutions who boasted of getting this meat puppet into the White House satisfied with this??? Perhaps if they wanted to destroy America and shove us closer to WWIII.
Exactly. And imagine this was Reagan, Bush or Trump. Colbert would be having a field day. It would be a weekly gag on Saturday Night Live. All the Dem/Lefty comedians would be in full swing.
This is what has the Nuclear Football. So, don’t nobody disturb his nap time! Pathetic. Assuming the rascal ever winds up in court, and I was defending him, this would be Exhibit 1. “My poor client doesn’t know what planet he is on.”
https://youtu.be/Rgk_qTc_7AI?t=27
Your mixing metaphors again, Floyd.
It’s one thing to indulge your Ex’s excesses, it’s another thing dropping another $60 billion on a lost cause. In both cases, it’s like closing the barn doors after the horses have all escaped.
*btw, according to the Smirnov indictment, the ‘timeline’ seems to be the main thrust of the charges? i.e. it’s not directly refuting the allegations of bribery by Smirnov (Defendant), only that Smirnov’s ‘timeline’ of events makes them false.
I saw that, first on Viva Frei, maybe yesterday. The problem that I have with the $5 million each, for Joe and Hunter, is how do you launder that? The Clinton’s had a charity, and thus could hire the relatives of cronies or go on trips for free. Or hire other companies to reward them for helping the Clintons. How does Joe Biden launder that? He has to park the money somewhere safe. You can’t give it to Hunter. He is likely to snort it up his nose. You can’t put the cash in a freezer. You could run some thru a business, and then grab $400,000, but of that, the Big Guy only got $40,000. Plus, being demented, you never know when Biden will get up on the stage and blurt it all out. I never have allowed myself to put much stock in that claim. Show me the money!
fwiw, struggling through the indictment, I noticed trusted FBI CHS Smirnov had FBI ‘Associate #1’ assisting in Burisma interest in IPO/acquiring a U.S. gas and oil company. ‘Associate #1 is described as a ‘cryptocurrency business owner’.
Iirc, before the collapse of FTX, the Ukraine gov. had open FTX accounts .. . and was the largest single donor to the 2020 Biden campaign.
*I can’t show you the money!
Proving Specific financial transactions is difficult. I do not beleive that we have traced the $5M to Joe and $5M to hunter regarding Burisma. Though we KNOW that Hunter received more than a million from Burisma, and we KNOW that Hunter received millions for god only knows what.
Yes Hunter was running through more than a million a year in hedonistic living for several years – that has been established, Hunters tax records and expenditures are available, and hookers are not a legitimate business expense.
I have a problem with Viva’s argument that it does not matter that Joe was no longer President.
It does. When Joe was a private citizen his phone calls to people – even those in government to get some benefit for those buying his influence – violated FARA but were otherwise legal.
They are a reason to vote against him. Not to convict him.
But the problem with the Governments fixation on that in the indictment – other than that the purpose of an indictment is not to defend one of the criminals not being charged, is that The fact that Joe was paid in 2017, does not prove the act he was paid for was not prior to 2017 when he was vice president – and that is exactly what Smirnov alleges.
You didn’t address a word he said. Did you even READ his comment? He’s exactly right.
Are you going to deny that if that were Trump at the podium slurring his speech, losing his way, stumbling stammering, forgetting where he is, talking about conversations he’s had recently with multiple leaders who’ve been dead for years, some even decades…… are you going to deny if that were Trump doing that the liberals wouldn’t be having a field day and calling for his removal?
Deny that. Because THATS what he said.
Your response had nothing to do with what he said.
So deny that. Go on deny what he said.
I want to hear you address what was actually said instead of trying to troll away the reality of it.
So deny it. Lets hear you deny what he actually said.
My comments for @dgsnowden by the way.
@ Chris Weber,
I didn’t deny anything Floyd was saying about Biden’s cognitive .. . uh, health.
*in fact, the Democrats impeached Trump Twice for less than that.
The indictment is a mess, It wastes alot of time making claims that are irrelevant and stupid.
It is irrelevant whether Joe Biden was in office at the Time Dmirnov was told that Joe Biden HAD (past tense) been paid to get Shokin fired.
The indictment does raise small issues regarding the credibility of Smirnov – but those issues exist with EVERYONE involved.
So far the only reason we have for Smirnov to lie – is because the FBI was paying him to deliver allegations of crimes.
We have reasons to beleive that Everyone associated with the Biden’s is lying – including those testifying against them. That is the nature of trying to peel the onion of a corrupt organization. Archer is lying. James is lying, Bobolinsky is lying, Hunter is lying, Joe is lying.
Many of them are lying under oath. All of them are lying in public.
