Tag: hunter biden

Hunter Biden got Obama admin to help Burisma subsidiary, new bombshell letter shows: ‘See where our interests may overlap’

Former first son Hunter Biden got help from the Obama administration — which his father, Joe, served as vice president — while repping Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, which paid the younger Biden a million-dollar salary based on his political connections, bombshell federal files published Friday show.

The documents — which emerged 73 days after Joe Biden’s presidency ended — show Hunter, now 55, solicited and received commitments of State Department assistance for a Burisma geothermal subsidiary’s work in Italy.

Then-US Ambassador to Rome John Phillips, who had received a letter from Hunter asking for help, wrote to the then-second son in July 2016 that he was designating a subordinate to help grease the wheels for Burisma, which was seeking to firm up relations with then-Tuscany regional president Enrico Rossi.

“Dear Hunter, It seems like yesterday that you were in Rome. I hope this finds you well. Thank you for your letter. I know Enrico Rossi well and have a good working relationship with him,” the ambassador wrote in a response printed by the New York Times.

“I spoke to the Senior Commercial Officer at the Embassy, [name redacted], and though the amount of direct support we can provide to a Ukrainian company is limited, I’ve asked him to be the point of contact, see where our interests may overlap, and facilitate contact with Mr. Rossi.”

Keep reading

New Info on How the Feds Helped Censor a Bombshell

The US House Judiciary Committee has released internal chat logs, that show the FBI moved into cover-up mode the very day the New York Post published the Hunter Biden laptop story, on October 14, 2020.

The logs, first reported about by journalists Michael Shellenberger and Catherine Herridge, reveal that the FBI employees were immediately instructed “not to discuss the Biden matter,” while an intelligence analyst who, during a call with Twitter, accidentally confirmed that the story, i.e., the laptop, was real, was placed under a “gag order.”

The reason the analyst, who was with the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, was able to so quickly confirm the reporting was based on credible information was the fact the FBI had seized and authenticated Hunter Biden’s laptop several months earlier.

Big Tech platforms – notably Twitter and Facebook – then started censoring the article, branding it falsely “Russian disinformation.” By maintaining the “no comment” policy instead of confirming that the laptop was real and under investigation, the FBI was in effect tacitly promoting the false narrative about foreign interference.

These moves originated from the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was shut down earlier this year for its activities related to censorship through pressure on social platforms.

The laptop scandal was unfolding during a crucial time in the 2020 campaign and represents one of the most egregious publicly known examples of political censorship of free speech and media orchestrated by government agencies.

The chat logs that have now been published reveal that one of the FBI staff involved in the Hunter Biden laptop story suppression was Bradley Benavides.

Only weeks prior, Benavides featured in another controversy: that time in what appeared to be a smear campaign against Senators Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley, who were allegedly “advancing Russian disinformation.”

At the time, the senators just so happened to be investigating Hunter Biden’s financial connections to foreign governments.

A letter the Judiciary Committee sent Benavides in June 2023, shows that he had by that time gone through the Big Tech-Big Government “revolving door” – and was senior risk manager at Amazon.

Keep reading

Hunter Biden Voluntarily Surrenders D.C. Law License to Dodge Disbarment Battle Over Criminal Convictions

Hunter Biden, the scandal-plagued son of Joe Biden, has voluntarily agreed to give up his license to practice law in Washington, D.C., according to Politico.

The decision, revealed this week by the D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility, comes as no surprise to those who’ve followed the younger Biden’s laundry list of legal troubles.

It’s a blatant attempt to sidestep the inevitable—a full disbarment proceeding that would have laid bare the consequences of his criminal behavior.

Last June, a jury convicted him of felony gun charges—owning a firearm while using illegal drugs and lying about that drug use on a federal form.

Then, in September, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and a slew of other tax-related crimes, admitting he’d dodged the law while living a life of excess.

Yet, in December, his father—Joe Biden himself—swooped in with a presidential pardon, wiping the slate clean for his wayward son. How convenient.

Keep reading

Newly Revealed FBI Messages Expose Agency’s Suppression of Hunter Biden Laptop Story Ahead of 2020 Election: Report

Newly revealed internal FBI messages have uncovered a startling effort by the agency to quash the explosive Hunter Biden laptop story in the lead-up to the 2020 election. These documents, released by the House Judiciary Committee, show a coordinated effort by senior FBI officials to suppress any discussion of the laptop, which could have severely impacted the Biden campaign.

The documents reveal that on October 14, 2020, the FBI had possession of the laptop and confirmed its authenticity but still sought to downplay its significance. One internal message from that day advised agents, “Please do not discuss Biden matter,” despite the fact that the story was breaking across news outlets.

This coordinated effort allowed Big Tech companies to censor the story, claiming it was “Russian disinformation” without evidence, according to Trending Politics.

