Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden snapped at an audience member who questioned him at a campaign event on Thursday about his son&#8217;s role at a Ukrainian gas company, calling the man &#8220;a damn liar&#8221; and then challenging him to a push-up contest.
&#8220;You&#8217;re a damn liar, man. That&#8217;s not true and no one has ever said that,&#8221; Biden snapped at the man. &#8220;You see it on the TV? I know you do. By the way, that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m not sedentary &#8230; The reason I&#8217;m running is that I&#8217;ve been around a long time, and I know more than most people know, and I can get things done. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m running.&#8221;
&#8220;You want to check my shape man, let&#8217;s do push-ups together here, man. Let&#8217;s run,&#8221; Biden continued. &#8220;Let&#8217;s do whatever you want to do. Let&#8217;s take an IQ test. Ok?&#8221;
&#8220;No one has said that my son has done anything wrong and I did not on any occasion and no one has ever said it,&#8221; Biden claimed.
Multiple notable accounts on Twitter also claimed that Biden appeared to call the man &#8220;fat.&#8221;
WATCH:
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Joe Biden lashes out at voter in Iowa after the voter calls Biden out on Ukraine: 
Not only does Biden call the voter “a damn liar,” he goes on to call the voter “fat.” <a href="https://t.co/34SMYcmbr7">pic.twitter.com/34SMYcmbr7</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1202657614817120257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Joe Biden completely loses it, lashing out at a voter in Iowa after he calls Biden out on Ukraine. Biden:
*calls him a &quot;damn liar&quot; *challenges the voter to push-ups *calls him &quot;fat&quot; *says &quot;you&#39;re too old to vote for me&quot;<a href="https://t.co/UHLSDqYUJR">pic.twitter.com/UHLSDqYUJR</a>
&mdash; Tommy Pigott (@TCPigott) <a href="https://twitter.com/TCPigott/status/1202657307324297216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Democrat voter asks Biden about his son getting corrupt million$ from a Ukrainian gas company while Biden was VP.
Biden&#39;s response:
&#8211; Yell at voter &#8211; Insult his intelligence &#8211; Call man &quot;jack!&quot; &#8211; mumble incoherently &#8211; challenge the man to push-up competition &#8211; Call the man &quot;fat&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Qk8Njjccos">pic.twitter.com/Qk8Njjccos</a>
&mdash; Benny (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1202660458613882881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Biden campaign spokesperson Symone Sanders responded to his meltdown, writing: &#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear RE: the exchange VP Biden had with a voter in Iowa earlier today: 1) the gentleman is a self identified Warren supporter who said he would vote for the VP in a general election 2) his facts were flat-out wrong and 3) the crowd backed VP Biden up in his response. To be clear: Any assertion VP Biden said a word about the gentleman&#8217;s appearance is making this something it is not. In the latter part of the exchange, the VP began to say &#8216;Look, facts&#8217; then said &#8216;here&#8217;s the deal.&#8217; If you&#8217;ve been to a Biden event, you&#8217;ve heard this before.&#8221;
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Let&#39;s be clear RE: the exchange VP Biden had with a voter in Iowa earlier today: 1) the gentleman is a self identified Warren supporter who said he would vote for the VP in a general election 2) his facts were flat-out wrong and 3) the crowd backed VP Biden up in his response.
&mdash; Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SymoneDSanders/status/1202666372012105729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sanders continued, &#8220;The reality is this &#8211; a reference was made to the &#8216;news&#8217; today and I think we all know which outlet has continued to peddle the debunked conspiracy theories cooked up by Trump and Rudy Guiliani about Ukraine. These lies will not go unchecked &amp; we&#8217;ll continue to lay out the facts.&#8221;
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The reality is this &#8211; a reference was made to the &quot;news&quot; today and I think we all know which outlet has continued to peddle the debunked conspiracy theories cooked up by Trump and Rudy Guiliani about Ukraine. These lies will not go unchecked &amp; we&#39;ll continue to lay out the facts.
&mdash; Symone D. Sanders (@SymoneDSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SymoneDSanders/status/1202666373769506816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Another video showed the man who questioned Biden getting into it with another man at the event who said to him, &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you just get out of here?&#8221;
The man who questioned Biden responded: &#8220;Stick it up your a*s, fella.&#8221;
&#8220;Come here,&#8221; the man who questioned Biden continued as he stood up and confronted the man. &#8220;You want to throw me out? &#8230; You got a big mouth.&#8221;
The Washington Examiner separately reported that the man who questioned Biden later told reporters that Biden &#8220;is so old, he&#8217;s senile&#8221; and he should &#8220;drop out of the race.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Stick it up your ass, fella.&quot;
Voter that challenged <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a> gets into confrontation with another voter that told him to &quot;get out of here.&quot;
📹: <a href="https://twitter.com/emilyelarsen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EmilyELarsen</a> <a href="https://t.co/VSz8u2yWC0">pic.twitter.com/VSz8u2yWC0</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1202664302454415361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Biden&#8217;s embarrassing outburst was not the only stumble he had during the campaign stop as he also appeared to briefly believe that he was in Ohio, even though he was Iowa, before eventually correcting himself.
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THREAD. 
This is a pattern that Joe Biden does not know where he is.
Today Joe Biden told an Iowan in Iowa: “You are in the state of Ohio”<a href="https://t.co/SLPuheMFPS">pic.twitter.com/SLPuheMFPS</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1202666773897715713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Biden also appeared to not remember when he served in the Obama administration as he confused 1976 with 2014.
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Joe Biden was on a tear during that Iowa event. He also forgot what year the Obama administration was in office. He thought it was during the 70s for a few seconds 😂 <a href="https://t.co/pN57WJtSbL">pic.twitter.com/pN57WJtSbL</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1202662112994189312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
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This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.

Joe Biden

BIDEN SNAPS: Calls Man ‘A Damn Liar,’ Challenges Him To Push-Up Contest

2020 Election

Hunter Biden

Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter, is reportedly moving to seal all financial records in an ongoing child support lawsuit he is facing in Arkansas that he claims would cause him &#8220;embarrassment&#8221; as he is allegedly in &#8220;significant&#8221; debt.
“DNA testing has established, ‘with scientific certainty,’ that Hunter Biden is the father of an Arkansas baby, according to a motion filed Wednesday in Independence County on behalf of the child’s mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts,” The Arkansas Democrat Gazette <a href="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/20/dna-test-shows-hunter-biden-father-arkansas-womans/">reported</a> last week. “Hunter Biden, who initially denied having sexual relations with Roberts, eventually agreed to take a DNA test, according to documents filed by Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster.”
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7740665/Hunter-Biden-requests-Protective-Order-seal-financial-records-amid-child-support-suit.html">reported</a> late on Friday that Biden, 49, &#8220;filed the motion for a Protective Order of his financial records in the Arkansas Circuit Court of Independence on Wednesday, citing fears that such information would be used &#8216;maliciously&#8217; by the media if disclosed publicly.&#8221;
&#8220;The likelihood that [Biden&#8217;s] private records will be used in an inappropriate or malicious manner for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with these proceedings is exceedingly high and should not be tolerated by the court,&#8221; the filing states, according to records obtained by The Daily Mail. &#8220;Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the parties involved in this matter, it is in the interest of justice and necessary for a Protective Order to be in place.&#8221;
Hunter Biden had claimed that he was not the father and thus agreed to take the DNA test, which Roberts requested because she wanted a court to establish that he was the father since she was seeking child support and for him to provide health insurance for the child.
&#8220;While Roberts &#8211; who is demanding Biden pay her $11K in legal fees in addition to child support &#8211; is said to agree that a Protective Order is appropriate, she has so far refused to fully commit to the current terms demanded by Biden, despite his &#8216;best efforts&#8217; to secure her acquiescence,&#8221; The Daily Mail added. &#8220;In addition to the Protective Order, Biden is also requesting an upcoming December 2 hearing be delayed until a decision on the order is made, adding that he has been so far been unable to complete an affidavit of his financials.&#8221;
Hunter Biden has been under intense national scrutiny over membership on a the board of an allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, while his father was vice president in the Obama administration.
New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-reporter-on-burisma-scandal-joe-bidens-vp-position-ukraine-activities-gave-burisma-its-rationale-to-put-hunter-biden-on-its-board">said</a> on Wednesday that Ukraine got its &#8220;rationale&#8221; for putting Biden on the board of the company because of Joe Biden&#8217;s position in the U.S. government and his official government activities in Ukraine.
Joe Biden was asked last week about the news that he was going to be a grandfather, to which Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-biden-gets-upset-after-being-asked-about-revelation-that-his-son-fathered-child-with-arkansas-woman-while-he-was-dating-his-brothers-widow">responded in anger</a>.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Biden, “Do you have a comment on this report and court filing out of Arkansas that your son Hunter just made you a grandfather?”
“No, that’s a private matter, I have no comment,” Biden responded in annoyance. “But only you would ask that. You’re a good man. You’re a good man. Classy.”

Hunter Biden Moves To Seal Embarrassing Records That Would Be Used ‘Maliciously’ By Media, Report Says