But people do not have to lie when they are not involved in illegal activities.
All of these people are criminals and liars.
The problem is that one of these criminals and liars is the president of the united states.
This is sad.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1756551610308702692
All I am seeing on the search engine news pages (AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc) is this “exonerates” Hunter, on every page. It seems almost like a concerted effort to convince me that regarding the laptop story; “there’s nothing to see here, move along”.
That’s what the news feeds are telling me.
Of course I think its cute that they actually seem to think that I them on anything, but I was taken back at how prolific the barrage of news stories lauding this latest development as exoneration of Hunter Biden was in my news feeds and landing pages.
Seemed almost coordinated.
Chris,
Despite what you are seeing with your own eyes, others would deride you as being a MAGA cultist for making such an observation.
The rest of us would call that common sense, logic and critical thinking.
“Almost coordinated.”
Did you read that, comrades?
Why that’s just crazy!
What’s the problem?
The information on the pages your referenced was released officially by the Communist Party Headquarters.
I have the impression that your “social score” is in dire jeopardy.
BOLO for a radioactive latte.
OK, I found a good song for all us deranged MAGA Russian Sleeper Agents. It took a while to find a good song. Meadow Lands is pretty. So were some of those ballet songs, but a lot of them were pre-Soviet. So, I came across this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv0YjyG2nnM
I forget the search term, but this also came up, which is a pretty good contrast. I could not watch more than a few seconds of it, before just getting disgusted at what the West has become. God help us if we get into a real shooting war. Britain may have won WWI on the playing fields of England, but China or Iran or whoever will probably win the next one on the Streets of London.
And it is not the gayness per se, it is the silly narcissism.
https://youtu.be/Rgk_qTc_7AI?t=27
Remember when government was infinitesimal and tractable by the design of a severely restricted electorate and homogeneous population?
Turnout in 1789 was 11.6%.
Voter qualifications were male, European, 21, and 50 lbs. Sterling or 50 acres.
Immigration was of “…free white person(s)…” and “…person(s) of good character…..”
America was established as a restricted-vote republic, distinctly not a one-man, one-vote “dictatorship of the proletariat.”
Whatever happened to sane, coherent, and minimalist self-governance conducted by vested and capable producers, not rabidly parasitic dependents?
Answer: “Crazy Abe” happened.
“Crazy Abe” brought out the political Ouija Board and conjured Karl Marx.
And let us not forget the brute and savage military force he brought to bear against the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and America.
This is so bad it is funny:
https://youtu.be/HShLPqLk2w4?si=fzTXEYgUmk8jnn9l
No surprise she was invited to the White House. She fits right in with that corrupt and worse than useless coven.
If she was just a tad more sophisticated, she could run for Letitia James or Fani Willis’s job.
It’s always fun to see Turley firmly in the Spin Zone. He neglects to mention that last year, Senator Grassley announced a “bombshell” revelation from “brave & heroic whistleblowers” who claimed the FBI was hiding an FD-1023 from a trusted FBI informant which showed Biden was bribed by a Ukrainian businessman. Oops. Turns out the FBI wasn’t hiding the FD-1023, they were investigating whether the claims could actually be verified.
That didn’t stop a stampede of Republicans from rushing to the microphones.
Jim Jordan: “The most corroborating evidence we have is that 1023 form from a highly credible confidential human source.”
James Comer: “This is a very crucial piece of our investigation.”
Ted Cruz: “The 1023 is damning.”
Today, House Republican Ken Buck called out his colleagues who were eager to spread false claims:
Buck: “We were warned that the credibility of this statement was not known, And yet my colleagues went out and talked to the public about how this was credible and how it was damning and how it proved President Biden’s complicity in receiving bribes. It appears to absolutely be false, and to really undercut the nature of the charges”
Turley’s reaction to Ken Buck acknowledging that Republicans were warned about the credibility of the FD-1023 right from the start, yet they hid that crucial piece of information from the public? Crickets.
Turns out the FBI wasn’t hiding the FD-1023, they were investigating whether the claims could actually be verified.
That’s a lie. The time line proves its a lie.
They waited nearly three years to investigate, despite initial conclusions by Barr’s team that the allegations appeared credible. They did not seem to care that the President might be compromised.
Well, of course they didn’t care. If you were the power behind the throne, would you want a squeaky clean President? Of course not. You want one that you have some dirt on.
iowan2, what’s your evidence that House Republican Ken Buck is lying when he said Republicans were warned about the credibility of FD-1023 right from the start? Please post a link to whatever report you read which shows the FBI verified the FD-1023 before Republicans obtained a copy of it.
Take your Sea Lioning else where.
I never said anything about Bucks meaningless comments.
