This is essentially the obituary of Joe Biden's
campaign for president. Even if there is
'no there there'. I seriously doubt the campaign
will ever regain the momentum it had going in.
The old saying 'where there's smoke there's fire'
will dog the campaign going forward, and even
those who are Biden's fans will harbor that nagging
feeling that something is not right. The question
will come up again of why isn't Obama openly supporting
him. What does he know that we should?
The current President and the Republicans will keep
up the drumbeat of 'investigate Joe Biden' at every
rally. The Committee to reelect the President is
planning to spend $10 million on television and
internet ads beginning today, and when they are done,
Biden's mother wouldn't vote for him. But perhaps we
should look at what all this fuss is about.
Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's, second born son, is a graduate
of Yale Law School, class of 1996. He has had a rather
checkered career, in and than out of the Naval Reserve
for testing positive for cocaine. He registered as a lobbyist
in 2001, and was appointed to the Board of Amtrak in
2006, by then president George W. Bush. He left the
Board in 2009 when his father, Joseph Biden, became
Vice President. That is also when Hunter gave up
lobbying, and founded the law firm Rosemont Seneca
Partners. Hunter Biden also founded the venture capital
firm of Eudora Global, and in 2013, Hunter partnered
with Chinese businessman Jonathan Li, to form a business
that invested Chinese capital outside of China.
After the Ukrainian revolution of 2014, the largest natural
gas company in the Ukraine, Burisma, formed a high-profile
International Board and invited Hunter Biden to join, evidently
to make use of the name of Biden, and paid Hunter a handsome
salary of $50,000 a month for the privilege. There is no evidence
that Burisma ever sought favor from either of the Bidens. However,
Victor Shokin, the Prosecutor General of the Ukraine from
February 2015 to March 2016, began an investigation of
Burisma. The investigation was thought to be nothing except
extortion against Burisma's owner, Mykola Zlochevsky,
and the case was quickly closed. Hunter Biden was never a
subject of the investigation.
While Joe Biden was Vice President, the United States joined
with a large consensus of Western Nations to encourage the
Ukrainian government to oust Shokin for blocking corruption
investigations in the prosecutor office. The deputy prosecutor,
Vitali Kosho, had resigned, citing corruption and cronyism in
Shokin's office, and after that, Joe Biden threatened the
Ukrainian government. on behalf of the United States, to
withhold American loan guarantees until Victor Shokin left.
The International Monetary Fund also threatened to withdraw
financial support from the Ukraine. One-month later the
Ukrainian Parliament voted Shokin out.
While Shokin was still in power, the investigation of Burisma
was suspended before the Vice President made the threat to with-
hold the loan guarantees, and there was no evidence found that
Joe Biden did anything to thwart the effort to investigate Burisma.
Shokin's successor, Yuriy Lutsenko, also investigated Burisma, but
closed the case after ten months. After meeting with Rudy Giuliani,
in 2019, Lutsenko reopened the case, the reason was unclear and
nothing came of it. The new Ukrainian President, Volodymyr
Zelenski, requested Lutsenko's removal. There has never been a
tie-in found between Joe Biden and any dealings with Burisma.
However, in politics perception becomes reality.
Now Biden is making his third run at the presidency. His first
attempt was in 1988, when he was then accused of plagiarizing
from a Scotsman politician, Neil Kinnock, in Kinnock's run against
Margaret Thatcher, it was not the first time. Biden admitted he did
plagiarize the speech and withdrew his candidacy. He ran again in
2008, and left the race after doing poorly in the Iowa caucuses, and
was later selected to be Obamas running mate. Biden contemplated
running again in 2016, but he was still grieving the death of his son.
Beau, who died of brain cancer the year before.
In Washington D C, Joe Biden has been know as being squeaky clean,
but I don't know anyone who could survive todays investigations
of the candidates. I know I couldn't get elected dog catcher, as the
saying goes, and I would not put myself through it. Though the
present occupant of the White House survived three divorces,
five bankruptcies, several accusations of extra-marital affairs with
women of dubious character, and being an admitted sexual
predator. Some resume!
Now Donald Trump is being investigated for trying to influence
the Ukrainian President-elect at the time, Zelenski, to; one, find
the e-mail server used by Hillary Clinton, and two, dig up dirt
on Joe and Hunter Biden. At the time, Trump was holding back
$250 million in military aid that had already been authorized.
This has all come to light because a whistleblower filed a complaint
with the inspector general's office after receiving complaints from
numerous people about suspected conversations of Trump with various
leaders of foreign countries. As a result Speaker of the House, Nancy
Pelosi, has opened an impeachment inquiry, and Trump has more than
suggested that Joe Biden is guilty of the same thing, if not worse.
So here we are, Joe Biden will either be a hero or a goat. There is a
long way to go and a lot of testimony before the full story comes out
on exactly what Trump did or did not do. Meanwhile the first caucus
is in Iowa in February, followed closely by New Hampshire. In the
meantime the accusations against Biden will be unanswered, and the
doubt will be foremost in people's minds. Elizabeth Warren is already
charging Biden's supremacy. Is there a limit to how much the man can
take before the smile dims and his step loses its buoyancy, and he goes
quietly into history? Will America be poorer because a gentleman and
a scholar was once again cast aside? I can't answer that question, only
the voters can. But then I came to bury him...
I'm just sayin'
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