In testimony to Congress, Laura Dehmlow, head of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, confirmed that an FBI analyst attempted to confirm the laptop’s authenticity to Twitter, only to be admonished and silenced by senior officials. These actions contradicted the FBI’s public stance that it was working to combat foreign interference, raising concerns about the agency’s role in suppressing free speech.

Keep reading

Hunter’s Secret Service boondoggle

President Donald Trump just signed an executive order to terminate Secret Service protection for Hunter Biden, 55, and his half-sister, Ashley, 43. It marks the end of an era of bitter irony for U.S. taxpayers and the Secret Service — both of which a shameless presidential son took advantage.

Secret Service protection for former presidents is detailed under the Former Presidents Act (FPA). The Act did not take effect until 1958, benefitting the only two living former presidents at the time — Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to benefit from it immediately upon leaving the Oval Office.

The FPA originally provided for lifetime Secret Service protection for former presidents. But, in 1994, it was amended to provide only ten years protection for those inaugurated after January 1, 1997. Perhaps recognizing we were living in more dangerous times, effective in 2013, the Act returned to the lifelong protection commitment. 

The spouse of a former president is also entitled to lifelong Secret Service protection unless she remarries. Any child of a former president is entitled to protection “until they become 16 years of age.” 

While Hunter and Ashley were still receiving such protection two months after Joe Biden left office, it was due to his executing an executive order before stepping down to extend protection to older children for no more than six additional months. This was something other presidents had done before him.

But here is a bitter irony tied to the Hunter Biden boondoggle. 

Keeping in mind Hunter’s 24/7 security probably involved about 18 agents, necessitating they go wherever he went and that Hunter was making numerous international trips to collect paychecks for virtually no reason other than being the son of the vice president and later president, taxpayers were taking a major hit in financing his Secret Service force. This was true too when Biden was living a life of luxury in Malibu that mandated his security team rent very expensive property nearby.

Meanwhile, as taxpayers were footing Hunter’s tremendous Secret Service costs, he was receiving millions of dollars, it is estimated, which included $3.8 million from CEFC China Energy — an oil and gas company linked to the Chinese Communist Party that ultimately went belly up — and from Burisma Holdings. Hunter had begun working with CEFC when his father was vice president.

It presented the worst possible image for someone in Hunter’s position to open doors for China — a country with national security interests far different from our own. 

After Biden became president, Hunter worked with another Chinese company linked to CEFC that sent $5 million to a joint venture created by the First Son and an associate. Joint ventures became a common feature used by Hunter to launder foreign funding. But, with Secret Service agents in tow, it was as if Hunter were in a room counting his money as they stood guard outside, providing him protection for which he was not even having to pay.

Keep reading

White House Promotes 2 IRS Whistleblowers Who Exposed Tax Agency’s Favoritism For Hunter Biden

Two IRS agents who risked their careers by blowing the whistle on the tax agency’s treatment of former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, are being promoted to top jobs in the Treasury Department, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley is being promoted to deputy chief of IRS Criminal Investigations, while Special Agent Joseph Ziegler is promoted to senior adviser for IRS reform. Both men will work from the office of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“Gary Shapley and Joe Ziegler put their entire careers on the line to stand up for the truth, and instead of being thanked, the Biden administration treated them like skunks at a picnic,” Grassley said in a statement announcing the promotions.

“Far too many whistleblowers share a similar experience of retaliation. I hope today is the first of many redemption stories for whistleblowers who’ve been mistreated.”

Grassley’s announcement comes during Sunshine Week, a period during which many members of the news media celebrate the birthday of Bill of Rights author and former President James Madison, the passage of the federal Freedom of Information Act in 1966, and the Whistleblower Protection Act in 1989.

In a statement released by Empower Oversight, the nonprofit government watchdog that defended Shapley, the two whistleblowers thanked Grassley and Bessent for coming to their aid following their public disclosures of information about IRS leniency for Hunter Biden during a tax-evasion investigation.

“We are enormously grateful to Secretary Bessent and Senator Grassley and all of the members of Congress for their leadership. We have been motivated by one singular mantra: Do what’s right,” Shapley and Ziegler said.

“It’s never been easy, and there have been more pitfalls than one would hope, but we appreciate the opportunity Secretary Bessent is giving us to utilize our skills and firsthand knowledge of the agency to further the work of the administration to root out waste and fraud from the federal government and make a difference.”

After coming across evidence that he and Shapley would later disclose to Congress, Ziegler opened an official criminal tax investigation. He believed the evidence pointed to tax evasion and possible links to prostitution rings. When he requested documents and interviews, he encountered increasing resistance from IRS higher-ups and the Department of Justice.

