Below is my column on Fox.com for the hearing this week on the corruption scandal involving the Biden family. For years, the Democrats have opposed any effort to investigate the Bidens, including as part of the current impeachment inquiry. Various members misrepresented my earlier testimony during the hearing on the basis for the impeachment inquiry. Members like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.) stated that I joined other witnesses in saying that there was nothing that could remotely be impeachable in these allegations. That is demonstrably untrue. My testimony stated the opposite. I refused to pre-judge the evidence, but stated that there was ample basis for the inquiry and laid out various impeachable offenses that could be brought if ultimately supported by evidence. I also discussed those potential offenses in columns. The purpose of the hearing was not to declare an impeachment on the first day of the inquiry. Unlike the two prior impeachments by many of these same Democratic members, this impeachment inquiry sought to create a record of evidence and testimony to support any action that the House might take.
Here is the column:
In the 1966 movie “A Man for All Seasons,” Sir Thomas More tell his daugher Meg that “when a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his own hands like water, and if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again.”
This week, Democrats appear to have finally drained away what remained of themselves and their party. For years, Democratic members and the media have demanded any evidence of the direct involvement or knowledge of President Joe Biden of the influence-peddling operation of his son, Hunter, and his brothers, James and Frank.
In the hearing, witnesses testified under oath about specific meetings with Joe Biden discussing these foreign dealings and the family business interests. Bank records were introduced showing the transfers of millions going to Hunter and various Biden family members.
Faced with the evidence that the president lied about his lack of any knowledge or involvement in the influence peddling, the Democrats opened their fingers wider.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D., N.Y., captured the problem for Democrats in even addressing any of the mounting evidence contradicting the president. Yet, Goldman has long shown a willingness to rush in where angels fear to tread.
In previous attacks, Goldman repeatedly hit the Bidens with friendly fire when eliciting damaging answers from witnesses. Goldman has a habit of raising the worst evidence that his colleagues have avoided. In one hearing, he stumbled badly in raising the WhatsApp message where Hunter told a Chinese businessman that his father was sitting next to him and would not be pleased unless he sent him money. On another occasion, he prompted an IRS whistleblower to note that an email Goldman read into the record was actually a direct contradiction of the denials of the president.
In the latest misstep, Goldman pressed former Biden partner Tony Bobulinski on a proposal shared with Hunter and others to reserve 10% for “the Big Guy.” In other emails, Bobulinski was told to use such codes to avoid mentioning Joe Biden’s name. He was expressly identified as “the Big Guy.”
Goldman snapped at Bobulinski, “Did anyone ever respond to that email?”
Bobulinski responded “Yes, they did numerous times. Hunter himself did.”
Goldman blurted out “you’re right” before angrily reclaiming his time to cut him off.
Things did not prove any easier for other members. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D., N.Y., imploded by mocking Bobulinski and challenging him “It is simple, you name the crime. Did you watch him steal something?”
Bobulinski proceeded to rattle off a series of possible criminal acts and Ocasio-Cortez cut him off. She then bizarrely pretended that he did not just list the crimes and barked “What is the crime, sir? Specifically?”
Bobulinski was not the only one confused and noted “you ask and answer the question, I answered the question, RICO, you’re obviously not familiar with…”
That is when Ocasio-Cortez again cut him off with “Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir. RICO is not a crime, it is a category. What is the crime?”
With that, it appears that Trump has now been cleared of charges in Atlanta by no one other than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Racketeering is a crime and some of the crimes referenced by Bobulinski are commonly part of such conspiracies.
The exchange captured the lunacy of the hearing as Democrats demanded evidence and then ignored it when it was repeatedly offered by witnesses and members.
Yet, Ocasio-Cortez was illuminating on one point. Neither she nor her colleagues were willing to admit the obvious. Few people now disagree that Hunter was openly engaging in influence peddling, which is a form of corruption that the government has long fought around the world. It is also clear that Joe Biden knew of that influence peddling not just from his son but newspaper accounts. He had knowledge of the corruption and facilitated it.However, Ocasio-Cortez wanted to ignore the millions of dollars acquired in influence peddling to press a witness on whether he saw the president steal something like a purse or a hubcap.
The Democrats have allowed their very identity to drip through their open fingers. They have become a party that calls for censorship, ballot cleansing, and court packing. Now they are dismissing allegations of raw influence peddling after opposing every effort to investigate it.
Those who raise free speech or free press concerns now face a McCarthy-like mantra from Democratic members that they are nothing more than fellow travelers of Russia as we head into yet another election. Some Democratic members have called for criminal charges against reporters or demanded the names of sources. MSNBC contributor and former Sen. Claire McCaskill even attacked former and current members testifying in favor of free speech as “Putin apologists” and Putin lovers.