New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel said on the newspaper&#8217;s podcast on Wednesday that Ukrainian gas company Burisma got its &#8220;rationale&#8221; to put then-Vice President Joe Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter Biden, on its board because of Joe Biden&#8217;s position in the U.S. government and his activities in Ukraine.
Allegations surrounding Joe and Hunter Biden&#8217;s ties in Ukraine and with Burisma have become <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-biden-explodes-when-confronted-his-ukraine-ryan-saavedra">a sore spot for Joe Biden</a> as he runs for the Democratic nomination for president.
The scandal has stayed in the news because it is the genesis of the Democrats&#8217; efforts to impeach President Donald Trump over a July 25 phone call he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he asked Zelensky to look into the Burisma scandal to make sure everything was above board.
Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry several weeks ago which started on the House Intelligence Committee and is now moving to the House Judiciary Committee, which has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-democrats-announce-new-impeachment-moves-on-trump">scheduled</a> to hold hearings next Wednesday.
Here is the interaction where Vogel made the remarks:
<blockquote>Question: And how clear is it that the reason why Hunter Biden is coming onto the board is because of his family connection? Is it more or less explicit?
Vogel: This is definitely the message that everyone in Ukraine and Washington takes away from it as to why Hunter Biden is brought onto the board. you know his defenders point out that he had in fact served on other boards including the board of Amtrak where his dad famously has a lot of connections and clout but he doesn&#8217;t really have much other applicable experience that would suggest that he is otherwise the ideal candidate to serve on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. he doesn&#8217;t have any experience in Ukraine or Ukrainian law or even in energy.
Question: Okay, so what do we need to know about Burisma at this moment when Hunter Biden arrives on the board?
Vogel: Burisma has faced allegations of corruption, including many that are embraced by the West and by the State Department which sees it in many ways, both the company itself Burisma, and the oligarch who owns the company, as poster children for post-soviet corruption in Ukraine.
Question: Do we know if Hunter Biden understood this when he went on the board?
Vogel: If he had done any due diligence, you would think that he should have known. there were certainly investigations that were already ongoing, both in Ukraine and in the West, into the oligarch who owned the company on suspicion of money laundering and those investigations had support from the United States government and that is where Joe Biden comes in.
Question: What do you mean?
Vogel: Well, Joe Biden at this time is the vice president and one of his key foreign policy tasks that he takes on at the assignment of President Barack Obama is to help Ukraine stand up to Russian aggression and one of the things that is seen as an impediment to Ukraine establishing a stable government is this scourge of corruption that has long plagued it and is seen as limiting its ability to attract international investment and to be a stable government that can mount a response to Russian aggression.
Question: And when is he given that assignment?
Vogel: I mean it comes pretty much at about the same time as Hunter Biden is going on to the board of this Ukrainian gas company in early 2014.
Questioner: So, that&#8217;s kind of complicated.
Vogel: It is and it certainly would provide rationale for this Ukrainian gas company and it&#8217;s oligarch owner to want to have a powerful Westerner who is seen as having connections to the Obama government which at this point is pushing Ukraine to clamp down on the very type of corruption that this oligarch and his company is seen as embodying.</blockquote>
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NYT&#39;s Vogel: Joe Biden&#39;s VP position, activities in Ukraine gave Burisma its &quot;rationale&quot; to put Hunter Biden on its board<a href="https://t.co/YLCvXLbzWv">pic.twitter.com/YLCvXLbzWv</a>
&mdash; Tommy Pigott (@TCPigott) <a href="https://twitter.com/TCPigott/status/1199833910152192000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Partial transcript from The Daily podcast:
Question: Does anyone raise the question of whether this is not a great idea that Joe Biden is suddenly investigating corruption in Ukraine around the same time that his son is now on the board of a major Ukrainian energy company that is accused of corruption?
Vogel: Yes, we know that there&#8217;s a guy in the State Department by the name of George Kent, who had deep experience both in Ukraine and in fighting corruption, he had served as the anti-corruption coordinator in the State Department&#8217;s European Bureau, and he does raise concerns about Hunter Biden joining the board of Burisma and how Hunter Biden&#8217;s position could affect Vice President Biden standing as a corruption fighter or the leader of the U.S. effort to push Ukraine to clamp down on corruption.
Question: But a decision is made that father and son can simultaneously do these two things?
Vogel: It actually appears as if the decision was to not make a decision and to not address this. George Kent tried to bring this to the attention of the Vice President&#8217;s staff and was essentially told that Vice President Biden did not have the bandwidth to address this at a time when he was dealing with other family issues.
Question: So, the theory is basically that the vice-president does a favor for his son in the form of official action in Ukraine?
Vogel: Correct.
Question: Okay, so where does the story behind that claim begin?
Vogel: You got to go back to 2014 … Hunter Biden who&#8217;s a Yale educated lawyer and had dabbled in various business ventures had just been discharged from the Navy Reserve after testing positive for cocaine during a drug test. And at this point he and some partners are starting to explore international opportunities and one of his partners gets this gig on the board of this Ukrainian gas company that is looking for some Western political connections and Hunter Biden asked if he can get in on this as well and he is brought on to the board of this company. This company is called Burisma Holdings it does primarily natural gas and it is bringing on to its board a number of folks with big political names in the West and one of them is Hunter Biden. He is paid as much as $50,000 or even more in some months to serve on the board of this company and ostensibly to help it with governance reforms to sort of introduce Western corporate governance standards into this company.
Question: And how clear is it that the reason why Hunter Biden is coming onto the board is because of his family connection? Is it more or less explicit?
Vogel: This is definitely the message that everyone in Ukraine and Washington takes away from it as to why Hunter Biden is brought onto the board. you know his defenders point out that he had in fact served on other boards including the board of Amtrak where his dad famously has a lot of connections and clout but he doesn&#8217;t really have much other applicable experience that would suggest that he is otherwise the ideal candidate to serve on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. he doesn&#8217;t have any experience in Ukraine or Ukrainian law or even in energy.
Question: Okay, so what do we need to know about Burisma at this moment when Hunter Biden arrives on the board?
Vogel: Burisma has faced allegations of corruption, including many that are embraced by the West and by the State Department which sees it in many ways, both the company itself Burisma, and the oligarch who owns the company, as poster children for post-soviet corruption in Ukraine.
Question: Do we know if Hunter Biden understood this when he went on the board?
Vogel: If he had done any due diligence, you would think that he should have known. there were certainly investigations that were already ongoing, both in Ukraine and in the West, into the oligarch who owned the company on suspicion of money laundering and those investigations had support from the United States government and that is where Joe Biden comes in.
Question: What do you mean?
Vogel: Well, Joe Biden at this time is the vice president and one of his key foreign policy tasks that he takes on at the assignment of President Barack Obama is to help Ukraine stand up to Russian aggression and one of the things that is seen as an impediment to Ukraine establishing a stable government is this scourge of corruption that has long plagued it and is seen as limiting its ability to attract international investment and to be a stable government that can mount a response to Russian aggression.
Question: And when is he given that assignment?
Vogel: I mean it comes pretty much at about the same time as Hunter Biden is going on to the board of this Ukrainian gas company in early 2014.
Questioner: So, that&#8217;s kind of complicated.
Vogel: It is and it certainly would provide rationale for this Ukrainian gas company and it&#8217;s oligarch owner to want to have a powerful Westerner who is seen as having connections to the Obama government which at this point is pushing Ukraine to clamp down on the very type of corruption that this oligarch and his company is seen as embodying.
Questioner: It seems like both Joe Biden and Hunter Biden put themselves in a position where people could later question their motives and their judgment. Because either Hunter Biden should not have been on that board at the same time that his father was taking on corruption in Ukraine, or his father, knowing that his son was on that board, should not have taken on corruption in Ukraine.
Vogel: Yes, that’s right and what’s interesting is that the way that the Bidens sought to address this and avoid these conflicts of interests is by expressly not knowing what one another were doing. In other words, Joe Biden said he did not want to know anything about what Hunter Biden was doing in the private sector because how could he be doing anything in his job as vice president if he did not know what his son’s interests were. Now there’s an argument to be made that that’s not really a good way to inoculate yourself against these concerns. The way to inoculate yourself is to know about what one another is doing so you can avoid these potential areas of overlap.

Hunter Biden Joe Biden

New York Times Reporter On Burisma Scandal: Joe Biden’s VP Position, Ukraine Activities Gave Burisma Its ‘Rationale’ To Put Hunter Biden On Its Board

Burisma

Hunter Biden, the youngest son of former Vice President Joe Biden, was &#8220;suspected of smoking crack inside a strip club where he dropped &#8216;thousands of dollars&#8217; during multiple visits,&#8221; The New York Post reported on Wednesday.
<blockquote>The incident, which took place at Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club in Washington, DC, late last year, represents the most recent alleged drug use by Biden, 49, who has acknowledged six stints in rehab for alcoholism and addiction that included a crack binge in 2016.
Workers at Archibald’s, located about three blocks north of the White House, said Biden was a regular there, with two bartenders and a security worker all instantly recognizing his photo and one worker identifying him by name.</blockquote>
<a href="https://pagesix.com/2019/11/26/hunter-biden-suspected-of-smoking-crack-in-dc-strip-clubs-vip-room/?_ga=2.192608361.21772666.1574867121-1378737382.1574867121">Page Six</a> cited security worker Ranko Petrovic, who said Hunter Biden &#8220;would routinely hole up in a VIP room and drink during his visits.&#8221;
And Archibald’s former managing partner James Ritter said &#8220;one occasion in late 2018 was marred by a &#8216;suspicion of drug use.'&#8221;
“There was a smell of burning Styrofoam in the VIP room. We told him nothing illegal can go on here,” Ritter said. “We didn’t see anything illegal. After he was spoken to, the smell stopped.”
“VIP employees suspected it was crack,” he added, said the Post.
Biden has acknowledged a long history of illegal drug use and alcohol abuse. &#8220;Biden admitted to using crack as late as fall 2016,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hunter-biden-accused-of-smoking-crack-in-vip-strip-club-near-white-house">Washington Examiner</a> reported. &#8220;Biden said he bought the drugs off sellers working out of a homeless camp in Los Angeles, California. He was staying in the city for a week and returned to the homeless camp several times to buy drugs.&#8221;
In a divorce filing from early 2017, Kathleen Biden, who was married to Hunter Biden for 22 years, said he spent extravagantly on prostitutes and drugs.
Biden is currently married to Melissa Cohen, a 32-year-old South African filmmaker, whom he wed 10 days after meeting her. Between marriages, Biden was romantically involved with Hallie Biden, who was married to to Hunter&#8217;s brother Beau Biden before he passed away in May 2015 after battling brain cancer.
At the time of the suspected crack use at the strip club, Hunter Biden was a board member of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, which reportedly paid him as much as $83,000 a month.
Hunter Biden in October said he did nothing wrong when he served on the board of Burisma, but acknowledged that he likely got high-paying positions on such boards because “I’m the son of the vice president of the United States.”
“If your last name wasn’t Biden, do you think you would have been asked to be on the board or Burisma?” ABC News’ Amy Robach asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t know, probably not,” Biden said. “It is impossible for me to be on any of the boards that I just mentioned without saying that I’m the son of the vice president of the United States.”
He went further, saying, “I don’t think that there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden.”

Hunter Biden ‘Suspected Of Smoking Crack Inside D.C. Strip Club,’ Report Says

Ukraine

Rudy Giuliani says former vice president Joe Biden should be prosecuted for bribery.
Giuliani cited Biden&#8217;s boast at a Council on Foreign Relations event that he had threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid from Ukraine unless the government fired a prosecutor.
“Here is what Joe Biden says he did. He offered him a $1 billion loan guarantee, he threatened him with a $1 billion loan guarantee, and in return for that, so that’s part one of bribery,” Giuliani said on Fox News on Saturday. “Part two is, he got the president of the Ukraine to fire the prosecutor.”
Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter, allegedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars through his employment with Burisma, the largest private gas company in Ukraine — despite having no known qualifications for the job. And when word spread that a prosecutor was looking into the matter, then-vice president Biden reportedly demanded that the prosecutor be fired.
Biden is on tape discussing his push for the Ukrainian government to fire Viktor Shokin, bragging he had threatened to withhold $1 billion until Shokin was canned. “If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,” he says he told Ukrainian leaders. “Well son of a bitch, he got fired,” Biden says with a smile in the video clip.
In his Fox interview, Giuliani said Joe Biden, who claims he knew nothing about his son&#8217;s work in Ukraine, should be prosecuted for the crime of bribery.
“If he wants you to believe he didn’t know about his son’s business in the Ukraine — that can be disproven 10 ways,” Giuliani said. “That’s called a false exculpatory statement. If Joe Biden is not prosecuted for these crimes, then nobody in America should ever be prosecuted for bribery.”
“It’s an outrage — an outrage the kind of protection he gets,” the mayor added. “And the part I really find disturbing is because the media puts on these vicious attacks on you if you go after one of their protected people, people in law enforcement are afraid to go after him.”
Trump has been accused of doing something similar to what Biden&#8217;s boasts he did. Weeks before Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump put on hold $391 million in aid. He says he did so to pressure other nations to contribute more money and to take time to examine programs, but Democrats say it was a clear quid pro quo: Dig up some dirt on Biden and his son or no money.
In his wide-ranging interview, Giuliani also warned that if the Mafia couldn’t kill him, the media wouldn’t succeed, either.
“I expected, the moment I heard Biden’s name, I told my colleagues, &#8216;they’re going to try to kill me,&#8217;” he said. “Because they’re going to kill the messenger. But damn it, the mafia couldn’t kill me, your colleagues are not going to kill me.”
On Twitter, Giuliani also said he had “files in my safe about the Biden Family’s 4 decade monetizing” the former vice president and senator’s office. “If I disappear, it will immediately appear.”

