I found the Wall Street Journal’s editors’ assessment of the latest developments in the matter of Hunter Biden fairly mild under the circumstances:
All of this underscores Joe Biden’s horrendous judgment in blending his son’s business with his duties as Vice President. Mr. Biden was the Obama Administration’s point man for Ukraine, which was fighting Russia’s first invasion, and he can’t claim ignorance about his son’s dealings.
and
Whether or not Joe Biden took a dime from these dealings, this is a form of political corruption. Covered up by the press in 2020, it will be an issue in 2024.
I think we should all agree that:
- The Biden family has been engaging in influence-peddling
- Although influence-peddling is not illegal per se it is a corrupt practice
- It’s a problem
Are those fair assessments? I’m not certain how the problem can be remediated. IMO the best way is term limits but that has proven quite difficult to put in place and will only limit the problem not prevent it.
As an Illinoisan all of this is very familiar to me. We’ve been trying to clean house here for nearly 50 years. The tendrils of corruption just go deeper and deeper.
I have seen evidence that Hunter was using his Dad’s name for influence, not that his father was involved. Jordan had the big press conference and made a number of troubling inferences and claims. Then the transcript got released and it was a near complete 180. Archer specifically said they did not discuss business/money with the father.
Should Biden have not been involved in Ukraine because his son was doing some work there? That’s a tough one and maybe in some ideal world, but then that would essentially exclude any businessperson and many others from office. Is it corrupt for Trump to deal with China just because he and Ivanka had businesses there? If say Rex Tillerson had run for POTUS and won would it be corrupt to deal with any country where his business had worked? Unless we are willing to pass a law that says family of politicians cannot work overseas and you cant be involved in policy in countries where you or your company worked dont see how this will work.
Covered up by the press? It is one of the most covered stories in history. It got delayed for a few days by a few media sources while getting thousands of stories during the same time period. It appears to be the primary focus of the GOP Congress. 5 years of investigations and we have learned that Hunter is a drug addict, used hookers, cheats on taxes and used his Dad’s name to make money. Also, thanks to Congress we know what nude Hunter looks like. Is this the best use of time in Congress? OK, they did take time out for UFOs.
Steve
Note that nowhere did I make the claim that either Hunter or Joe Biden had behaved illegally—only that Hunter and other Biden family members have been rather clearly engaged in influence-peddling.
IF Joe Biden actually received money from foreign companies, not only should he not be president, he may well spend the rest of his life in jail. I don’t expect that to happen. But the influence-peddling is a corrupt practice nonetheless. Shakespeare said it well: “Caesar’s wife should be above reproach”.
And I think that anyone receiving bribes from foreign countries or companies should be prosecuted. I don’t care who they are or what political party they belong to.
Seriously Dave, we have gone over this with the spouses of judges. They get money, jobs, gifts, vacations, etc. More than any other govt position they are supposed to remain impartial, yet for this group we long ago decided that we dont care what their spouses or any other family members do or receive. In the current case this is just another GOP “investigation” like Benghazi and all of the others. They are trying really hard to tie it to Joe Biden so we get all of the misleading press conferences. The breathless claims by Drew that the next finding will be the one to definitively show wrongdoing.
So I am fine with looking to see if Joe took money, but make it a real professional investigation. Many years into this I dont think they are going to find anything, but this focus on Hunter is another waste of time like all of the other investigations. We know Hunter is scum. Go ahead with his plea bargain or put him in jail, I dont care. If you really care about influence then you have obvious, direct, public bribery/influence peddling going on in our courts you should be looking at.
Steve
“just another GOP “investigation†like Benghazi and all of the others.â€
So you infer these investigations are merely politically motivated?
What in the H was the Muller investigation?
This stuff is SOP in Washington today, it’s politically motivated but not by that measure untrue.
It’s hardball from here on out.
Grey Shambler: What in the H was the Muller investigation?
Mueller indicted Russian agents for election interference, Trump’s former campaign manager for corruption, a former Trump campaign official for lying to investigators and corruption, Trump’s National Security Advisor for lying to investigators about contacts with Russian agents, and Trump’s long time political operative of obstruction. Oh, and Trump’s personal attorney was indicted for lying to Congress.
In addition, Mueller detailed ten counts of obstruction he could not bring charges on due to the Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president.
