Anyone protecting President Joe Biden from the revelations detailed in FD-1023 and the first hand allegations of a massive bribery scheme by a Confidential Human Source in Ukraine cannot be taken seriously as an arbiter of right and wrong.
Early in Joe Biden’s Presidency, I urged Democrats to take the “Trump Test,” that is to consider the President’s statements and actions the same way they would’ve if President Trump was the one in office. I did not expect anyone to actually do such a thing. Politics is about power, and power comes from keeping your team on the field so to speak. The result is an inherent tribalism, one where your guy or gal is always better than their guy or gal, and therefore it was no surprise when Democrats – professional politicians, media pundits, and even private citizens – excused a veritable volcano of false statements, faux paus, gaffes, failed policies, broken promises, and more, practically on a daily basis throughout the campaign and to this very day. After all, these are the same people that already denied the obvious comparisons between Biden and Trump since day one, pulling the lever for a man who was almost eerily similar to a person they loathed with a passion. It takes a certain level of tribally rooted cognitive dissonance to look past the racially insensitive comments – President Barack Obama was “clean,” you’re “not black” if Biden says you aren’t and more – the history of boasts, lying, plagiarism, and general malapropisms after analyzing Trump’s every word for hidden meanings – Cornpop, anyone? – the credible accusations of sexual harassment if not assault combined with a history of unusual encounters with young women – the memes on social media are legendary alone – and the obvious potential for corruption. If none of this mattered for the past three plus years, it’s not surprising that it doesn’t matter now, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth mentioning if only to illustrate how morally bankrupt Democrats of all stripes have rapidly become on President Joe Biden’s watch.
They saw a scandal in every statement Donald Trump made, believing emoluments, Russia collusion, Ukraine, Trump University, Trump Steaks, and other accusations were evidence of deep corruption, presuming his guilt while requiring intense investigation and impeachment to purge the republic of his crimes. Today, however, the very same accusers almost completely silent even as the potential for the massive corruption they claim to abhor has been obvious for years and just keeps on building. The initial predicate for reasonable suspicion was simple, even as the self-evidence contours were suppressed and denied. Whatever your political leanings, there is no doubt that Joe Biden has lived far beyond the means of a public servant. He owns three houses, one in ritzy Wilmington, Delaware where mansion piles upon mansion, and another in an upscale beach community. Anyone with a modicum of curiosity should’ve been interested in where this money came from, the same as if a janitor drove a shiny new Porsche. This is doubly true when both his son and brother have made millions of dollars trading largely on the family name, obtaining lucrative positions without any qualifications. It doesn’t take an investigative mind on the level of say Sherlock Holmes to wonder precisely what they were being paid for and whether any of the money made its way to Joe Biden over the years. Until recently, we might not have been aware of the details beyond vague references to the “big guy,” shared bank accounts between father and son, a handful of witnesses, and the occasional rant by the son that the father was taking up to half his money, but clearly something was going on that allowed a lifelong government employee to live a lavish lifestyle. Humans, however, have never been short on the ability to justify their positions, and that justification process was relatively easy when there was little specific information connecting Joe Biden to his son or brother’s business dealings. It was simple for Democrats to say to themselves (and the rest of us) that nothing was there. We should take candidate and then President Biden at his word that he had no involvement in these dealings, and leave it at that. Such an undertaking might have required an impregnable suspension of disbelief, but it could certainly be done (and definitely was) given no supporter I am aware of (outside his “competition” in the primary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.) has publicly called for the sort of investigation and impeachment inquiry they would have demanded under Trump, much less actually reneged their support because of the moral corrosion of corruption.
Last week, however, their position became entirely untenable with the release of an FBI document that directly accuses the Vice President of engaging in a bribery scheme in Ukraine based on information gleaned from a trusted confidential human source. The document, known as FD-1023 was released by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, and it describes meetings that occurred starting in late 2015 and early 2016 when Biden was Vice President, all the way up to 2020. The revelations are as startling as they are well documented. To summarize here: The Confidential Human Source (CHS) was first introduced to officials at Burisma Holdings, the natural gas company where Hunter Biden served as a board member raking in an astronomical $85,000 per month in either late 2015 or early 2016. At the time, the company was interested in expanding into the United States but were concerned that charges of corruption would prevent them from being successful. They believed purchasing a “US-based entity for $20-30 million” would alleviate those concerns and offer the appropriate entry point. The CHS was supposed to provide assistance in this deal, but immediately asked why they “needed to get his assistance regarding the purchase/merger of a US-based company when Biden was on their board.” The CHS was told “that Hunter Biden was not smart, and they wanted to get additional counsel. The group then had a general conversation about whether the purchase/merger with a US company would be a good business decision.” Two months later, there was a follow up meeting in Vienna to discuss the same topic. Quoting from the FBI document, “CHS recalled this meeting took place around the time Joe Biden made a public statement about (former) Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin being corrupt, and he should be fired/removed from office. CHS told [Burisma CEO Mykola] Zlochevsky that due to Shokin’s investigation into Burisma, which was made public at this time, it would have a substantial negative impact on Burisma’s prospective IPO in the United States. Zlochevsky replied something to the effect of, ‘Don’t worry Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad.’ CHS did not ask any further questions about what they specifically meant.”