ALBANIA-IRAN-POLITICS

Giuliani: Joe Biden Should Be Prosecuted For Bribery

Rudy Giuliani

A new report released on Thursday alleges that an investment company connected to former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter Biden, received $130 million in federal bailout loans while his father served in the Obama White House.
&#8220;One of the firms that benefited was Rosemont Capital, a company led by Hunter Biden’s business partners, Chris Heinz and Devon Archer. The firm received the loans at a crucial time for Hunter Biden. The younger Biden had stepped down from his lobbying business in late 2008, reportedly due to pressure on his father’s vice presidential campaign,&#8221; The Washington Examiner <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/hunter-biden-linked-company-received-130m-in-special-federal-loans-while-joe-biden-was-vp">reported</a>.
Joe Biden was a major player as a senator in pushing for the financial bailout under former President George W. Bush.
The program gave billions of dollars worth of &#8220;highly favorable loans to select investors who agreed to buy bonds that banks were struggling to offload, including bundled college and auto loans&#8221; which were attractive to investors because &#8220;if the bonds were profitable, the borrowers benefited. If not, the department agreed to take over the depreciated assets with no repercussions for the borrowers.
Of the 177 firms that participated in the program was Rosemont Seneca Partners, an offshoot of Rosemont Capital, which was incorporated by Biden, Heinz, and Archer in 2009.
&#8220;Rosemont Capital &#8230; held a 50% stake in the new venture. Rosemont Seneca and Rosemont Capital shared the same office address in lower Manhattan and the same New York phone number, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents,&#8221; The Examiner added. &#8220;Three weeks after Rosemont Seneca was incorporated, a subsidiary of Rosemont Capital, called Rosemont TALF SPV, received $23.5 million in federal loans through the TALF program. This included $13.4 million to invest in student loans and $11.1 million to invest in subprime auto loans. Over five months, the company received a total of $130 million from the program in multiple installments for investments in subprime credit cards and residential mortgages.&#8221;
If Rosemont Seneca Partners sounds familiar it&#8217;s because it is the same firm that &#8220;received regular transfers into one of its accounts — usually more than $166,000 a month&#8221; from the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, where Hunter Biden served on the board while his father was vice president, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/436816-joe-bidens-2020-ukrainian-nightmare-a-closed-probe-is-revived">The Hill</a>.
In October, The Daily Caller News Foundation <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/10/17/hunter-biden-burisma-ukraine-china/">reported</a> that &#8220;Hunter Biden received over $700,000 from a New York-based capital management company that held equity in a Chinese investment firm with close ties to the Bank of China&#8221; apparently &#8220;between June 2014 and October 2015.&#8221;
It is important to note that Hunter Biden appears to have received the money from Rosemont Seneca Bohai, not Rosemont Seneca Partners.
&#8220;Additionally, Rosemont Seneca Bohai was a capital management firm, not a consulting firm, Rosemont Seneca Bohai’s Morgan Stanley account manager, Catharine Driever, testified during Archer’s 2018 trial regarding the scheme to defraud an American Indian tribe,&#8221; The DCNF reported. &#8220;Hunter Biden served no official role at Rosemont Seneca Bohai at the time it was receiving consulting payments from Burisma. But Hunter Biden was serving as the chairman of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, the chairman of investment advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, and sat on the board of advisors for Rosemont Reality, a real estate investment firm.&#8221;

Hunter Biden-Linked Investment Firm Granted $130M In Fed Bailout Loans While Dad Was Vice President: Report

On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) threw down the gauntlet on the Joe Biden-Hunter Biden-Ukraine issue, firing off a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting call summaries or transcripts between Biden and former Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, Chairman <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LindseyGrahamSC</a> sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. 
MORE: <a href="https://t.co/aSw27OMIej">https://t.co/aSw27OMIej</a>
&mdash; Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) <a href="https://twitter.com/senjudiciary/status/1197624678128459793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Graham wrote, “Today, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between: Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today, I sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting documents related to contacts between:
➡️ Vice President Biden ➡️ Hunter Biden ➡️ other Obama administration officials and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
&mdash; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1197629617999425543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As <a href="https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2019/11/21/sen-lindsey-graham-sends-letter-requesting-call-transcripts-between-joe-biden-and-ukraines-president/">Twitchy</a> noted, “Rasmussen reports that a recent poll showed that 46 percent of Americans think the current House hearings should be expanded to look into the Bidens and their dealings with Ukraine — something Rep. Adam Schiff has warned Republicans is out of the scope of President Trump’s impeachment hearings.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Poll Tested: 46%
We didn&#39;t have to &#39;bribe&quot; our U.S. national likely voter respondents for fully 46% of them to tell us that the current House hearings should be expanded to look at the Ukrainian involvement of Hunter &amp; Joe Biden.
Crosstabs &amp; story below.
CC: <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LindseyGrahamSC</a> <a href="https://t.co/AjREboQIww">https://t.co/AjREboQIww</a> <a href="https://t.co/40oGbdWXGY">pic.twitter.com/40oGbdWXGY</a>
&mdash; Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/1196902156936372224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In his letter, Graham stated that he wants:
<blockquote>All documents and communications, including call transcripts or summaries, related to the Vice President’s phone calls with President Poroshenko on February 11, 18, and 19 and March 22 of 2016, especially with respect to whether Vice President Biden mentioned the Prosecutor General’s investigation into Burisma. 
All documents and communications between the Vice President and his office and President Poroshenko and his office after the raid on Mr. Zlochevsky’s home on February 2, 2016, until the dismissal of the Prosecutor General on March 29, 2016. 
All documents and communications related to a meeting between Devon Archer, a business partner of Hunter Biden, and Secretary of State John Kerry on March 2, 2016.</blockquote>
Earlier this month, Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, rejected the idea proposed by House Republicans for Joe Biden&#8217;s son Hunter Biden to testify in the  impeachment inquiry targeting President Trump.  As <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/schiff-rejects-gop-calls-hunter-biden-testify-says-impeachment-inquiry-wont-probe-sham-claims-1470839">Newsweek</a> reported, &#8220;Current ranking member Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, in a letter to Schiff on Saturday, asked for Biden, the anonymous whistleblower and several others to testify as part of the impeachment probe, which will move from closed-door depositions to public hearings next week.&#8221; Nunes wrote, &#8220;We expect that you will call each of the witnesses listed above to ensure that the Democrats&#8217; &#8216;impeachment inquiry&#8217; treats the President with fairness, as promised by Speaker Pelosi. Your failure to fulfill Minority witness requests shall constitute evidence of your denial of fundamental fairness and due process.&#8221;
Newsweek added, &#8220;In addition to Biden and the whistleblower, House Republicans also asked for several other testimonies in an open settling, including from Devon Archer, an American businessman who served with Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings; Nellie Ohr, former contractor for opposition research firm Fusion GPS; and David Jale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.&#8221;
Schiff huffed, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-gop-asks-for-hunter-biden-and-whistleblower-to-testify-in-impeachment-probe/2019/11/09/a6751cc6-02fe-11ea-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html" rel="nofollow">The Washington Post</a>:
<blockquote>This inquiry is not and will not serve as a vehicle to undertake the same sham investigations into the Bidens or 2016 that the President pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit or  facilitate the President&#8217;s effort to threaten, intimidate, and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm. The Committee is evaluating the Minority&#8217;s witness requests and will give due consideration to witnesses within the scope of the impeachment inquiry, as voted on by the House. As we move into the open hearing phase of the inquiry, the Committee is mindful that we are engaged in a sober endeavor rooted in the Constitution to determine whether the President of the United States engaged in misconduct that warrants impeachment by the House.</blockquote>

Trump Says Islamic State Leader Al-Baghdadi Killed In U.S. Raid

BREAKING: Look Out: Lindsey Graham Wants Summaries, Transcripts Between Biden And Ukraine President

Lindsey Graham

Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden became visibly annoyed with a reporter on Thursday who asked him about the news story that broke yesterday that his son, Hunter Biden, fathered a child with a woman in Arkansas while Hunter Biden was <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/us-news/2019/11/hunter-biden-fathered-child-with-woman-while-dating-brothers-widow-dna-test-reveals.html">dating</a> his brother&#8217;s widow.
Fox News&#8217; Peter Doocy asked Biden, &#8220;Do you have a comment on this report and court filing out of Arkansas that your son Hunter just made you a grandfather?&#8221;
&#8220;No, that&#8217;s a private matter, I have no comment,&#8221; Biden responded.
Biden then showed that the question annoyed him, adding, &#8220;But only you would ask that. You&#8217;re a good man. You&#8217;re a good man. Classy.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Biden gets angry at a reporter for doing his job:
Reporter: &#8220;Do you have a comment on this report and court filing out of Arkansas that your son Hunter just made you a grandfather?&#8221;
Biden: &#8220;No, that&#8217;s a private matter, I have no comment. But only you would ask that. &#8230; Classy&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/vxPzE8St8Q">pic.twitter.com/vxPzE8St8Q</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1197618070123995136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
A different angle of the encounter provided via Fox News shows that Biden became annoyed by the question.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
Here&#8217;s a different angle provided via Fox News that shows Biden&#8217;s facial expression as he was asked the question, which is a legitimate news question
Biden clearly seems agitated <a href="https://t.co/23OB1xyz28">pic.twitter.com/23OB1xyz28</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1197619736126705664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
Doocy&#8217;s question came in response to an article yesterday from The Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which <a href="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/20/dna-test-shows-hunter-biden-father-arkansas-womans/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>DNA testing has established, ‘with scientific certainty,’ that Hunter Biden is the father of an Arkansas baby, according to a motion filed Wednesday in Independence County on behalf of the child’s mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts. Hunter Biden, who initially denied having sexual relations with Roberts, eventually agreed to take a DNA test, according to documents filed by Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster.</blockquote>
Roberts sought a DNA test because she is &#8220;seeking child support and for him to provide health insurance for the now-10-month-old infant. All out-of-pocket expenses would be split between the two parents,” Page Six <a href="https://pagesix.com/2019/06/20/hunter-biden-accused-of-fathering-child-with-arkansas-woman/?_ga=2.199317165.2015820228.1571697628-1549467685.1565741183">reported</a>.
Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “She really does not want this to be a media spectacle. She does not want this to affect Joe Biden’s campaign. She just wants this baby to get financial support from the baby’s father.”
“We have been in contact with Hunter Biden’s attorney. We have attempted to work with Hunter and his attorney to settle this issue but that has not been successful,” Lancaster added. “We are attempting to serve Mr. Biden.”
Biden&#8217;s hostility toward Doocy on Wednesday is not the first time that he has become visibly hostile toward him.
While campaigning in Iowa in September, Doocy asked Biden about the allegations about his son and his involvement in the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma.
“Mr. Vice President, how many times have you ever spoken to your son about his overseas business dealings?” Doocy asked.
“I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” Biden claimed. “And here’s what I know, I know Trump deserves to be investigated. He is violating every basic norm of a president. You should be asking him the question, why is he on the phone with a foreign leader trying to intimidate a foreign leader, if that’s what happened, that appears to be what happened, you should be looking at Trump.”
“Everybody looked at this, and everybody’s looked at it and said there’s nothing there,” Biden claimed. “Ask the right questions!”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Joe Biden on his Ukraine scandal: “Why&#8217;s [Trump] on the phone with a foreign leader trying to intimidate [them]?”
Biden in 2016 on what he told Ukraine: “I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money’” <a href="https://t.co/IjNgweVH67">pic.twitter.com/IjNgweVH67</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1175471237138485249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
However, Biden&#8217;s claim is false, as his own son admitted in an interview that they did discuss business at Burisma on at least one occasion.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here&#8217;s a problem: Joe Biden *did* discuss overseas business with his son Hunter, at least once. This is from The New Yorker, about 2 months ago. <a href="https://t.co/QzfeWoopn7">https://t.co/QzfeWoopn7</a> <a href="https://t.co/jOZmV9sQPf">pic.twitter.com/jOZmV9sQPf</a>
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/1175480222164160512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2019</a></blockquote>