If I did I would note it was the FBI rating the CHS as highly reliable. Not Republicans. It is the responsibility of the FBI to validate their reliable sources claims. Not the Republican Party.
“it was the FBI rating the CHS as highly reliable”
Prove it.
iowan2, you’ve stated your case that for you, it’s meaningless that a House Republican said Republicans were warned that the credibility of FD-1023 was unknown. The FBI acknowledged that Smirnov had been a highly reliable informant in the past, but it’s standard practice for the Bureau to investigate each & every claim made, regardless of whether someone was a trusted informant in the past.
If that’s what you mean by Sea-Lioning, than so be it, iowan2.
You added Buck to this. Buck has nothing to do with FBI corruption. As you just posted the FBI rated their source as Highly Reliable. Not Comer, or any other politiciam
ATS – I would remind you that you are doing EXACTLY what you claim that Republicans did.
DOJ/FBI have indicted Smirnov. The only reason we have to beleive that Smirnov is the CHS fromt he 1023 – is because the FBI which refused to provide that information to congress has now revealed it.
This is an FBI/DOJ that has been caught int he past repeatedly lying to the courts.
Despite its length the indictment is actual quite thin in terms of evidence undermining Smirnov.
You say the FBI was investigating Smirnov at the time – How do we know that ?
This indictment is HIGHLY unusual. Probably 99% of all CHS’s are suspected criminals embedded in suspected criminal organizations.
They are liars and crooks mixing truth and lies about other liars and crooks.
If the DOJ/FBI prosecuted every CHS for lying to them – there would be none left.
I highly doubt that Smirnov was being investigated prior to Grassley acquiring the 1023
But lets bring this all out in the open. The crime Smirnov is being charged with is inconsequential. But charging him could severely negative impact national security. Other FBI CHS’s are likely to be very reluctant to provide FBI with information in the fear of prosecution.
Lets bring Smirnov and the DOJ attorney’s and FBI agents involved in this before congress to testify. Limiting the scope of that testimony to Smirnov’s reporting on the Bidens and the DOJ/FBI evaluation and later investigation of Smirnov.
Give EVERYONE – Smirnov, DOJ attoney’s FBI agents involved transactional immunity with regard to past actions related to this narrow scope.
Assuming that the hearing can be limited to that scope – it can be held in public.
Lets get everyone on the record under oath with no fear of prosecution so long as their testimony is truthful.
Smirnov reported this to the FBI in early 2020 – 4 years ago. Are you claiming that the FBI has been investigating this for 4 years ?
If so, why did Wray turn over the 1023 ? He could have said – there is an ongoing investigation.
Intead he first lied under oath about its existance, and would have continued to do so if Grassely had not managed to get a copy and threaten to make an unredacted copy public unless Wray provide a redacted version. Wray Never claimed investigative priviledge. He never claimed a national security issue. Wray provided no reason for failing to provide the 1023.
If there was an investigation of Smirnov at that time – Wray lied to congress about that.
What is more plausible is that DOJ russhed to indict Smirnov after the 1023 was made public.
That would be a deliberate attempt to obstruct the House impeachment inquiry.
The Great Ukraine Shaking Off of Burdens, As Exemplified by One of My Ex-Wives
So, it has been suggested that the Billions of Bucks in weaponry and support sent to Ukraine (wouldn’t Ukrainia sound better?) – was actually part of a Biden pro quid quo, for all the moolah Ukraine sent The Biden Crime Family. And that is possible. And it is possible that it is also a blackmail payment. No doubt, there are Ukrainians who can blow the whistle on Biden and others. But may I suggest another possibility, one of which I have personal knowledge.
Terma Gail, nee Gantry, one of my ex-wives, decided that she wished to be charitable, and give away some of her clothes to the local good Goodwill. As she explained it, there were many poor, overweight women, who had trouble finding clothes to fit them. And she said, we could get a tax write-off! It did not help, that when she asked me once, if a certain piece of drapery made her look fat, I replied, “Yes, but I don’t think it’s the dress.” That was another one of those weeks when I decided sleeping on the couch might be in my best interest.
Anyway, before I knew it, Terma had cleaned out half of her closet, and called a local moving company to take it all to the Goodwill store. I did not think ahead to the point, that if she got rid of clothes, then she would have to go out and buy new clothes, to replace them. I suspect that Terma already had that idea in mind When she said, “But I have nothing to wear? Do you want me to go around naked?” Well, let us just say, as a matter of aesthetics, that would be a great big “No!”. I am sure the local zoo would be getting calls about an escaped elephant. Also, as an attorney, I could be liable for trauma damages to anyone who saw her. I mean, that bad result was definitely foreseeable.