The CHS did suggest that it might be better simply to litigate the matter in Ukraine, “and pay some attorney $50,000. Zlochevsky said he/Burisma would likely lose the trial because he could not show that Burisma was innocent; Zlochevsky also laughed at CHS’s number of $50,000 (not because of the small amount, but because the number contained a ‘5’) and said that ‘it cost 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden.’” It was unclear during this conversation if that money was promised or already paid, but subsequent events indicated it was forcibly gathered. The CHS also noted that “Burisma should hire ‘some normal US oil and gas advisors’ because the Bidens have no experience with that business sector. Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden ‘was stupid, and his (Zlochevsky’s) dog was smarter,’ Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden (on the board) ‘so everything will be okay.’ CHS inquired whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should retain Hunter Biden; Zlochevsky replied, ‘They both did.’” The CHS continued to speak to Mr. Zlochevsky throughout 2016 and 2017, learning more details along the way. One call in particular, occurred after the election of President Trump. “CHS inquired whether Zlochevsky was happy with the US election results. Zlochevsky replied that he was not happy Trump won the election. CHS asked Zlochevsky whether he was concerned about Burisma’s involvement with the Bidens. Zlochevsky stated he didn’t want to pay the Bidens and he was “‘pushed to pay them.’ (CHS explained the Russian term Zlochevsky used to explain the payments was ‘poluchili’ (transliterated by the CHS), which literally translates to ‘got it’ or ‘received it,’ but is also used in Russian-criminal-slang for being ‘forced or coerced to pay.’” Mr. Zlochevsky did note that he was not concerned about an additional investigation because the Prosecutor General Shokin had been fired, and that it was unlikely anyone would find out about his financial dealings with the Biden family. CHS also said, “I hope you have some back-up (proof) for your words (namely, that Zlochevsky was ‘forced’ to pay the Bidens). Zlochevsky replied he has many text messages and ‘recordings’ that show that he was coerced to make such payments.” There was an additional follow up conversation in 2019, where Mr. Zlochevsky told the CHS that he didn’t send any funds directly to the “big guy” and that it would take “10 years” to find the records of the transfers because they were hidden by many companies/bank accounts.” CHS has further clarified that Mr. Zlochevsky is in possession of 17 total recordings with the Biden Family, two of which were with Joe Biden personally and the rest with Hunter. He also has evidence of the wire transfers.
In the political world, there are smoking guns and there are nuclear missiles, allegations so specific and credible they are earth shaking in their revelations, and this is clearly in the latter camp. To be sure, we do not know if the FBI made any attempt to verify these claims or what subsequent investigations, if any were conducted. It is possible the CHS is lying for some inexplicable reason, but at the same time, the allegations themselves are corroborated by materials gleaned from Hunter Biden’s laptop, down to calling Joe Biden the “big guy,” public statements from Joe Biden bragging about firing the prosecutor, and the Republicans’ investigation in the House of Representatives which has identified a complex network of bank accounts and shell companies Hunter and other Biden families used to hide international transfers. The FBI, meanwhile, has refused to say what they did with this information and whether they even attempted to verify it, but we know from multiple whistleblowers in both the IRS and the FBI that this document was hidden from them even though they were conducting a lawful investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings. In other words, there is not a fair minded person on the planet who would not conclude that the overall substance of these allegations is likely true, even if a few of the specifics are incorrect. At the very least, the document serves as a blueprint for investigators and should be easy enough to either validate or invalidate, especially given how long they have had these materials in their possession. Regardless, one can rest assured that if the same amount of evidence – a CHS, a laptop, whistleblower testimony, and financial records – were made public regarding any of former President Trump’s dealings, every Democrat in the country would pronounce him guilty immediately and demand the appointment of a Special Council. We have seen this movie before to use the old phrase when a phony dossier compiled by a political opponent was used by the FBI as a blueprint for a multiyear investigation and evidence to obtain warrants on Trump staff. It is also worth mentioning that President Trump was impeached for inquiring about the very investigation in Ukraine the FBI was undergoing and the potential for malfeasance on the part of the Biden family. The mainstream media, likewise, would be replete with the “walls are closing in” stories so common during the Trump era.
Needless to say, none of this has happened and we can assume it will never happen. Democrats whether in office or the media are not remotely concerned. The media has barely covered it, and when they have, they focus almost exclusively on the fact that the Republican Party is bringing these materials to light, not whether they are true or why the Department of Justice knew this information and said nothing during either the first impeachment or the campaign. They also express no interest as to why the same players in the FBI colluded with social media companies to suppress the original Hunter Biden laptop story. Progressives and Democrats who spent four years on social media claiming President Trump was the most corrupt occupant of the Oval Office in over 200 years of US history are equally silent. Apparently, they have absolutely nothing to say about a detailed allegation and corroborating evidence for a potentially massive bribery scandal involving the President of the United States. This might not be surprising, but it does contain a lesson the Republicans need to learn in the short and long term: Democrats have lost all credibility and moral high ground on any and all of these issues. They accused Republicans of making the classic deal with the devil for protecting and supporting a corrupt, unfit President Trump, and then did the exact same thing themselves for the very next occupant of the Oval Office. Their screeching and shrieking served a purely partisan political purpose for their own power. It was not grounded in any universal principles and rules of behavior. The precious norms they prattle on about so often. Therefore, it should not be taken seriously or listened to in the future. If they wish to throw stones at Republican candidates for their various shortcomings, they should move out of their glass house first. If they do not, they are not credible and should be told, politely, where they can stick their concerns.
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 