Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a member of President Donald Trump’s legal defense team, tore into the Democrats’ case for removing the president from office by highlighting the allegations of corruption that surround former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, regarding their work in Ukraine.
Joe Biden has claimed that no one has ever alleged any wrongdoing, while other Democrats have claimed that involving the Bidens in the impeachment trial is nothing more than a distraction.
Bondi pushed back on those claims by highlighting the allegations of corruption surrounding Hunter Biden’s work for Burisma, an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company, while his father was serving as vice president and was largely responsible for overseeing U.S. matters in Ukraine. Joe Biden previously bragged on camera that he got a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating corruption at Burisma fired by threatening to withhold $1 billion in aid from the country.
Former White House Special Assistant Steven Cheung highlighted Bondi’s most notable remarks on the matter in a series of tweets.
“In fact, every witness who was asked about Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma agreed there was a potential appearance of a conflict of interest,” Bondi said. “Multiple House Democrat witnesses, including those from the Department of State, the National Security Council, and other unanimously testified there was a potential appearance of a conflict of interest. These were their witnesses.”
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1/6@PamBondi with the masterclass in laying out the argument on Hunter Biden's corruption in Ukraine.
"House managers didn't tell you that." pic.twitter.com/3GyGJvg0EG
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) January 27, 2020
“In March 2014, the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office opens a money laundering operation investigation into the oligarch Zlochevsky and his company Burisma,” Bondi continued. “The very next month, April 2014, according to a public report, Hunter Biden quietly joins the board of Burisma. Remember, early 2014 is when Vice President Biden began leading Ukraine policy.”
“Here’s how Hunter Biden came to join Burisma’s board in 2014: He was brought on the board by Devon Archer, his business partner. Devon Archer was college roommates with Chris Heinz, stepson of Secretary of State John Kerry,” Bondi continued. “All three men, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and Chris Heinz had all started an investment firm together. Public records show that April 16th, 2014, Devon Archer meets with Vice President Biden at the White House. Just two days later, on April 18th, 2014, is when Hunter Biden quietly joins Burisma, according to public reporting. Remember this is just one month after the United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office opened a money laundering case into Burisma, Hunter Biden joins the board.”
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2/6
After the UK fraud office opened a money laundering investigation against Burisma, Hunter Biden is hired a month later.It’s also at this time that @JoeBiden as VP is in charge of Ukraine policy. pic.twitter.com/TiwrTNiOVR
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) January 27, 2020
“And not only 10 days after Hunter Biden joins the board, British authorities seize $23 million in British bank accounts connected to the oligarch Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma,” Bondi continued. “Did Hunter Biden leave the board then? No. The British authorities also announced that it had started a criminal investigation into potential money laundering. Did Hunter Biden leave the board? No.”
“What happened was then, only then, did the company choose to announce that Hunter Biden had joined the board, after the assets of Burisma and its oligarch owner Zlochevsky were frozen in and a criminal investigation had begun,” Bondi continued. “Hunter Biden’s decision to join Burisma raised flags almost immediately.”
“One article from May 2014, stated, ‘the appointment of Joe Biden’s son to the board Ukrainian gas firm Burisma has raised eyebrows the world over,’” Bondi added. “Even an outlet with bias for Democrats pointed Hunter Biden’s activities created a conflict of interest for Joe Biden.”
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3/6
After Burisma’s assests were frozen, they choose to announce Hunter joining the board, signaling influence over the Vice President’s son.News outlets reported it “raised eyebrows the world over” and “raises questions about a potential conflict of interest for Joe Biden.” pic.twitter.com/c92q5mOIbo
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) January 27, 2020
“Even Chris Heinz, Hunter Biden’s own business partner, had grave concerns,” Bondi pointed out. “He thought that working with Burisma was unacceptable, this is Chris Heinz. He was worried about the corruption, the geopolitical risk, and how bad it would look, so he wisely distances himself from Hunter Biden and Devon Archer’s appointments to Bursima.”
“He didn’t simply call his stepfather, secretary of state, and say, ‘I have a problem with this,’ he didn’t tell his friends, ‘hey guy, I’m not getting on the board, I want nothing to do with this,’ he went so far as to send an email to senior State Department officials about this issue, this is Chris Heinz,” Bondi continued. “He wrote, ‘apparently Devon and Hunter have joined the board of Burisma and a press release went out today. I can’t speak to why they decided to, but there is no investment by our firm in their company.’”
“What did Hunter Biden do? He stayed on the board,” Bondi continued. “What did Chris Heinz do? He subsequently stopped doing business with his college roommate Devon Archer and his friend Hunter Biden. Chris Heinz spokesperson said, ‘the lack of judgement in this matter was a major catalyst for Mr. Heinz ending his business relationship with Mr. Archer and Mr. Biden.’”
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4/6
Hunter Biden’s close friend and business partner Chris Heinz was so concerned that he ceased all business with Hunter.Heinz’ spokesperson reiterated that the “lack of judgement” ended their business relationship. pic.twitter.com/QWx1aWUL1m
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) January 27, 2020
Bondi continued by noting that ABC News, The Washington Post, and Good Morning America, all raised serious concerns about Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board and about his involvement in countries where his father was conducting business on behalf of the United States.
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5/6
News reports even covered the Biden/Burisma scandal closely.Yet, House impeachment managers have conveniently left that out of their arguments. pic.twitter.com/bahy6SgiIE
— Steven Cheung (@CaliforniaPanda) January 27, 2020
This report has been updated to include additional information.