“It’s hardball from here on out.”
On the GOP side it’s the same old sh*t. None of the 5 or 6 big investigations while Obama was in office found anything. They did the Benghazi investigation 8 times trying to find something. 5 years into investigating Hunter trying to tie something to Joe they still haven’t found anything. They have big press conferences claiming they have found concerning stuff then release the transcripts and we find they say the opposite of what they claimed.
History is pretty clear. This is just an effort to raise money and keep the base angry. OTOH, the Dems did one 18 month investigation with he results documented above. You had Trump himself making direct appeals to the Russians during his campaign. Manafort basically ran campaigns associated with Russian interests.
Steve
Yet another “gift” to Thomas. What a great job. Friends just give you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you never have to report it. or do the normal things like have a mortgage that the rest of us would have to do.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/clarence-thomas-rv-anthony-welters.html
Steve
I don’t exempt judges. IMO there should be a 100% tax on non-W2 income of judges.
You say indicted as if it were synonymous with conviction .
And….,here we go again!
When you control the justice system and still can only accuse, slander, and attempt to bankrupt the political opposition with indictments….
Americans want leaders with integrity, but failing that they’ll choose one with spine.
Sorry, good ole Joe just doesn’t convince me that he’s the right man for the job.
I think we can all agree that failure to register under FARA and failure to pay taxes for the rather pricey, but no doubt sage, advice and other services Joe’s grandchildren, and Hunter’s wife and ex-wife gave Romania and Ukraine is illegal. (snicker) “Clean Joe” (snicker, snicker) should have been on top of that one.
Of course, there may have been no net profit, what with all those convoluted LLC’s and LLC operating agreements the lawyers had to create, and wires like spaghetti between them. Wonder why they went to all that trouble? (snicker, snicker)
What I REALLY wonder is why steve beclowns himself.
…………
I agree that term limits are the only way. But I am as pessimistic about their adoption as Dave.
Grey Shambler: You say indicted as if it were synonymous with conviction.
All those noted in our previous comment were convicted, excepting the Russian agents who interfered in the U.S. election for Trump’s benefit, who evaded the law.
Drew: I think we can all agree that failure to register under FARA and failure to pay taxes . . . is illegal.
Hunter Biden has paid the taxes. Most of the time, once the taxes are paid and guilt admitted, the result is reduced sentencing. The FARA transgressions are more concerning. It will presumably still result in a plea deal of some sort.
Zachriel:
Corruption? In the Ukraine?
Rather long, almost biographical:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-did-ex-trump-aide-paul-manafort-really-do-ukraine-n775431
“I don’t exempt judges.”
But you ignore it. It is very clear that Hunter Biden broke laws but there remains zero evidence that Joe Biden was involved. I kind of feel sorry for Drew as the GOP has done so many “investigations” to try to tie Obama, Hillary, Biden, anyone possible to their “scandals” but keep failing, even when they try 8 times on the same “scandal”. It’s kind of like baseball when the other team has a guy in a 0 for 30 slump and you kind of wish he could get a hit even though he is on the other team. However, after 5 years of investigating doesnt seem too likely.
So you/we are discussing possible influence peddling and unaccounted for monies going to politicians and we all ignore the obvious, well publicized and not even contested monies and gifts going to judges. Its bizarre.
Steve
Grey Shambler: Corruption? In the Ukraine?
The subtitle of your linked article: “Trump’s former campaign chief worked for an anti-NATO party and a politician who fled the country amid charges of corruption and collusion with Russia.” Then, “Backed by Russian-leaning oligarchs, the party opposed NATO membership and spouted anti-Western rhetoric that once helped fuel violence against American marines.”
Not sure your point.
No point except that I was unaware of Manaforts history in the Ukraine and wanted to ask if “corruption “ is an actual crime since that’s a general term.
I don’t approve of Manafort’s efforts but enlighten me, what crimes was he convicted of in the states.
“Its bizarreâ€
Possibly no one’s hands are clean.
Then not so bizarre.
Grey Shambler: No point except that I was unaware of Manaforts history in the Ukraine and wanted to ask if “corruption “ is an actual crime since that’s a general term.
Manafort was convicted of bank fraud, conspiracy, and witness tampering. He was pardoned by Trump.
Guess it IS “who ya know “.
Not what ya know.