During the hours and hours … and hours … of impeachment proceedings, Democrat House Manager Adam Schiff often used hypothetical situations to make some sort of point about the accusations he makes against President Trump. It is a long-established tactic of prosecuting attorneys.
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I would like to engage in that practice. So, let us suppose …
Suppose that President Obama placed his Vice President Joe Biden in charge of fighting against organized crime in America. And suppose that Hunter Biden the son of the Vice President was a man with a troubled and checkered past – including drug-related criminality. Suppose that Hunter was booted out of the Navy with a dishonorable discharge.
Now, let us suppose that Hunter was hired by the Godfather of the New York Mafia to be a made member of the “commission.” Suppose Hunter was paid more than $1 million dollars a year from the Godfather – and that he remained employed by the Godfather for years without any real understanding of what he was doing.
Let us then suppose that Vice President Biden forced the resignation and replacement of the Federal
Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who was reported to be investigating the Godfather and his operations. And when the new Federal Prosecutor came on board, he summarily shut down the investigation of the Godfather’s operation and any role Hunter may have played in it.
Wow! What a scandal that would be. The law enforcement community, the members of Congress and the community would be clamoring for a full investigation. The story would be page one news day-after-day.
In a way, that is exactly what happened. Burisma Holdings is a corrupt, crooked operation in a corrupt and crooked environment. The Godfather of Burisma is a crooked oligarch named Mykola Zlochevsky, who is purported to have stolen millions – if not billions – of dollars (hryvnia, to be more specific) through bribes, graft, embezzlement and money laundering before he fled the country.
Hunter operated at the highest level of the company – the Board of Directors. This is where all matters of policy and operations are discussed. He had oversight over operational officers, including attorneys and accounts. Board members have a fiduciary responsibility to inform themselves of all matters – especially where there may be mismanagement or misdeeds. Board members are rarely absolved of responsibility by shrugging and saying, “I never knew.”
Perhaps the Mafia analogy is a bit of a stretch – but not a big one. Hunter was in the heart of major corruption in Ukraine – working with one of the top corrupt oligarchs. Minimally he must answer for himself – and his dad – what exactly he was doing all those years and what he knew.
In terms of the impeachment and the accusations of Abuse of Power, Trump had every reason in the public interest to want the new Ukrainian government to point the bright light of investigation into the dark corners of corruption. If Hunter Biden is hiding in that corner, let the chips fall where they may.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden cannot dismiss all the fact-based suspicions, there is too much ‘there’ there to dismiss with the back of his hand. Until he and Hunter produce acceptable explanations, the issue is likely to dog his campaign. And if no acceptable answers come forward, Joe Biden will have his third failed attempt to become the President of the United States.
So, there ‘tis.