Conflicts-of-Interest Investigation (The September 2020 Edition?)

Review and commentary of “Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns” - recorded on September 25th, 2020

Posted by Eric Renderking Fisk | September 26th, 2020

“Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class - whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.”
― Frank Herbert,  Children of Dune

Separating Conspiracy Fact from Conspiracy Theories, Jason Cousineau and Eric Fisk discuss the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Finance Committee report that quote: “revealed millions of dollars in questionable financial transactions between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow and individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”

Jay and Eric discuss how this directly ties into the background of Donald Trump’s Impeachment which began when he and his legal team inquired about The Biden’s involvement with corruption in Ukraine. How does this report affect the upcoming Presidential Election, and does this change the narrative about how one of these candidates is better than the other?

Also, Spotify Staff threatening to strike if they can’t edit “The Joe Rogan Experience?”

We end the show with “Celebrity Voter Shaming with Wil Wheaton!”

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Johnson, Grassley Release Report on Conflicts-of-Interest Investigation

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, released a report that revealed millions of dollars in questionable financial transactions between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow and individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

These were just some of the findings from their investigation into potential conflicts of interest arising from Hunter Biden accepting a position on the board of, and taking millions of dollars from, Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company with a long-standing reputation for corruption, while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president and the public face of the Obama administration’s handling of Ukraine policy. 

Findings from the chairmen’s investigation include:

• In early 2015 former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, George Kent raised concerns to officials in Vice President Joe Biden’s office about the perception of a conflict of interest with respect to Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board.  Kent’s concerns went unaddressed and in September 2016, he emphasized in an email to his colleagues, “Furthermore, the presence of Hunter Biden on the Burisma board was very awkward for all U.S. officials pushing an anticorruption agenda in Ukraine.”

• In October 2015, senior State Department official Amos Hochstein raised concerns with Vice President Biden, as well as with Hunter Biden, that Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board enabled Russian disinformation efforts and risked undermining U.S. policy in Ukraine.

• Hunter Biden was serving on Burisma’s board (supposedly consulting on corporate governance and transparency) when Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky allegedly paid a $7 million bribe to officials serving under Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Vitaly Yarema, to “shut the case against Zlochevsky.” George Kent testified that this bribe occurred in December 2014 (seven months after Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board), and, after learning about it, he and the resident legal adviser reported this allegation to the FBI.

• In addition to the over four million dollars paid by Burisma to Hunter Biden and his business partner, Devon Archer, for membership on the board, Hunter, his family, and Archer received millions of dollars from foreign nationals with questionable backgrounds.

• Devon Archer received $142,300 from Kenges Rakishev of Kazakhstan, purportedly for a car, the same day Vice President Joe Biden appeared with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsemy Yasenyuk and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea.

• Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina. Ms. Baturina is the wife (widow) of the former mayor of Moscow.

• Hunter Biden had business associations with Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong, and other Chinese nationals linked to the Communist government and People’s Liberation Army. Those associations resulted in millions of dollars in questionable transactions. 

• Hunter Biden opened a bank account with Gongwen Dong that financed a $100,000 global spending spree with James Biden and Sara Biden.

• Hunter Biden also moved millions of dollars from his law firm to James Biden’s and Sara Biden’s firm.  Upon being questioned about the transaction, Sara Biden refused to provide supporting documentation and information to more clearly explain the activity. The bank subsequently closed the account.

• Hunter Biden paid nonresident women who were nationals of Russia or other Eastern European countries and who appear to be linked to an “Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.”

As outlined in Senate resolution 70, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has the express authority “to study or investigate... the efficiency and economy of operations of all branches of the government, including the possible existence of… corruption or unethical practices… [and] conflicts of interest.” The Senate Finance Committee has broad jurisdiction over the United States Government and, the Department of Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which includes oversight jurisdiction over potential financial crimes. 

A copy of the full report is available here. 

Copies of the investigation's interview transcripts and exhibits are available here.

POLITICO Magazine: "Biden, Inc.: How ‘Middle Class’ Joe’s family cashed in on the family name."

Celebrity Voter Shaming With Wil Wheaton!

From Wil Wheaton's Facebook...

Another one from my Tumblr ask thing.
Q: Can you please not bash on third party voters? Green party voters could have voted for Democrat nominees. It's not like green policy positions are hard to figure out! And there is absolute urgency to enact Green party positions. If a Democrat party nominee didn't get their votes, it's *the Democrats fault.* Democrat campaigns need to run campaigns that show support to their progressive allies through policies, not knee jerk reactions and shaming.

A: So first of all, it’s “Democratic”, not “Democrat”. “Democrat” is framing pushed by right-wing authoritarians who hope to create the impression that Democrats are not “democratic”. It’s a deliberate slur, and a dogwhistle to other right wing authoritarians.

I don’t know if you’re using that phrasing deliberately, or if you just don’t know. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and respond to the substance of your comment.

I don’t disagree with you that Green Party positions, particularly as they address Climate Change, are vital. That’s why I work to elect candidates who believe in and are working to fight Climate Change. Where I am a realist is in American electoral politics, where I’ve lived my entire life and voted for 30 years. I know that Greens will NEVER be elected to the presidency in this country. Same for the execrable Libertarians. That’s the reality of the American electoral system.

At this point, and in any general election, really, the choice is very clearly between two people. One of them will be president, and that’s how it is. You may not like it, but you have a choice to make: are you going to be responsible and vote for the candidate who is *closest* to your positions? Or are you going to have a tantrum and support the candidate who we *know* will fight to undo everything you care about, just so you can feel smug and superior? I mean, grow the fuck up. Voting isn’t dating. Voting is taking the bus that gets you closest to your destination.

This election is the most consequential in my lifetime, and likely the most consequential election in American history. If Trump and the Republicans can cheat and steal this election, it is the end of American Democracy.
I respect and admire your commitment to climate change policy. I promise you that Biden/Harris will be more concerned about climate change policy than Trump/Pence/Exxon will be. If you’re going to throw a tantrum and refuse to vote for Biden and Democrats because they aren’t perfect enough for you, you are giving a giant fuck you to the planet, the climate, and vulnerable people all over the country.

I get that you want to change the party and move us to the Left. I want to do that, too. Electing young, progressive, passionate people like AOC is going to do that far more effectively than voting for someone who gives you the fan fiction you crave, without any chance of actually holding office.

We moved Biden to the Left because we supported and worked with Bernie and Senator Warren, not by threatening to hold our breaths until he took our threats to vote for someone who he’s never heard of and doesn’t care about seriously.

Anyone who identifies as progressive and is still supporting and planning to vote for anyone other than Biden is someone I don’t take seriously, or respect at all. The future of our country and planet is at stake, and at this point the choice is Biden, or Trump. Period. Full stop. You may not like it, which is absolutely your fundamental right, but that doesn’t change the facts or reality of the situation.
Vote Biden/Harris like your life depends on it, because it does.