WATCH: Biden Gets Upset After Being Asked About Revelation That His Son Fathered Child With Arkansas Woman While He Was Dating His Brother’s Widow

For weeks now, I have been pushing the message on my weekly Election Wire newsletter (sign up <a href="http://lp.dailywire.com/getelectionwire/">here</a>!) that the White House&#8217;s current impeachment defense strategy is misguided. Rather than focus on the procedural and semantical debate over whether a &#8220;quid pro quo&#8221; took place on the impeachment inquiry&#8217;s underlying Jury 25th phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, I have argued that it would be far preferable for the White House to <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1197163856482713603?s=12">defend the underlying substance</a> of the phone call as failing to rise to the Constitution&#8217;s impeachment criteria.
Following U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland&#8217;s testimony today in front of the House Intelligence Committee, I feel vindicated. After all, Sondland&#8217;s testimony today focused <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sondland-yes-there-was-a-quid-pro-quo-for-white-house-meeting">disproportionately</a> — perhaps nearly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ambassador-sondland-strikes-at-democrats-impeachment-narrative-trump-told-me-he-wanted-no-quid-pro-quo">exclusively</a> — on the question of whether a &#8220;quid pro quo&#8221; took place when Trump broached the subject of investigating the corrupt nexus of the Bidens and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-hammer-on-tipping-point-with-liz-wheeler-the-hunter-biden-foia-bombshell">troubled Ukrainian energy company Burisma</a> in the context of doling out fresh U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine.
The debate over whether a &#8220;quid pro quo&#8221; transpired has been at the very heart of Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff&#8217;s (D-CA) impeachment inquiry, and it seems to be the consensus Democratic Party stance that such a &#8220;quid pro quo&#8221; would be ipso facto (hey, the English language has other Latin loanwords, too) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-stop-calling-everything-impeachable-offense-josh-hammer">impeachable</a>. Accordingly, President Trump and his defenders in both the Republican elected official ranks and conservative punditry have centered their defense of Trump&#8217;s actions around the argument that no &#8220;quid pro quo&#8221; took place on the July 25th phone call.
This is a tactical error that ought to be remedied. But the good news is that it is not too late to change course.
Let&#8217;s start with first principles. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articleii">Article II, Section 4</a> of the U.S. Constitution defines the jurisdiction of impeachable offenses as being &#8220;treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.&#8221; In using the phrase &#8220;high crimes and misdemeanors,&#8221; the Constitution&#8217;s Framers employed a well-known phrase with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_crimes_and_misdemeanors#Britain">rich history</a> in the English common law tradition.
In <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed65.asp">The Federalist No. 65</a>, Alexander Hamilton helpfully defines &#8220;high crimes and misdemeanors&#8221; as being &#8220;those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.&#8221; By contrast, the men at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 expressly considered the much lower impeachment threshold of mere <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/09/27/how-founding-fathers-saw-impeachment-high-crimes-misdemeanors/">&#8220;maladministration&#8221;</a> before deciding against it. Put another way, the Framers specifically deliberated the possibility of constitutionally permitting impeachment for something as trivial as a mere policy disagreement or partisan squabble before rejecting that possibility outright.
The White House, congressional Republicans, and Trump-friendly conservative media alike should reorient their impeachment defense toward arguing that Trump&#8217;s conduct on the July 25th phone call with Zelensky simply does not rise to this elevated &#8220;high crimes and misdemeanors&#8221; constitutional criterion. The White House and its defenders should make the point that the absolute worst-case interpretation of the phone call is that of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-at-the-new-york-post-alexander-vindman-condemned-himself-in-his-impeachment-testimony">ethical disagreement</a> over how — or how not — presidents ought to attach strings to the doling out of U.S. taxpayer-funded foreign aid. In no world, the White House should argue, does Trump&#8217;s conduct in attaching <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">legitimate, corruption crackdown-tied strings</a> to the U.S.&#8217;s doling out substantial foreign aid to Ukraine constitute, using the Hamiltonian language of The Federalist No. 65, an &#8220;abuse or violation of some public trust.&#8221; This argument would be politically popular, to boot: Americans <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/03/11/foreign-aid">routinely poll against foreign aid</a>, and agreeing with the premise that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GlennBeck/videos/3094994400515040/">strings should be attached to foreign aid</a> is therefore a winning message for Republicans as we head into the heart of election season.
It is not yet too late for the GOP to change tactical course. But Sondland&#8217;s testimony today really ought to serve as a wakeup call for the White House and its congressional allies that they should do so sooner rather than later.

Gordon Sondland testifying

HAMMER: Sondland’s Testimony Reveals The Error Of The White House’s Impeachment Defense Strategy

Constitution

Democratic Party

Donald Trump

Gordon Sondland

Impeachment

Volodymyr Zelensky

White House

Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, had claimed earlier this year that he did not father a child with an Arkansas woman while he was living with the widow of his deceased brother. Biden even agreed to take a DNA test to prove that he was not the father.
The results from the DNA test were released on Wednesday, and they reportedly show that Biden is the father of the child.
&#8220;DNA testing has established, &#8216;with scientific certainty,&#8217; that Hunter Biden is the father of an Arkansas baby, according to a motion filed Wednesday in Independence County on behalf of the child’s mother, Lunden Alexis Roberts,&#8221; The Arkansas Democrat Gazette <a href="https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/20/dna-test-shows-hunter-biden-father-arkansas-womans/">reported</a>. &#8220;Hunter Biden, who initially denied having sexual relations with Roberts, eventually agreed to take a DNA test, according to documents filed by Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster.&#8221;
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette added that, according to the filing, Hunter Biden “is not expected to challenge the results of the DNA test or the testing process.”
&#8220;Roberts wants a court to establish that the 49-year-old father of three is her baby’s biological dad,&#8221; Page Six <a href="https://pagesix.com/2019/06/20/hunter-biden-accused-of-fathering-child-with-arkansas-woman/?_ga=2.199317165.2015820228.1571697628-1549467685.1565741183">reported</a> in June. &#8220;She is also seeking child support and for him to provide health insurance for the now-10-month-old infant. All out-of-pocket expenses would be split between the two parents, the filing said.&#8221;
Roberts’ attorney, Clint Lancaster, told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, &#8220;She really does not want this to be a media spectacle. She does not want this to affect Joe Biden’s campaign. She just wants this baby to get financial support from the baby’s father.&#8221;
“We have been in contact with Hunter Biden’s attorney. We have attempted to work with Hunter and his attorney to settle this issue but that has not been successful,” Lancaster added. “We are attempting to serve Mr. Biden.”
Hunter Biden has been under intense national scrutiny over the past several months as his prior business dealings have been the subject of intense political attacks due to the fact that his father was vice president at the time and was involved in matters in certain countries where Hunter Biden was conducting business.
The most notable instance was Hunter Biden&#8217;s hiring by Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company that has been accused of corruption, and his father&#8217;s involvement in Ukraine.
In 2016, Vice President Biden threatened Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that if he did not fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Biden, that he would not give Ukraine $1 billion in aid that it was expecting to receive.
“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/436816-joe-bidens-2020-ukrainian-nightmare-a-closed-probe-is-revived">told</a> an audience last year as he recalled the incident from 2016. “Well, son of a bitch, he got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.”
That matter has spiraled into Democrats trying to impeach President Donald Trump, claiming that he engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine, demanding that if they wanted to receive security assistance then they would have to investigate the Bidens.
Through days of hearings of the House Intelligence Committee, multiple witnesses have stated that there was no quid pro quo, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEyaUW9UvAY&amp;feature=youtu.be">Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1196955065782800385">Senior NSC official Tim Morrison</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1196955065782800385">Ambassador Kurt Volker</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ambassador-sondland-strikes-at-democrats-impeachment-narrative-trump-told-me-he-wanted-no-quid-pro-quo">Ambassador</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rep-mike-turner-gets-witness-to-admit-bombshell-debunks-cnn-headline-in-real-time">Gordon Sondland</a>.

Hunter Biden Claimed He Did Not Impregnate Woman. Test Results Say That’s Not True.

