I suppose if a person has spent more than 50 of their 80 years on earth as a politician – essentially an entire adult lifetime – you might understand why they look at everything in their life through a political lens. President Biden has been a Washington establishmentarian since he was 30 years old – and before that he was a local political officeholder. The man seems incapable of thinking outside the political box.
We saw that with Biden’s dealing with their seventh grandchild – Hunter’s love child. Now we see it with Biden using his deceased son as a strained explanation for those calls with Hunter Biden’s business associates.
According to the latest spin from the White House, some of those calls were made at a time when Joe and Hunter were dealing with the death of Beau Biden from a brain cancer. They were merely keeping in touch and comforting each other during that tragic period. Any father or brother can sympathize with their loss. But to use that tragedy for political spin is shameless.
The White House defense argument was used by Congressman Daniel Goldman during recent media appearances. You may remember him as the lead House prosecutor in the first Trump impeachment hearing. In terms of the Hunter Biden cases, he has put on the hat of the defense attorney. In his defense brief, Goldman made two arguments that are offenses to logic and intelligence – and probably to the experience of millions of Americans who have dealt with the deaths of loved ones.
The first was the claims that all those calls from Hunter while he was engaged with business partners and associates were just a father and son keeping in touch over the grief of their loss. That is an utterly absurd assertion. If Hunter wanted to commiserate with his father over the death of his brother – see how the old man is coping – the last occasion when one would make those calls is during a business discussion with millions of dollars on the table.
Goldman even refutes his own spin by saying that Papa Joe only “exchanged niceties” and talked about the weather. What? No conciliatory talk?
Goldman contended that Biden was not a participant in the business discussions. Most likely that is a lie. But even if you believed he only said “Hi” to Hunter’s business associates, he was still a key factor in the deal making. On many occasions, Hunter made his father part of the deal by invoking his name and claiming to represent the will and interests of his father. He even claimed his father was sitting with him during several communications. Whether Papa Biden was really there in person is yet to be proven. Regardless, Hunter was peddling his influence with his father – and the father was being very cooperative.
We do know, however, that Biden lied when he said he had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings. We now know of several meetings in the White House with Hunter’s business partners and target “clients” – and golf outings. You do not get a meeting with the President of the United States without stating a purpose. Biden, himself, would inquire of his son as to why he was bringing folks to meet with him – golf with him. Who are these people? What do they want to talk about?
And now we have at least 20 phone conversations in which Biden talked directly to Hunter’s business associates during business meetings. Goldman claims that no business was discussed with or by Biden, but Biden still played a role in establishing Hunter’s influence. Biden’s willingness to take or make those calls at that precise moment was a deal closer. It was signally. Goldman most surely knows that. But he is not running to the media on Biden’s account to tell the truth.
(When I lived under the corrupt Democrat Machine in Chicago, there was a way of influencing outcomes. In political court cases, a powerful member of the Machine would casually walk into court as if accidentally. He would “recognize” the defendant as an “old pal” … wish the judge a good day … and depart. He would never say a word about the case. Just his connection to the defendant. That was enough for the case to be dismissed or the defendant to get a not guilty verdict. Southern Democrat politicians used that same technique to get white defendants acquittals of murdering black people. Conversely, it is often how Mafia dons condemned a person to death. Never with specific words. Just a signal. It is often known as maintaining the boss’ “deniability.” But I digress.)
Goldman tried another ruse. He noted that some of the phone conversations were during dinner meetings – implying that business is not done over dinner. Come on, man … how far do you think you can stretch credulity. Dinners are a common component of business dealings – as are golf outings. Duh!
Hunter’s former business partner, Devon Archer, has testified before Congress in a closed session. He is reported to have confirmed Papa Biden’s participation in his son’s business dealings – especially those 20 phone calls. Goldman, on the other hand, says that there is not one scintilla of evidence that Biden was involved in any business discussions … or profited from Hunter’s business dealing … or had any knowledge of other family members profiting.
As a lawyer – a former prosecutor – Goldman knows that testimony IS evidence. And there is a lot of other circumstantial and hard evidence seeming to tie the senior Biden to his son’s business dealings. Biden had to know some of the arrangements. He had to know about all that money being doled out to Biden family members.
Some things have not yet been proven. Did Joe get a cut of the money? Was he the “big guy” in for 10 percent? Were his official actions being influenced by his influence peddling son – such as forcing out the prosecutor investigating Hunter and the Ukrainian energy company he worked for?
Based on the current White House narrative, Goldman, Biden, Democrat leaders and the left-leaning media are pushing back against even investigating the accusations and initial evidence. However, the Democrats’ nothing-to-see-here defense seems to be more of a desperation tactic. They fear – maybe even believe – that there is a smoking gun out there. Maybe even an armory full of them.
The Hunter issues are enough to determine just how political the Department of Justice is under Attorney General Merrick Garland. Is this just another example of an Attorney General bending to the Whtie House spin … narrative … excuse? Protecting the man who gave you the job?
They say the AG and the DOJ are independent and not political. Balderdash! We have seen this movie before. You only need to recall John Mitchell (Nixon Watergate coverup), Eric Holder (Obama’s “Fast and Furious” fiasco), William Barr (Trump on obstruction of justice) and others. Mitchell went to jail and Holder even got an unprecedented Contempt of Congress citation for his cover-up of “Fast and Furious.”
There is enough there there to justify a much broader investigation. There is enough there there to justify a special counsel. There is enough there there to justify an impeachment inquiry — which is NOT an impeachment hearing, but a preliminary hearing to secure and review evidence to ascertain if an impeachment hearing would be justified.
It is my personal opinion – based on what we know already – that Hunter Biden was the middleman in a longstanding and evolving scheme to peddle influence and shakedown foreign businesses and governments. It resulted in the unearned enrichment of the greater Biden family – and potentially the President. There is a lot we do not yet know. But there are more than enough questions that need to be answered.
Even if you are inclined to believe Hunter and Papa Biden are innocent despite the accusations, allegations, the witness testimony, and all those emails and text messages, there should be no disagreement that investigations are needed to settle the issues. The fact that the Bidens and Democrats are apoplectic over the mere idea of investigations is all that we need to know.
So, there ‘tis.
Author Comment: Since the writing of the commentary, it has been learned that Congressman Dan Goldman lied when he said that Devon Archer confirmed that President Biden did not know who was on the speakerphone calls from Hunter. That is incredulous on the surface. We are to believe that the President goes on speakerphone without any idea who is in on the conversation. Now that the actual testimony has been revealed, we learn that Archer said the opposite. Papa Biden knew who was with his son on several calls. Goldman pulled an Adam Schiff. He lied about what he thought would be secret testimony – and got caught.