After Shapley became Ziegler’s supervisor in the IRS, they reported that the case was being slow-walked, especially by avoiding charging decisions in jurisdictions overseen by Biden administration DOJ appointees. In several cases, they determined that Hunter Biden’s name had been removed from search warrants.

As the evidence of tax evasion and related offenses connected to Hunter Biden grew without any prosecutorial actions, the whistleblowers turned their evidence over to Congress, including Grassley’s judiciary panel and the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). The two whistleblowers also appealed to the Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Department of Justice inspector general.

Things then went rapidly downhill for both men.

Keep reading

Trump ENDS Secret Service protection for Biden children after learning of ‘ridiculous’ cost to taxpayers

President Donald Trump removed Hunter and Ashley Biden’s Secret Service detail, citing Hunter’s recent trip to South Africa as the reason. 

Joe Biden gave his children six months of Secret Service protection after he left office. It’s not an unusual move by a president. Trump gave his children six months of protection after his first term.

But Trump blasted Biden’s son for going to South Africa and taking his detail, citing the high cost to the U.S. taxpayer. Hunter’s wife Melissa Cohen is originally from South Africa. 

The president’s announcement came hours after a reporter asked Trump about Hunter’s detail. The president said he had not been aware of it but would look into it. 

‘Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous! He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Keep reading

Hunter Biden fled to ‘ultra-luxurious’ vacation in South Africa with round-the-clock Secret Service protection — avoiding grueling deposition

Hunter Biden fled last week to South Africa for a luxury vacation — with round-the-clock Secret Service protection — avoiding a grueling deposition scheduled for this week in a California lawsuit.

California District Court Judge Herman Vera granted Hunter’s motion to dismiss the case Thursday after the former first son claimed he was too broke to continue suing former Trump staffer Garrett Ziegler and his nonprofit Marco Polo.

But photographs show Hunter was already in Cape Town the day the case was dismissed, staying in a $500-a-night beachfront villa described on its website as an “ultra-luxurious designer home with spectacular 180 degrees unobstructed views of the sea.”

Ziegler’s lawyers alleged to the court last week that Hunter had fled to South Africa to potentially “avoid his deposition in this case,” which was set for this week, after originally being planned for February.

“He was in South Africa before the judge even decided the case,” Ziegler said Friday. “That means he is assuming his daddy’s appointee is gonna rubber stamp what he wants.”

Keep reading

President Trump Says “Either Joe or Hunter” Left Cocaine at The White House, “I Think I’ll Look Into That”

President Trump, in his latest sit-down interview with The Spectator’s Ben Domenech, revealed either Joe or Hunter Biden left the cocaine that was discovered inside a bin at the White House’s West Wing.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, a bag of cocaine was discovered at the West Wing of the White House in July 2023.

Investigators had a partial DNA hit at the time.

The Biden Administration ended their investigation without finding the culprit.

The topic of the cocaine at the White House was brought up by Domenech, The Spectator’s editor at large when he asked President Trump, “Who actually left the cocaine in the White House?”

Trump, without any hesitation, responded, “Well, either Joe or Hunter. Could be Joe, too.”

The 47th President added, “OK, so that was such a terrible thing because, you know, those bins are very loaded up with… they’re not clean, and they have hundreds and even thousands of fingerprints.”

Domenech then followed up Trump’s remarks by sharing, “I was briefly a Bush speechwriter. And so I knew exactly what they were talking about. And I was like, ‘Those things are filthy.’ They’re filthy.”

Trump responded, “And there were fingerprints…. Everybody in there would leave a fingerprint when they went in and that thing was wiped out with, with the strongest form of alcohol.”

Keep reading

Fired CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge reveals photos of files on Hunter Biden, COVID origins seized by network: ‘Attack on investigative journalism’

Fired CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge posted photos of the confidential files seized by the network — which “included sensitive reporting about COVID-19 origins and Hunter Biden.”

The award-winning investigative journalist — who was dismissed last February as part of wider layoffs by embattled parent company Paramount Global — stirred up a firestorm in her bid to regain the materials before the network gave back the items weeks later.

“Exactly one year ago, @CBSNews returned my investigative reporting files,” Herridge wrote on X on Wednesday.

“Today, I am releasing photos of the records for the first time so you can see the sheer volume involved.”

One photo showed stacks of folders next to a Home Depot-labeled box.

Herridge wrote that the material encompassed four large moving boxes weighing over 100 pounds in total that were seized by the network.

Herridge referred to CBS News’ actions as a “journalistic rape” and “an attack on investigative journalism.”

“I hope no investigative reporter has to suffer a similar injustice in the future,” she added.

A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment.

The incident led to a hearing last April by a House Judiciary subcommittee, titled “Fighting for a Free Press: Protecting Journalists and Their Sources.”

Keep reading