As a lifelong Democrat from a politically active Chicago family, I can no longer recognize the party from my youth. We once stood for something other than the next election or hating others.
By the end of the hearing, virtually every Democratic member had attacked the witnesses and denied the obvious corruption surrounding the Biden family. They had become a party of Richard Riches. Of course, this unified effort to deny the obvious left little time to look down at what remained in their hands. They had owned the moment when the party fought to shield one of the most extensive and lucrative influence peddling operations in history.
After that ignoble effort, there was little reason to look down since they “needn’t hope to find [themselves] again.”
Hi Jonathan.
I believe that is the appropriate response to someone at a DA meeting saying: hi, I’m Jonathan, and I’m a Demcrat.
Well done Jonathan!.
Isn’t it interesting, if it involves Trump, Democrat’s can see any and all crimes imaginable, without supporting evidence. But when it involves Biden, despite overwhelming evidence, they suddenly are struck blind to the law.
“hi, I’m Jonathan, and I’m a Demcrat”…….
Olly..that’s hilarious!
Thanks Cindy! It would have been better if I had spelled Democrat correctly. 😉
Olly…….I was laughing so much I honestly did not see the misspelling.
Thank you, Mr. Turley! I never miss your brilliant legal analysis on Fox and so enjoy your writings! “A Man for all Seasons” was one of my favorite movies as a teen and your correlation to democrats is spot on. At 18 I quizzed my grandfather which party to register with. Being in Louisiana he replied, “democrat—they are for the working folks.” Like you, I no longer recognize the Democratic Party and I have since changed my affiliation. I’m truly terrified for our country and the future of my children and grandchildren. Common sense, morality and certainly civility have “slipped through the fingers” of too many liberals. We are in an ideological civil war for sure…I pray for your strength and continued wisdom in this battle. God Bless AMERiCA!
Yep, they USED TO BE for the working folks. Not any more.
Becky, my parents voted for Stevenson twice when he ran against Ike but at the end my father ended up hating the Democrats and my 94 year old mother hates them too. My first vote was for McGovern in 1972 (shame) and now I haven’t voted for any Democrat in over 40 years.
When the “working class party” supports open borders, forcing parents to have their kids brainwashed into the trans thing, insists on priority for black businesses at the expense of white businesses, has a trans “Admiral”, has a bald man with lipstick who steals dresses as a Nuclear “expert”, who has a trans person feeling “herself” up on the WH lawn, is forcing EVs down their throats, starts attacking Israel in order to support Hamas, allows freaks to shut down highways with impunity, wants to ban guns and speech, forces your 6 year old child to be lectured to about his or her gender etc etc, the non-elite, non-Ivy League voter will abandon them.
Reagan said it perfectly, “I didn’t leave the Democrat Party, they left me”.
My first vote was for George McGovern too. But, like yourself, I will not vote for the Democrats today. Men pretending to be girls competing in girls and womens sports (which will destroy womens and girls sports), open borders (which cost US taxpayers billions and drive down wages), draconian DEI hiring policies, policies that violate civil rights laws, the Democrats monetizing their political offices like they do in the third world (see the big money made by the Clinton and Biden families – while in Hillary and Joe Biden were in office), the Democrats and their donors ties to Red China. The Democratic party has degenerated into a corrupt entity, so much so I can barely recognize the Democratic party anymore. Blue Collar worker, once the backbone of the party, are refusing to vote for the Democrats today. Corruption is A-Okay with the Democrats, look at how hard Goldman and Raskin are defending the Biden’s – despite the obvious corruption the family was engaging in. Just disgraceful. I am old enough to remember when the Democrats were the “Good Guys”, the guys that wore the “White Hats”. Not true anymore, not even close.
I always wondered who the other guy was who voted for McGovern !
I too voted for him, and like you, he was the last Democrat I ever voted for (at least for President).
Although his policies are anathema to me, he was twice the man any subsequent Democrat candidate was.
Excellent summary above by you, relative to the changes that have occurred in the Democrat policy platform over the years.
It is scary the damage you and your party have done to the United States
Jonathan, when are you going to leave the obviously corrupt Democrat party?
I left the Democratic Party soon after 1980. Jimmie Carter was an excellent governor when I lived and grew up in Georgia but once he got into the national Democratic Party machinery he became something else. He did not grow into the Presidency. Instead it diminished him and I never really listened to him again. I chose to go to Reagan and my eyes were so much more opened and have seen nothing to make me go back to the Democratic Party. I am truly appalled at what they support now, especially compared to where they used to be. Woodrow Wilson would love the present Democratic Party but I suspect FDR, HST, JFK and possibly Bill Clinton would be appalled. Hilary, on the other hand, already fell off the cliff and nobody cares.