Arkansas

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Thursday that the United States Ambassador Gordon Sondland did not link financial military assistance to a request for Ukraine to open up an investigation into former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
&#8220;Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and certainly did not tell me, about a connection between the assistance and the investigations,&#8221; Prystaiko said, according to Reuters. &#8220;You should ask him.&#8221;
“I have never seen a direct relationship between investigations and security assistance,” Prystaiko continued. “Yes, the investigations were mentioned, you know, in the conversation of the presidents. But there was no clear connection between these events.”
Prystaiko&#8217;s comments came after House Democrats launched their public impeachment inquiry hearings on Wednesday on the House Intelligence Committee.
During the hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) specifically picked apart Ambassador William Taylor, who Jordan called Democrats&#8217; &#8220;star witness,&#8221; on the issue of whether there was ever any linkage between the military assistance and a request to open up an investigation into the Bidens.
“In those 55 days that aid is delayed, you met with President Zelensky three times,” Jordan said.
<blockquote>The first one was on July 26, the day after the famous call now between President Trump and President Zelensky.
President Zelensky meets with you, Ambassador Volker, and Ambassador Sondland, and again, according to your deposition and your testimony, there was no linkage of security assistance dollars to investigating Burisma or the Bidens.
Second meeting was August 27, President Zelensky meets with you, Ambassador Bolton and others, and again there’s no linkage of security assistance dollars to an investigation of the Bidens,” Jordan continued. “And then of course, the third meeting was September 5, President Zelensky meets with you and Senators Johnston and Murphy, and once again there was no linkage of security assistance dollars to investigating Burisma or the Bidens.</blockquote>
“Three meetings with the president of Ukraine and no linkage,” Jordan added. “That’s accurate?”
“Mr. Jordan, it’s certainly accurate on the first two meetings, because to my knowledge the Ukrainians were not aware of the hold on assistance until the 29th of August,” Taylor responded. “The third meeting that you mentioned, with Senator Murphy and Senator Johnston, there was discussion of security assistance but … but, uh, there was not a discussion of linkage.”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ladies and gentlemen, JIM. JORDAN. GAME. OVER. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DemsGotNothing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DemsGotNothing</a> <a href="https://t.co/Wewe3kZPEc">pic.twitter.com/Wewe3kZPEc</a>
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) <a href="https://twitter.com/ForAmerica/status/1194686899744575488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
Jordan continued to press Taylor: “President Zelensky had to commit to an investigation of the Bidens before the aid got released and the aid got released and he didn’t commit to an investigation.”
“I was not wrong about what I told you because that is what I heard,” Taylor replied. “That’s all I’ve said, I’ve told you what I heard.”
“And that’s the point,” Jordan responded. “What you heard did not happen. It didn’t happen. You had three meetings with the guy, he could have told you, he didn’t announce that he was going to do an investigation before the aid happened.”
“It’s not just could it have been wrong, the fact is, it was wrong, because it didn’t happen.” Jordan continued. “The whole point was, you had a clear understanding that aid will not get released unless there is a commitment, not maybe, not I think the aid might happen, not it’s my hunch it’s going to get released, you used clear language, clear understanding and commitment and those two things didn’t happen, so you had to be wrong.”

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko

New Remarks From Top Ukrainian Official Damages Democrats’ Impeachment Narrative

Jim Jordan

William Taylor Jr.

During the first day of the public impeachment inquiry, the Democrats led off by calling one of their key witnesses, acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor Jr., who in his opening statement laid out his reasons for believing that President Trump was trying to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
When Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe had a chance to ask Taylor some questions, he pointed out a crucial detail that Democrats have attempted to downplay or outright ignore: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly denied that any quid pro quo or pressure was involved in his talks with Trump about investigations into the 2016 U.S. election or allegations of corruption involving the Bidens and Burisma Holdings.
As many on the right, and even CNN legal analyst <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1194722850088898563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1194722850088898563&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt-3136%2F2019%2F11%2F13%2Feven-cnns-jeffrey-toobin-thinks-its-a-problem-for-dems-that-neither-witness-had-direct-contact-with-the-president%2F">Jeffrey Toobin</a>, have pointed out, one glaring problem with Taylor&#8217;s testimony, as well as the second witness interviewed Wednesday, is that he had no direct contact with Trump about the issue, thus any claims he presented about the president&#8217;s actions and intentions are second-hand at best. In one of his questions for Taylor, Ratcliffe noted this problem while also presenting first-hand, direct quotes from the other world leader involved in the situation, Zelensky himself.
&#8220;President Zelesnky went on to confirm a number of things: that there was no pressure, that there were no conditions, that there were no threats on military aid, that there was no pressure or conditions to investigate Burisma or the 2016 election, that there was no blackmail, that there was no corruption of any kind during the July 25th call,&#8221; Ratcliffe noted to Taylor Wednesday (video below).
<blockquote>RATCLIFFE: Again, from his official press release: &#8220;Therefore, there was no blackmail because it was not the subject of our conversation with the President of the United States. There were no conditions on the investigation, either because of arms or the situation around Burisma company.&#8221;
[Zelensky] told Reuters, &#8220;There was no blackmail.&#8221; He told the L.A. Times, &#8220;There was no pressure from the United States.&#8221; He told Japan&#8217;s Kyoto News, &#8220;I was never pressured, and there were no conditions being imposed.&#8221; He told ABC News and the BBC, &#8220;I&#8217;m against corruption. This is not corruption; it was just a call.&#8221;
The Ukrainian President stood in front of a world press and repeatedly, consistently, over and over again, interview after interview, said he had no knowledge of military aid being withheld, meaning no quid pro quo, no pressure, no demands, no threats, no blackmail, nothing corrupt.
And unlike the first 45 minutes we heard from the Democrats today, that&#8217;s not second-hand information, that&#8217;s not hearsay, it&#8217;s not what someone overheard Ambassador Sondland say. That was his direct testimony.</blockquote>
After quoting Zelensky repeatedly denying any kind of pressure or a quid pro quo, as Democrats have alleged that Trump imposed, Ratcliffe asked Taylor if he had &#8220;any evidence&#8221; that Zelensky was &#8220;lying&#8221; to the press.
&#8220;Ambassador Taylor, do you have any evidence to assert that President Zelensky was lying to the world press when he said those things?&#8221; Ratcliffe asked. &#8220;Yes or no?&#8221;
Taylor replied, &#8220;I have no reason to doubt what the president said in his speeches.&#8221;
Among those who highlighted the moment online was Donald Trump Jr, who tweeted out video of the exchange Wednesday:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
“The Ukrainian President stood in front of a world press and repeatedly, consistently, over and over again, interview after interview, said he had no knowledge of military aid being withheld, meaning no quid pro quo.&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepRatcliffe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepRatcliffe</a> destroys dem arguments. <a href="https://t.co/Xg7tPnTJ1I">pic.twitter.com/Xg7tPnTJ1I</a>
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1194719985161179146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Ratcliffe&#8217;s reference to &#8220;someone overhear[ing] Ambassador Sondland&#8221; appears to be a reference to Taylor&#8217;s previous statement Wednesday in which he revealed a new piece of information not included in his Oct. 22 testimony. Taylor said one of his aides recently told him that while at a meeting with Sondland he/she &#8220;could hear President Trump on the phone&#8221; inquiring about &#8220;investigations.&#8221;
&#8220;Last Friday, a member of my staff told me of events that occurred on July 26,” Taylor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/impeachment-witness-my-aide-overheard-trump-asking-about-investigations-when-he-was-on-phone-call">told</a> congressional committee members. “While Ambassador [Kurt] Volker and I visited the front, this member of my staff accompanied Ambassador Sondland. Ambassador Sondland met with Mr. [Andrey] Yermak,” a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Following that meeting, in the presence of my staff at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in Kyiv,” said Taylor. “The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about ‘the investigations.’ Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.”
“Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine,” Taylor continued. “Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.”
Many media outlets have highlighted the moment as a significant piece of evidence, but Republicans have noted its vagueness and third-hand nature as another example of information that would not stand up in court.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ken-starr-giving-damning-indictment-of-democrats-impeachment-hearing">Ken Starr Gives Damning Indictment Of Democrats’ Impeachment Hearing</a>

William Taylor

WATCH: Impeachment Witness Asked About All The Times Ukraine’s President Said There Was ‘No Quid Pro Quo’

John Ratcliffe

The nation&#8217;s eyes were on Washington, D.C. on Wednesday as the public impeachment inquiry, spearheaded by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, officially began. In a new wrinkle added to his previous testimony, William Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine — who has been referenced as one of the Democrats&#8217; &#8220;star&#8221; witnesses — said he was recently told by one of his aides that President Trump inquired about &#8220;the investigations&#8221; during a phone call with Ambassador Gordon Sondland. The aide knows this because he/she was meeting with Sondland and &#8220;could hear President Trump on the phone.&#8221;
&#8220;Last Friday, a member of my staff told me of events that occurred on July 26,&#8221; Taylor <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/13/778824788/read-william-taylors-opening-statement-in-public-impeachment-hearing">told</a> congressional committee members at the hearing Wednesday. &#8220;While Ambassador [Kurt] Volker and I visited the front, this member of my staff accompanied Ambassador Sondland. Ambassador Sondland met with Mr. [Andrey] Yermak,&#8221; a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
&#8220;Following that meeting, in the presence of my staff at a restaurant, Ambassador Sondland called President Trump and told him of his meetings in Kyiv,&#8221; said Taylor. &#8220;The member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone, asking Ambassador Sondland about &#8216;the investigations.&#8217; Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.&#8221;
&#8220;Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine,&#8221; Taylor continued. &#8220;Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.&#8221;
Taylor then explained that he was presenting this new information now &#8220;for completeness&#8221; because he did not know it at the time he gave his deposition on October 22.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en">
WATCH: Amb. Taylor reveals new details of a call between Amb. Sondland and President Trump.<a href="https://t.co/uESXYQxKt9">https://t.co/uESXYQxKt9</a> <a href="https://t.co/GYYgE1SGvr">pic.twitter.com/GYYgE1SGvr</a>
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/1194657660148297728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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That Trump was interested in Ukraine investigating alleged Ukrainian involvement in the 2016 election as well as corruption allegations involving the Bidens is no secret. Along with releasing the whistleblower complaint that laid out the accusations that Trump tried to &#8220;pressure&#8221; Ukraine into &#8220;digging up dirt,&#8221; as Democrats&#8217; put it, on his political opponent by withholding military aid, the Trump administration also released the transcript of the July 25 call referenced in the complaint.
In the transcript, Trump indeed asks Zelensky to &#8220;look into&#8221; the alleged corruption involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, but offers no &#8220;quid pro quo,&#8221; as initially alleged. &#8220;There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that,&#8221; Trump told Zelensky. &#8220;So whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.&#8221;
A key figure in the Democrat-led inquiry has been Sondland, who is generally viewed as a &#8220;pro-Trump&#8221; figure. In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/04/us/politics/ukraine-text-messages-volker.html">text exchange</a> that was leaked early on in the Ukraine story, Sondland stressed to Taylor that there was &#8220;no quid pro quo&#8221; for Trump&#8217;s requested investigations:
<blockquote>[9/9/19, 12:47:11 AM] Bill Taylor: As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.
[9/9/19, 5:19:35 AM] Gordon Sondland: Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is trying to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised during his campaign I suggest we stop the back and forth by text If you still have concerns I recommend you give Lisa Kenna or S a call to discuss them directly. Thanks.</blockquote>
In other exchanges with his fellow diplomats, the idea that the investigations were a top priority is clear. In his early testimony before congressional investigators, Sondland said that he at one point came to &#8220;presume&#8221; that the aid and the investigations were connected.
Sondland <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-pro-trump-diplomat-makes-substantial-update-to-his-impeachment-testimony-on-quid-pro-quo">told</a> committee members last week in additional testimony  that he thought withholding aid from Ukraine was &#8220;ill-advised,&#8221; but was unsure &#8220;when, why or by whom the aid was suspended.&#8221; By early September, he said, he began to &#8220;presume&#8221; the aid was linked to the anti-corruption investigation statement the White House wanted Zelensky to issue.
&#8220;I presumed that the aid suspension had become linked to the proposed anticorruption statement,” said Sondland.
Sondland explained that in his discussion with Zelensky&#8217;s advisor Yermak on September 1, which took place while Vice President Mike Pence was meeting with  Zelensky, he told Yermak that the U.S. military aid &#8220;would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.&#8221;
&#8220;I said that resumption of the U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks,&#8221; he said, according to the additional testimony.
Republicans have pointed to the fact that Ukraine did end up receiving the aid, without having begun an investigation, as evidence that there was no quid pro quo, as Trump has maintained.
Read Taylor&#8217;s full opening statement for the congressional hearing Wednesday <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/13/778824788/read-william-taylors-opening-statement-in-public-impeachment-hearing">here</a>. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-adam-schiff-makes-questionable-claim-about-ukraine-whistleblower">WATCH: Adam Schiff Makes Questionable Claim About Ukraine Whistleblower</a>