So, maybe that is what is happening here. We give a bunch of old crap to Ukraine. Then, we got to go back out and buy new toys! Merry Christmas, Defense Industry!
Floyd,
Thank you for the laugh! Really, you had me LOL!
Yeah, I have seen a few out there pointing out that we unloaded a bunch of our old crap and can buy all new, shiny stuff, at much more inflated prices for our troops!
There are a few problems with that one.
1) Production timeline for some of those munitions measures in weeks or even months. It is not like ordering a Wopper at Burger King. Especially with things that go boom.
2) Some of those production lines no longer exist. The MANPADS Stinger missiles, they had to pull guys out of retirement to help rebuild and teach people how to make them.
3) Our troop recruitment has not been exactly stellar as of the past few years. Gotten worse under the all new, all woke Biden military. Retention is also a problem as no one want to serve under the Biden admin. Dont see that turning around anytime soon, even if Trump is president.
4) There is also an obesity issue in the military.
So, like the Ukraine, we just might have an issue of we got the weapons, but not the manpower to field or those too overweight to be combat effective.
I think that is what China is counting on. That is why Putin is endorsing Biden. They benefit the most from another Biden admin.
True. But never count out our Defense Industry!
Well finally JT speaks up about the failed Biden impeachment, sorta. Just because the star witness is gone doesn’t mean they can’t make up new star witnesses to keep the fraud going.
Regan is turning in his grave that the party he lead, the party that said “Tear down this wall”, is now the party of who needs NATO (trump), Moscow and Russia are great places to live, much better than the USA (Carlson).
https://www.alternet.org/gop-and-putin/
Putin endorsed Biden.
Who benefits the most from another Biden admin?
Russia, China, Iran, Hamas, drug cartels.
Does Moscow have poop on their streets? Open air drug markets? Homeless encampments?
Bob a serious question.
Why are you defending a Washingtion DC power family, taking in $30 million of cash for no decernable goods or service?
Why are you so intent on defending this scheme?
Bob is back and again, trying to impart his pearls of dung. Bob, did you bother reading the transcript that showed your Trump quote was a lie, something you have been told multiple times?
Now, you want to repeat another idiotic meme. You should know Smirnov was never a “star witness.” You didn’t even know who he was, but you would repeat what you were told despite the fact you were a failed voice who could only make the left look more ridiculous.
2.5 billion in NYC grift untraceable american express blank no name prepaid credit cards given out on the street in NYC mayor adams new 2.5 billion dollar robbery of taxes under the table bribe and payoff scheme…
go to NYC to get your free $10,000 prepaid american express cards !
just identify as a down on your recent robbery and thieving demoncrat, who was beaten by a trumpain fascist in a foreign nation
https://nypost.com/2024/02/19/opinion/inside-mayor-adams-migrant-debit-card-boondoggle-no-bid-bank-gets-50-million-border-crossers-up-to-10000-each/
Holly crap. The entire MAGA movement is a Russian Intel job. It is so sad to see that you are either a “useful idiot” or a “traitor”. You can pick up your name tag at the front desk.
It’s amazing a gas station with nukes has the best intel and infiltration in the entire world, so great the almighty nobody fcks with a biden is totally fckd with
I do love this wording! Bravo.
Mespo,
Be careful saying “Bravo!” You could be mis-gendering someone. I kid thee not! I saw some transy going on about that on Twitter last night.
The idea of America First has been around for years if not decades.
Trump just made it into a nifty campaign slogan.
People who continue to push the Russian Hoax are the real “useful idiots.”
“The idea of America First has been around for years if not decades.” Indeed, nearly a quarter-millenia.
Perry Mason without a clue. You’re among the 33 percent who still think that Trump peed on a Russian bed. You’re also among the few who think that the laptop was Russian disinformation. You believed the Biden’s and their CIA friends who said the laptop was not Hunter’s laptop. Critical readers take into account how completely wrong you were and consequently determine that your current opinion is composed of uninformed biased drivel. Please take the clown hat, red rubber nose and your tuck pants and put them back in the drawer.
An interview with Sammy “The Bull” Gravano about the Biden clan.
The Biden family makes the mafia look like quire boys.
LoL. You Republicans have no shame. None.
They want us fighting with each other Ds and Rs….
so that we don’t turn on THEM…..
get it?
Perry Mason, you have no shame about babies murdered in the last trimester. No shame about cutting off a twelve year olds penis. No shame about showing ten year old boys how to give a blow job. We see that you are a confirmed member of the Caligula branch of the Democratic Party and an enthralled follower of the twisted sisters. I’m sure you have found all the clues that will lead you to a good good time.
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What a find! Kudos to you! Like Sammy The Bull said, “at least we (the Mob) never sold out the whole country.”