AOC seems to qualify for the statement that the lights are on but nobody is home. Raskin and Goldman are no better. Pelosi’s brain left the station years ago.
Republicans have to stop being nice…and jail Democrat criminals from across government by the 1000’s!
Democrats are fighting a CIVIL WAR against American!
Why does the GOP continue to fund Democrat fascists? How about ending all federal aid to cities, states, colleges, non-profits. Cut 50% of federal spending. Just to start!
Good America is based on local control, bad America is USSR Centralized POWER! The USA is CURRENTLY a Fascist State!
Too many Republicans still have the Bill Barr Syndrome, where they believe that the Democrats are merely their colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Why, the very notion that Democrats would steal an election is not something they will entertain. One of these acts of “collegiality” probably changed hstory in this country – that is when Mega-Cuck Ken Starr, warned Bill Clinton about the blue dress. Do you think that Raskin would have done that? Or Goldman? Or any other Democrat. Not on your life.
Professor, you are a vanishing, endangered species. Even cynical political animals like Pelosi, Durban, and of course Biden, have been only too willing to abandon any pretense to ethics, truth, or fealty to the Constitution as they prostitute themselves for votes. Classic liberals and moderates are being purged. If you won’t get with the current program they have no use for you. That should be obvious to you if you ever read the comments section of your own blog, which I rather imagine you do not. It is not generally rewarding or dispositive. The DNC trolls, unpaid volunteers or otherwise, clearly consider you to be some kind of right-wing MAGA supporter, merely because you have ethics and believe in the Constitution.
Dear Professor: Less than a fortnight ago I re-read the Robert Bolt play, A Man for All Seasons, and as you state sir, Oh Tis True, Tis True! Well Rought in a time of yet unknown consequence. But do recall that Dr. Cranmer suffered fire at the stake!
When you have complete control of the Media, you can contradict yourself all the time and it doesn’t matter. Most swing voters just see the 30 second clips from a TV on when they are making breakfast or eating dinner. And the the only voters that matter are the swing ones – swing voters who switch parties, and swing turnout are young voters who are committed to the Left, but only vote when something that really matters to them (like abortion or student loans) is at stake.
don’t really care about the media…Democrats have CONTROL of the courts, FBI, DOJ, CIA, NSA, Google, FB, etc
Here is a short list of things Democrats are defending
Corrupt GA prosecutor
Murderous HAMAS
Harvard anti semites
Ukraine The Most corrupt nation in Europe
Joes demen
Bidens $30million in bribes
Castrating year old boys
Males playing in female sports
Books containing explicit depictions of gay sex in elementary school libraries
Rampant Government censorship
Corrupt court, Half $billion fraud settlement, with no identified victim
Extending the Statute of limitations to 30 years for civil cases
Corrupt court finding liability for actions that cant be proven from 30 years ago
Feel free to add your own examples.
Iowan2, yesterday a mob of illegals bull rushed the border in a sickening video yet CNN had it buried, major papers ignored it and I doubt MSNBC even mentioned it.
Remember when a striking video is what the news bureaus wanted? Well now it only matters if it fits the agenda.
I just watched an interview with the great Douglas Murray by some Jew hating British “journalist and all she would do is blame the Jews for everything. Murray crushed her but her smugness never abated nor did her Jew hatred.
iowan2: Thanks for the open invite. I will take you up on it.
-encouraging open borders–in order to create multitudes of grateful, future Democrats
-paying off $$$ billions in student loans to create multitudes of grateful, future Democrats
-appointing multiple LGBQT persons to highly-visible, top-level public/Cabinet positions (I don’t care about their preferences, but I VERY MUCH DO CARE about the role that LGBQT status played in their appointments, trumping other qualification factors): gay Pete Buttigieg, lesbian Press Sec’y Karine Jean-Pierre, non-binary lipstick-wearing top DOE official Sam Britton ( https://ijr.com/nonbinary-ex-biden-official-stole-luggage-taxpayer-funded-trip/ ), openly trans Asst. Sec’y of Rachel Levine (https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/dr-rachel-levine-protecting-transgender-youth-confirmation-experience-78216466), are just a few.– in order to create multitudes of grateful, LGBQT Democrats.
It’s all about the big-tent growing of the left, isn’t it
Iowan2,
Good list. Accurate too.
Attempts to rig the election by removing a presidential candidate.
Indoctrination of DEI and CRT in public education.
Weaken our military by focusing on DEI and CRT than things like, warfighting.
Thanks for you and lin adding your favorites. All are policies that ALL voters should worry about.
I had limited myself to the fringe stuff, that sane people of either party find fantastical. I mean, who wants sexually explicit books in elementary school libraries?