WATCH: Impeachment Witness: My Aide Overheard Trump Asking About Investigations When He Was On Phone Call

Here is everything you need to know, to-date.
<ul>
<li>April 2014: Hunter Biden <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/66271/timeline-trump-giuliani-bidens-and-ukrainegate/">joined</a> Ukrainian energy company Burisma.</li>
<li>August 2014: Ukrainian Prosecutor General Vitaly Yarema <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/66271/timeline-trump-giuliani-bidens-and-ukrainegate/">opened</a> a corruption investigation about Burisma.</li>
<li>Fall 2015/Winter 2015–2016: Then-Vice President Joe Biden first <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/66271/timeline-trump-giuliani-bidens-and-ukrainegate/">made a public issue</a> out of alleged prosecutor-related corruption in Ukraine.</li>
<li>February 2016: Ukrainian energy company Burisma, which had Hunter Biden as a board member at the time, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-hammer-on-tipping-point-with-liz-wheeler-the-hunter-biden-foia-bombshell">sought to utilize</a> Biden&#8217;s stature as a means to secure a U.S. State Department meeting.</li>
<li>March 2016: Then-Vice President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/hunter-bidens-ukraine-gas-firm-lobbied-state-department-to-end-corruption-allegations-emails-show_3137480.html">pressured Ukraine</a> to fire the prosecutor involved with investigating Burisma.</li>
<li>June 2017: Rudy Giuliani <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">visited Ukraine</a> and met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko.</li>
<li>January 2018: Joe Biden was <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/09/27/flashback_2018_joe_biden_brags_at_cfr_meeting_about_withholding_aid_to_ukraine_to_force_firing_of_prosecutor.html">filmed bragging about</a> how he forced the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor he did not like by threatening to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine.</li>
<li>August 2018: Giuliani was <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">hired</a> by a company run by Ukrainian business tycoon Lev Parnas.</li>
<li>Later 2018: Giuliani pressured Lutsenko to open corruption-related investigations about the Bidens and Burisma.</li>
<li>January 2019: Giuliani met multiple times with Lutsenko and, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/politics/biden-son-ukraine.html?module=inline">The New York Times</a>, allegedly pushed Lutsenko on the Bidens, Burisma, and then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.</li>
<li>March 2019: Lutsenko <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">opened two investigations</a> — one on the Bidens and one on Burisma. The Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/politics/biden-son-ukraine.html?module=inline">alleged</a> that Lutsenko also accused Yovanovitch of corruption.</li>
<li>April 2019: Trump <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">reportedly told</a> Fox News host Sean Hannity that Attorney General William Barr might investigate allegations about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election.</li>
<li>May 2019: Yovanovitch resigned as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.</li>
<li>May 2019: The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/politics/giuliani-ukraine-trump.html">reported</a> on an upcoming Rudy Giuliani trip to Ukraine.</li>
<li>May 2019: Giuliani <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/the-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair/">expressed</a> his belief in the theory that Ukraine actively assisted the Hillary Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential election.</li>
<li>June 2019: Giuliani <a href="https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1142085975230898176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&amp;ref_url=safari-reader%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalreview.com%2F2019%2F10%2Fthe-two-theories-of-trumps-actions-in-the-ukraine-affair%2F">tweeted</a> that Ukraine was &#8220;abused by Hillary and Obama people.&#8221;</li>
<li>July 25, 2019: Now-infamous <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unclassified09.2019.pdf">phone call</a> took place between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.</li>
<li>September 24, 2019: <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Unclassified09.2019.pdf">Transcript</a> of phone call released between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.</li>
<li>September 24, 2019: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/24/us/politics/democrats-impeachment-trump.html">announced</a> that House Democrats would seek to open an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.</li>
<li>September 26, 2019: Whistleblower complaint about the Trump-Zelensky phone call <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/26/us/politics/whistle-blower-complaint.html">revealed</a>.</li>
<li>October 2, 2019: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/us/politics/adam-schiff-whistleblower.html">Revelation</a> that Rep. Adam Schiff&#8217;s (D-CA) office had been in contact with the whistleblower.</li>
<li>October 17, 2019: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/17/770714277/read-gordon-sondlands-opening-statement-to-congress">Written testimony</a> of U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland includes: &#8220;President Trump was skeptical that Ukraine was serious about reforms and anti-corruption, and he directed those of us present at the meeting to talk to Mr. Giuliani, his personal attorney, about his concerns. It was apparent to all of us that the key to changing the President’s mind on Ukraine was Mr. Giuliani.&#8221;</li>
<li>October 22, 2019: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/22/us/politics/william-taylor-ukraine-testimony.html">Written testimony</a> of top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine Bill Taylor notes: By mid-July, it was becoming clear to me that the meeting President Zelenskyy wanted was conditioned on the investigations of Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. It was also clear that this condition was driven by the irregular policy channel I had come to understand was guided by Mr. Giuliani.&#8221;</li>
<li>October 29, 2019: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who serves on the U.S. National Security Council, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/08/777514772/read-testimony-of-alexander-vindman-the-white-houses-ukraine-specialist">testified</a> that the White House&#8217;s released transcript of the Trump-Zelensky phone call had <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/politics/alexander-vindman-testimony-white-house-transcript/index.html">crucial omissions</a> with respect to the Bidens.</li>
<li>October 31, 2019: House <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/31/us/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry-house-vote.html">voted</a> to establish the procedural rules governing the impeachment of President Trump.</li>
</ul>

Map of Ukraine

The Complete Timeline Of The Trump-Ukraine Story

On Friday, Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer, who is an attorney by training, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SjD3d6gvnM">joined</a> &#8220;Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler&#8221; on One America News Network to discuss reporter John Solomon&#8217;s recent <a href="https://johnsolomonreports.com/hunter-bidens-ukraine-gas-firm-pressed-obama-administration-to-end-corruption-allegations-memos-show/">bombshell revelation</a> that now-infamous Ukrainian energy firm Burisma attempted to leverage employee Hunter Biden&#8217;s stature as the son of former Vice President Joe Biden to obtain access to the U.S. State Department toward the end of the Obama presidency.
As <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2019/11/07/emails-reveal-burisma-consulting-firm-leveraged-hunter-biden-to-get-state-dept-meetings/">reported</a> last week by Erielle Davidson of The Federalist, Solomon obtained emails via the <a href="https://www.foia.gov">Freedom of Information Act</a> (FOIA) that &#8220;reveal[ed] that Burisma&#8217;s consulting firm had &#8230; mentioned Hunter Biden when seeking a meeting with the State Department to discuss corruption allegations against the company.&#8221; Solomon&#8217;s FOIA-uncovered &#8220;<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/433389210/Bluestar-Novelli-Contacts" data-reader-unique-id="11">email from February 2016</a> specifically cited Hunter Biden&#8217;s involvement with Burisma when discussing the possibility of setting up a meeting with Burisma’s consulting firm,&#8221; Davidson continued. Here is the full email in which Burisma&#8217;s consulting firm was sure to highlight the then-vice president&#8217;s son as a prominent employee (emphasis added):
<blockquote>Per our conversation, Karen Tramontano of Blue Star Strategies requested a meeting to discuss with [Under Secretary] Novelli [U.S. Government] remarks alleging Burisma (Ukrainian energy company) of corruption. She noted that two high profile U.S. citizens are affiliated with the company (including Hunter Biden as a board member). Tramontano would like to talk with U/S Novelli about getting a better understanding of how the U.S. came to the determination that the company is corrupt. According to Tramontano, there is no evidence of corruption, has been no hearing or process, and evidence to the contrary has not been considered.  Would appreciate any background you may be able to provide on this issue and suggested TPs for U/S Novelli’s meeting.</blockquote>
Furthermore, the February 2016 email was <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/hunter-bidens-ukraine-gas-firm-lobbied-state-department-to-end-corruption-allegations-emails-show_3137480.html">sent merely one month</a> before then-Vice President Biden <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/03/what-really-happened-when-biden-forced-out-ukraines-top-prosecutor/3785620002/">pressured Ukraine</a> to fire a prosecutor who was investigating Burisma.
Wheeler and Hammer discussed the stakes of the FOIA bombshell. Wheeler began the discussion by asking Hammer whether the FOIA-released email, which clearly demonstrates Burisma attempting to secure high-level U.S. government access via deploying Hunter Biden&#8217;s name, reveals exactly what the Bidens have denied transpired. Hammer concurred with Wheeler&#8217;s intuition and described the powerful FOIA statutory tool as a &#8220;helluva drug.&#8221;
<blockquote>FOIA is a hell of a drug. FOIA litigation in the federal courts is oftentimes crazy, just because of what it ends up divulging, and this is no different than that. The timeline here is pretty crazy. It looks like one month before Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire this prosecutor who was looking into Burisma — literally one month before that, Burisma was in communication with the U.S. State Department trying to get a meeting. And they were expressly name-dropping Hunter Biden as a reason to get that meeting.
I mean, Liz, the Left wants to talk about foreign interference, foreign governments, foreign corporations, everyone kind of defiling our sovereignty and meddling in our affairs. &#8230; Look at what is going on here: A foreign corporation &#8230; they&#8217;re allowed to lobby, that&#8217;s their right, but to do so in this manner, to expressly name-drop in communication with the State Department that the reason they want this meeting is because the vice president at the time&#8217;s son is on the board &#8230; that is wild. That is a wild, wild revelation.</blockquote>
WATCH:
<iframe title="Hunter Biden FOIA Bombshell" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6SjD3d6gvnM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hammer OANN 11.08.19

WATCH: Hammer On ‘Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler’: The Hunter Biden FOIA Bombshell

Foreign Policy

State Department

Impeaching President Trump is a foregone conclusion. There are 197 Republicans and 233 Democrats in the House, who vote in lockstep and take orders from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Convicting the president in the Senate and removing him from office is nearly the opposite: Democrats and independents add up to just 47 in the chamber, so they&#8217;ll need 20 votes from the 53 Republicans to get to the two-thirds majority needed.
But things might never even get that far, at least according to Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“I consider any impeachment in the House that doesn’t allow us to know who the whistleblower is to be invalid because, without the whistleblower complaint, we wouldn’t be talking about any of this,” Graham said on Fox&#8217;s “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.
“If they don’t call the whistleblower in the House, this thing is dead on arrival in the Senate,&#8221; the South Carolina Republican said.
Bartiromo asked Graham about the witnesses that will be called during the coming impeachment inquiry in the House. Democrats will have control over who gets called and can reject witnesses Republicans may seek to bring in to testify.
“You’ve said on the program not too long ago that Hunter Biden needs to answer questions, what is your reaction to this list that your colleagues in the House have prepared as far as those they would like to hear from?” she asked.
“They could care less about getting to the truth, what really did happen, why was the prosecutor fired, the John Solomon FOIA request is stunning, you can see efforts in the State Department where they were worried about the conflict of interest between Hunter Biden and the company being investigated,” Graham said.
&#8220;And I also see the need for Hunter Biden to be called to adequately defend the president and if you don’t do those two things it’s a complete joke,&#8221; he added.
Hunter Biden reportedly pulled in about $850,000 as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukraine natural gas company, while his father was vice president. He also hauled in cash from China, where he was part of a $1.5 billion deal with an investment firm with ties to the government in Beijing.
Joe Biden bragged last year that he had threatened to cut off $1 billion in aid to Ukraine unless officials there fired its top prosecutor, who was probing the activities of Burisma.
House Democrats, though, say there&#8217;s no need to call Hunter.
“Almost everyone who has looked at [the allegations] says there’s nothing there,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). “This is a smokescreen. This is a distraction to distract from very real evidence of [Trump&#8217;s] abuse of power and putting our national security at risk. They want to distract all of us from what this president has done.”
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has moved to exclude the whistleblower, even though their identity has been swirling around in Washington for weeks.
Graham said that would be a big mistake.
“It’s impossible to bring this case forward in my view fairly without us knowing who the whistleblower is and having a chance to cross examine them about any advice they may have, if they don’t call the whistleblower in the House, this thing is dead on arrival on the Senate,&#8221; he said.

Washington Reacts To Attorney General William Barr&#8217;s Summary Of Mueller Report

Impeachment ‘Dead On Arrival’ If Senate Doesn’t Talk To Whistleblower, Graham Says

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman&#8217;s testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee has started to raise serious questions about his credibility as an alleged expert on Ukraine as the recently released transcript of his testimony contained surprising excerpts.
Vindman, who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States, is supposedly the White House&#8217;s top expert on Ukraine at the National Security Council (NSC), yet transcripts from his testimony showed that he appeared to lack even basic knowledge of recent events inside Ukraine.
During one exchange, Vindman thought that the Obama administration provided lethal military assistance to Ukraine when, in fact, the Obama administration did not.
<blockquote>CHAIRMAN ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): There was a prior shipment of Javelins to Ukraine, wasn&#8217;t there?
VINDMAN: So that was, I believe &#8212; I apologize if the timing is incorrect — under the previous administration, there was a — I&#8217;m aware of the transfer of a fairly significant number of Javelins, yes.</blockquote>
In 2014, it was widely reported that Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko begged the Obama administration for weapons to combat Russian forces and that the Obama administration refused to supply the weapons.
“Blankets and night vision goggles are important, but one cannot win a war with a blanket,” Poroshenko said, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/3625313d1b54411ea0753387ccbd36b2">Associated Press.</a>
The New Yorker <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/28/biden-agenda">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Ukrainian officials had appealed to the United States for military support, but Biden had advised them that it would be minimal, if at all. He told me, “We no longer think in Cold War terms, for several reasons. One, no one is our equal. No one is close. Other than being crazy enough to press a button, there is nothing that Putin can do militarily to fundamentally alter American interests.” The Ukrainians were not pleased. A senior Administration official said, “My read of the looks on their faces was ‘Holy God.’ ”</blockquote>
Washington Examiner Chief political correspondent Byron York noted the perplexing lack of knowledge from Vindman.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Top Ukraine guy at NSC apparently thought Obama administration had provided Javelins to Ukraine. <a href="https://t.co/Gd1830At3K">pic.twitter.com/Gd1830At3K</a>
— Byron York (@ByronYork) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/1193255269918216197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
The large <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-announces-sale-anti-tank-missiles-ukraine-russian/story?id=53450406">sale</a> of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine took place under the Trump administration, which also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/12/20/trump-administration-approves-lethal-arms-sales-to-ukraine/">sold</a> millions of dollars worth of anti-material sniper systems to Ukraine.
During another exchange, Vindman indicated that he knew that Ukrainian gas company Burisma was a company that had a &#8220;problematic history&#8221; but did not want to know more about Hunter Biden&#8217;s involvement with the company when he found out that Biden was Burisma&#8217;s board. Though Vindman said he had no interest in conducting any inquiries into Biden&#8217;s role in the company, he acknowledged that Ukraine certainly has a right to investigate it.
The following exchange took place between Vindman and Steve Castor, a top investigator from Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) office leading the Republicans&#8217; line of questioning:
<blockquote>CASTOR: Are you aware of any of the investigations [Burisma] has been involved with over the last several years?
VINDMAN: I am aware that Burisma does have questionable business dealings. That&#8217;s part of its track record, yes.
CASTOR: Okay. And what questionable business dealings are you aware of?
VINDMAN: I think that&#8217;s more of kind of a generalization. I&#8217;m just aware that it had questionable business dealings, and they were known for that fact. &#8230;  the general answer is I think they have had questionable business dealings.
CASTOR: So money laundering, tax evasion, if they were subject to those investigations, that would comport with your understanding of the company?
VINDMAN: That would comport with my understanding of how business is done in Ukraine.
CASTOR: Okay. In 2014, they undertook an initiative to bring in some additional folks for their board. Are you aware of some of the folks they added to their board in 2014?
VINDMAN: The only individual I&#8217;m aware of, again, after, you know, as it&#8217;s been reported in the press is Mr. Hunter Biden.
CASTOR: Okay. And did you check with any of your authoritative sources in government to learn a little bit more about these issues?
VINDMAN: I did not.
CASTOR: Okay. Even when the narrative started to creep in?
VINDMAN:  I did not. I didn&#8217;t think it was appropriate. He was a U.S. citizen, and I wasn&#8217;t going to ask questions. Frankly, that falls into the law enforcement sphere. I was not going to go and ask about — if there was a question about Burisma, I would — I inquired about it and determined that they had a problematic history, but I did not inquire about a U.S. citizen.
CASTOR: What other inquiries did you make with authoritative sources demanding Burisma?
VINDMAN: I think once I drew my conclusion of the company, I moved on.
&#8230;
CASTOR: Okay. If there was an allegation of wrongdoing by the Burisma board directors, that would be something that the Ukrainians could look into, right?
VINDMAN: I think so. They&#8217;re a sovereign state, they can choose to do that, yes.
CASTOR: So if there&#8217;s an American that is operating in Ukraine as a businessman and they are accused of wrongdoing, the Ukrainians can investigate that?
VINDMAN: Americans are not immune from criminal activity just because they&#8217;re Americans overseas. So, yes, if there&#8217;s a criminal activity, they should, yeah.
CASTOR: Okay. And do you have any knowledge as to why Hunter Biden was asked to join the board?
VINDMAN: I do not.
CASTOR: Did you check with any of your authoritative sources whether he was a corporate governance expert or&#8211;
VINDMAN: Like I said, I didn&#8217;t. He&#8217;s an American citizen. Certainly there is domestic political overtones. I did not think that was appropriate for me to start looking into this particular — I drew my conclusions on Burisma and I moved on.</blockquote>
York again noted the odd implication of what Vindman testified, writing: &#8220;Corrupt Ukrainian company owned by corrupt Ukrainian oligarch hires vice president&#8217;s son and top Ukraine guy on NSC doesn&#8217;t want to know about it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Corrupt Ukrainian company owned by corrupt Ukrainian oligarch hires vice president&#8217;s son and top Ukraine guy on NSC doesn&#8217;t want to know about it. From Vindman deposition: <a href="https://t.co/yy3QLX0dqd">pic.twitter.com/yy3QLX0dqd</a>
— Byron York (@ByronYork) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/1193533402273787905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2019</a></blockquote>

Alexander Vindman

Excerpts From Alexander Vindman&#8217;s Testimony To Congress Raises Questions About Credibility

Adam Schiff

Obama Administration

Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocaiso-Cortez (D-NY) claimed on Saturday that Republicans were making the Democrats&#8217; impeachment inquiry a &#8220;partisan issue&#8221; and that it was &#8220;inappropriate&#8221; to ask Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter Biden, to testify before Congress despite the fact that this entire ordeal surrounds a business deal in which he was allegedly involved.
Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks during an interview with ABC News that aired on Sunday while she was on the campaign trail with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
&#8220;Congresswoman, I do want to ask you, we had some news that broke earlier today. Your Republican colleagues announced that they intend to call on Hunter Biden as a witness in this impeachment probe. Is he an appropriate witness?&#8221; ABC News asked.
&#8220;No, I don&#8217;t think he&#8217;s an appropriate witness, and not only that, but I think that the reason they&#8217;re calling for these witnesses, these new witnesses, is because they want to make a spectacle and a circus out of this entire proceeding,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez said.
&#8220;They want to distract the American people from the very words that Donald Trump uttered from his mouth in that call with Ukrainian officials trying to extort a foreign government into intervening into the United States elections,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez continued, apparently ignoring the fact that President Donald Trump released the transcript of the call.
&#8220;And, in fact, these witnesses that they&#8217;re calling are politically motivated,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez continued, again apparently unaware of the fact that impeachment is a political event.
&#8220;Republicans are turning this into a partisan issue,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez claimed, ignoring the fact that it was House Democrats who launched the inquiry and not a single Republican voted in favor of it and two Democrats voted against it.
&#8220;We need to protect the rule of law in the United States of America, and they&#8217;re imperiling it by trying to turn this into a sideshow, and it&#8217;s undignified and it&#8217;s wrong,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez continued. &#8220;And you know, that, on another level is profoundly dangerous, and this is endangering people that we rely on to call on when government goes awry.&#8221;
&#8220;We rely on whistleblowers to maintain the integrity of our government, they play an important role, and that is why we have whistleblower protection laws on the books in the United States,&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez continued, apparently unaware of the fact that it is not illegal for anyone to identify the whistleblower except for the inspector general, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostin-attacks-trump-jr-with-false-claims-on-whistleblower-transcript-heres-the-truth">stated</a> by U.S. law.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a> says Republicans want to call Hunter Biden as a witness to turn impeachment into a &#8220;sideshow.&#8221;
FACT CHECK: By a 5-point margin, more voters would like Joe and Hunter Biden investigated than support holding hearings to consider impeachment of <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>. <a href="https://t.co/ujljl6RrYb">pic.twitter.com/ujljl6RrYb</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1193710407397134336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2019</a></blockquote>
RNC internal polling <a href="https://www.gop.com/internal-rnc-polling-more-want-biden-investigated-than-trump/">found</a> that 5% more Americans want the Bidens investigated over their business dealings in Ukraine than support holding impeachment hearing on the president.
Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks while campaigning for Sanders over the weekend where she suggested that Trump was a virus or a disease that Americans needs to vaccinate themselves from.
“Trump is a symptom, he is a symptom of much deeper problems,” Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-politicians-letting-me-down-feels-like-i-never-want-to-love-again">said</a>.
“Here’s the thing, is that we can beat him, but we have to vaccinate ourselves against something like this ever happening again,” Ocasio-Cortez said in reference to Trump’s 2016 election victory, adding, “and the way we inoculate ourselves from late-stage hyper capitalistic concentration of wealth among the very, very few is with a labor movement.”
Later on, Ocasio-Cortez said that when politicians let her down, &#8220;it feels like I never want to love again.&#8221;
“And so, when you elect a politician, and then they let you down, it feels like rejection,” Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocasio-cortez-politicians-letting-me-down-feels-like-i-never-want-to-love-again">said</a>. “It feels like heart break. It feels like betrayal. It feels like I never want to love again. That’s what that feels like.”

Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez: Republicans Making Impeachment ‘Partisan,’ Hunter Biden Not ‘Appropriate’ Witness Despite Being Genesis Of Entire Ukraine Ordeal

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

<a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/agencies-give-classified-briefing-on-hunter-bidens-china-dealings/">The Washington Free Beacon</a> reports that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) received a classified briefing about Hunter Biden&#8217;s ties to a Chinese investment firm whose affiliations might have compromised national security, and may be planning on launching an official Congressional investigation into the matter.
&#8220;Officials from the Treasury Department, Commerce Department, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave Grassley an &#8216;extensive, classified briefing,'&#8221; the WFB reports, which focused on The Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which &#8220;American national security officials and independent analysts strongly suspected&#8221; was trying to steal the plans for the U.S. military&#8217;s  F-35 fighter jet.
That company partnered with an investment firm, BHR Partners, for a merger some years ago, involving &#8220;a U.S. auto company that produces technologies with military applications.&#8221; At the time, Hunter Biden sat on BHR&#8217;s board.
Hunter Biden is due to step down from that board at the end of October, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/13/politics/hunter-biden-joe-biden-ukraine-china/index.html">according to CNN</a>, citing concerns over how his foreign financial entanglements could affect his father, Joe Biden&#8217;s, potential presidential campaign.
But while Hunter Biden&#8217;s position on the BHR Partners board may prove problematic, it&#8217;s not what initially drew Grassley to the issue. In order for The Aviation Industry Corporation of China to aquire an American auto company, they would have had to get authorization from the Obama Administration&#8217;s Treasury Department, among other government entities.
That process, it seems, moved surprisingly fast, and Grassley wants to know if that&#8217;s because Biden &#8212; and then-Secretary of State John Kerry&#8217;s stepson, Christopher Heinz &#8212; were involved with the Chinese investment firm.
&#8220;Grassley has requested detailed information about how the deal was approved, what role White House personnel played in the decision, and whether they followed proper procedure&#8221; given that close relatives of two very prominet Obama Administration officials were in the middle of the fray.
Grassley <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/grassley-raises-concerns-over-obama-admin-approval-of-us-tech-company-joint-sale-to-chinese-government-and-investment-firm-linked-to-biden-kerry-families">outlined his concerns in a letter</a> to Trump Administration Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin last month. His staff told WFB that if Grassley&#8217;s investigation turns up concerning behavior, a Senate investigation is likely to follow.
Hunter Biden&#8217;s international business dealings have come under increased scrutiny since September, when a whistleblower with some knowledge of President Donald Trump&#8217;s foreign policy dealings, came forward with accusations that Trump had used his position as president to offer Ukraine a &#8220;quid-pro-quo:&#8221; American foreign aid in return for an investigation into whether Joe Biden had used his connections as Vice President to help a Ukrainian company that employed his son avoid investigation by Ukrainian officials.
Since then, details of Hunter Biden&#8217;s other work has come to light, including his ties to BHR Partners, which not only helped facilitate potentially dangerous mergers and acquisitions of American companies, but <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/05/03/biden-son-china-business/">also backed a Chinese startup</a> that created facial-recognition software for the Communist state &#8212; software that the Chinese government now uses to identify ethnic Chinese Muslims for arrest and relocation to one of several concentration camps, where they are beaten, tortured, raped, and forced to do hard labor as part of an &#8220;indoctrination&#8221; program.
So far, it is important to note, it does not appear that Hunter Biden has done anything illegal, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/14/hunter-bidens-ukraine-china-deals-were-probably-legal-and-thats-the-problem.html">according to experts</a>, but Grassley&#8217;s investigation &#8212; and others &#8212; have yet to be fully completed.

Joe and Hunter Biden.

Senate May Investigate Whether Hunter Biden&#8217;s Ties To China Compromised National Security

China

Two new reports that were published late this week raised more questions about the role that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden played in his son&#8217;s business dealings while he was vice president and while he was a U.S. Senator.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/hunter-biden-s-legal-work-romania-raises-new-questions-about-n1071031">reported</a> on Thursday that Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter, traveled to Romania during the final year of the Obama administration to meet with a wealthy businessman who was accused of corruption:
<blockquote>The businessman was Gabriel “Puiu” Popoviciu, a wealthy Romanian real estate tycoon. The lawyer brought in to advise him was Hunter Biden, the son of then-Vice President Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Hunter Biden’s work for Popoviciu in 2016 went unreported at the time, but Joe Biden’s involvement in Romania was very much public. The vice president was among the leading voices pushing the government to crack down on corruption.</blockquote>
Government ethics experts told NBC News that they believe that the arrangement raises questions about whether Hunter Biden was brought in to help Popoviciu avoid criminal prosecution.
Kathleen Clark, a Washington University law professor who specializes in government ethics, told NBC News: “We don’t know what [Hunter Biden] was paid or what he was paid for, but it does raise questions of whether this Romanian individual facing criminal charges was actually paying for a connection to the American vice president.”
The criminal case against Popoviciu started in 2005 when a criminal complaint was lodged against him and the rector of a Romanian university regarding a large purchase of land near Bucharest.
NBC News added:
<blockquote>The businessman claimed Popoviciu had purchased the land for “significantly less money than it was actually worth,” the documents say. Further, the businessman alleged the plot wasn’t the property of the University of Agronomy, but was instead owned by the Romanian government, according to the documents&#8230;
&#8230;The university rector was charged in March 2009 with abusing his position and Popoviciu was charged with “complicity in abuse of position,” the documents show. Two months later, Popoviciu was hit with a bribery charge&#8230;
&#8230;Romania was by then a familiar place to the Biden family. A close friend and former staffer of Joe Biden, Mark Gitenstein, held the position of U.S. ambassador to Romania from August 2009 to December 2012. In March 2012, Hunter’s brother, Beau, was asked to do the ribbon-cutting at the new U.S. embassy in Bucharest.</blockquote>
NBC News noted that it is not clear how much assistance Hunter Biden provided to Popoviciu as Popoviciu&#8217;s bid to overturn his conviction failed and he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
In 2014, Vice President Biden slammed corruption during a <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/21/remarks-vice-president-joe-biden-romanian-civil-society-groups-and-stude">speech</a> in Romania, saying in part:
<blockquote>Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away investments and jobs, and, most importantly, it denies the people their dignity. It saps the collective strength and resolve of a nation. Corruption is just another form of tyranny.
And corruption can represent a clear and present danger not only to a nation’s economy, but to its very national security. There are nations, and we’ve seen it recently, that exploit corruption to exercise malign influence and undermine the very sovereignty and independence of their neighbors.
In this way, corruption has become an instrument of foreign policy for some nations. When politicians can be bought, when courts can be manipulated, when the media becomes a tool of propaganda, there you will find a society that is susceptible to manipulation from the outside. There you’ll find a society that loses control of its own destiny – not only its political security, but its physical security and military readiness is also compromised&#8230;
&#8230;So fighting corruption is more than just good government. It’s self-defense. It’s a guarantor of your national sovereignty.</blockquote>
The second problematic news development that surfaced late this week came from the Washington Examiner, which reported that then-Senator Biden had privately contacted two government departments to discuss issues that Hunter Biden&#8217;s firm was being paid to lobby on.
The <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/biden-outreach-to-dhs-and-doj-overlapped-with-work-by-son-hunters-lobbying-firm">Washington Examiner</a> reported:
<blockquote>On Feb. 28, 2007, Biden contacted DHS to express that he was “concerned about the Department&#8217;s proposed chemical security regulations authorized by Section 550 of DHS Appropriations Act of 2007,” according to the department’s log of its contacts with members of Congress.
Section 550, which was passed in 2006 as part of the DHS appropriations bill, requires high-risk chemical plants to submit site safety plans to DHS for approval, including security credentialing and training for employees.
Eight weeks earlier, the Industrial Safety Training Council had hired Hunter Biden’s firm to lobby DHS on the issue.</blockquote>
Director of the National Legal and Policy Center Tom Anderson told the Washington Examiner: “It’s implausible Sen. Biden did not know his son’s firm was lobbying on this arcane issue. Sometimes appearances are exactly what they are. This is a recurring problem we’ve seen on the Hill, where family members are enriched because of their relationship with a member.”
The Washington Examiner then noted that in 2007, Biden &#8220;sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Jan. 31, 2007 requesting a meeting with the Department of Justice to discuss expanding the federal fingerprint background check system.&#8221;
At the same time that Biden sent the letter, Hunter Biden&#8217;s firm was lobbying for a &#8220;coalition of state-level criminal justice advocates called SEARCH,&#8221; which was &#8220;lobbying the federal government for a broader fingerprint screening system at the time.&#8221;
These latest issues to emerge for the Biden campaign come after the former vice president has been slammed for months regarding allegations of corruption over his role in getting a prosecutor fired who was investigating a company that was paying his son in Ukraine.
&#8220;In his own words, with video cameras rolling, Biden described how he threatened Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in March 2016 that the Obama administration would pull $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, sending the former Soviet republic toward insolvency, if it didn’t immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin,&#8221; according to <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/436816-joe-bidens-2020-ukrainian-nightmare-a-closed-probe-is-revived">The Hill</a>.
“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled saying. “Well, son of a bitch, he got fired.&#8221;
Joe and Hunter Biden have also faced allegations of corruption over their work in China.
&#8220;In 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Less than two weeks later, Hunter Biden’s firm inked a $1 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China,&#8221; investigative researcher Peter Schweizer <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/05/11/the-troubling-reason-why-biden-is-so-soft-on-china/">reported</a>. &#8220;The deal was later expanded to $1.5 billion. In short, the Chinese government funded a business that it co-owned along with the son of a sitting vice president.&#8221;
Less than a year after Biden helped open a company called &#8220;Rosemont Seneca,&#8221; he and his business partners were in China meeting with top Chinese officials.
&#8220;The timing of this meeting was also notable. It occurred just hours before Hunter Biden’s father, the vice president, met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington as part of the Nuclear Security Summit,&#8221; Schweizer added. &#8220;Twelve days after Hunter stepped off Air Force Two in Beijing, his company signed a historic deal with the Bank of China, the state-owned financial behemoth often used as a tool of the Chinese government. The Bank of China had created a first-of-its-kind investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST (BHR). According to BHR, one of its founding partners was none other than Rosemont Seneca Partners LLC.&#8221;

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