“As a lifelong Democrat from a politically active Chicago family, I can no longer recognize the party from my youth. We once stood for something other than the next election or hating others.”
Please, Professor, tell us what is the “something” that the Democrat Party “once stood for”. Slavery? Jim Crow? Yes, those were once mainstays of the Democratic Party. Corruption? Ballot Box Stuffing? Those persist from the founding until the present day. If pressed, I think you will admit that the brightest (and only) guiding light of the Democratic Party through its history has been that the government should control everything. Yes, everything. A direct contradiction to our Constitution, as you must know as a law professor. That has always brought it right up to the edge of socialism and communism and fascism and, on many occasions, over that line in specific circumstances. The best government is the most government has been their slogan through the ages. And when they are in charge of that government they waste little time is chipping away at the foundations of our Constitutional Republic to make it easier for them to regain power if they temporarily lose it.
anyone that supported Johnson…is obviously deluded!
“. . . he needn’t hope to find himself again.”
Kyle Rittenhouse tried to speak at the University of Memphis. The rest of the story writes itself.
I respected the D’s for their passionate defense of free speech. That defense was muddled at times, but always fervent. Then some 30 years ago, with speech codes, the D’s turned from free speech to attenuated speech — and now, today, to no free speech for opposing opinions.
They opened their fingers just a little; then wide. And now that part of their self is gone.
P.S. Great piece JT.
Very nice Sam
TY.
Stupid is as stupid does
This is only one example. Why is there no conclusion regarding your party affiliation Mr. Turley? You seem to go there but you stop. Why are you still a Democrat?
It’s apparent that I’m not the only one that:
“[I] loves the smell of 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥-𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐢.𝐞. 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬) in the morning – Smells like Victory!”
Brilliant! Post Jonathan 👍👍
Professor…One of your best columns ever! And we feel your pain. Along with the Dems’ blatant and cruel dishonesty, is the sickening bullying. Here in Texas, we witnessed it first when we were still Dems during the 2008 primaries.. At that time we were Hillary supporters, which were bullied unbelievably, starting at the local level precinct conventions and on up through the Texas State Convention.
We quit the party that summer and have never regretted it. Believe me, food tastes better, the air smells fresher, and friends are kinder after you break from the party of the “dark side”.
Congratulations on your escape! You are an example of what happens when a person meets uncomfortable facts, and then changes their mind and their opinions! I have voted for a few Blue Dog Democrats in my time, but since the mid-90s, I have never voted for a Democrat.
A lot of Democrats continue to swallow whatever, like gender-affirming care and open borders, because they are not mentally able to change their minds. Like people who have done too many drugs, their minds are gone. That applies to the Flying Monkey Squad here, assuming they are not Paid Shills. You might like this. Hopefully, one day, Ana will escape:
Floyd….Thank you! And thank you for this video….It’s about time the Left look up from their phones and see what’s happening!
Floyd – What I like about this video is where Jake says: “Nobody agreed to this”. That applies to almost everything the federal government does. Who voted for electric vehicles? Who voted for CAFE standards? Who voted for war in Syria? Who voted for racial quotas? The federal government, and increasingly state and local governments, runs themselves. Our real masters are little-known people in the bureaucracy.
Having grown up in Chicago, I knew more Unicorns and Vampires than Republicans. It wasn’t so much that Republicans were bad, as the belief that Democrats were good for the working class. But since around the time of Jimmy Carter the Democratic Party has become Vampires . . . and they’re riding Unicorns.
Professor Turley, since I saw this headline in the Daily Mail:
– “AOC asks Hunter Biden ex-associate ‘exactly’ what crimes he’s seen Joe commit in impeachment hearing furious exchange: Tony Bobulinski fires
back at Squad member with THREE allegations against the president”
I was just waiting for you to HIGHLIGHT THE OBVIOUS:
“With that, it appears that Trump has now been cleared of charges in Atlanta by no one other than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.” HAHAHA
You are a crack!
My family is from SW Pennsylvania where we were taught at school how to vote the straight D ticket on the voting machines brought into school at election time. One of my brothers-in-law mournfully insists if the D’s could just find a “decent” candidate all would be well. I’ve watched over the couple of years as it has dawned on him that there are no decent Dems to be had, ever. Recently, our former hometown announced that their police stations would no longer be manned in the evenings; that there were only 20 officers available at night for the entire city and not to bother for crimes like burglary, etc. It should be noted that we all live in South Carolina now and will never return.
I also moved from blue to red.
It is astounding that anyone believes democrats anymore. Lies, constant lies, blatant lies from Biden and his administration. Obvious totalitarian actions to censor opposing voices and throw an election in the name of “saving democracy.” And a “mainstream media” that most of the public now recognizes as being mouthpieces of this power-mad democrat party.