April 8, 2022

From WaPo's Fact Checker: "Unraveling the tale of Hunter Biden and $3.5 million from Russia."

 Glenn Kessler writes: 

We interviewed people familiar with the transactions, reviewed property and real estate documents and probed for leads in the emails contained on a hard drive copy of the laptop Hunter Biden supposedly left behind for repair in a Delaware shop in April 2019. None of our sources would speak on the record because of continuing investigations of Hunter Biden and his business practices, but we sought confirmation from corporate filings and other records.

The flimsiness of the allegation was apparent from the start merely by carefully reading the Senate GOP report itself.... It’s a complicated story, involving a web of corporate entities, that eventually leads to the purchase of millions of dollars worth of real estate in Brooklyn by the Russian billionaire. We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions....

75 comments:

gilbar said...

We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions....

No one is SO BLIND, as those who WILL NOT SEE

tim maguire said...

"Supposedly"? This is not a guy who is eager to get to the truth.

MadisonMan said...

We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions
Trust us!

Christopher B said...

We're gonna unravel this tapestry until we find a thread that doesn't have Hunter's name on it, and then wonder why there isn't any picture any more.

Amadeus 48 said...

Well, that settles it.

n.n said...

WaPoo-gate - a diverse, progressive cover-up from Tripoli to the Biden/Maidan/Slavic Spring to the District of Corruption. That said, democracy is aborted at The Twilight Fringe.

Ice Nine said...

>"An attorney for Hunter Biden denied the allegation in 2020 but it has lived on"
"the laptop Hunter Biden supposedly left behind for repair in a Delaware shop in April 2019."<

These two sentences in the beginning inform you of the quality of evidence-seeking from Kessler that you're in for in the rest of the article.

But then of course, the publication in which the article was printed tells you that even earlier.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Wait… Kessler fell for Russian disinformation campaign to help Trump?

Those Russians are some kind of menace.

John Borell said...

Well if the WaPo says Hunter is clean, I guess that’s the end of it, then. Nothing to see here, move on…look…Will Smith…

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The house organ for the Democrat party is going to fact check and exonerate the Biden family.


rcocean said...

Can we stop calling WaPo/MSM fact checkers "Fact checker" - They aren't "fact checkers" - they are leftwing propagandists.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Most of us are not going to pay for Wapo(D) If you'd like us to comment - please cut and paste more from the article. tx.

All I got is:

the laptop Hunter Biden supposedly left behind

"Supposedly"

gspencer said...

"We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions...."

I really should become a Democrat. Every wrong that I ever commit will be excused.

John henry said...

I thought there was a copy of the bank transfer document via well-fargo(Bank?)

Or was this transfer for something else?

John LGBTQBNY Henry

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Johnson, 66, laid out a timeline that showed how then-Vice President Joe Biden met with Hunter’s business partner Devin Archer in the White House two months after a 2014 revolution in Ukraine ousted its corrupt government.

Five days later, the vice president visited Ukraine, and a day after that Archer, who was convicted of fraud earlier this year in an unrelated case, joined the board of the energy company Burisma, the senator said.

Johnson detailed how later that week British officials froze $23 million of the company’s assets in a corruption investigation, and several weeks later Hunter joined Burisma’s board for a salary of $50,000 a month while his investment fund received a $3.5 million wire from Elena Baturina, then the wealthiest woman in Russia.

NY Post.

R C Belaire said...

Well, if Glenn Kessler says so. Let's see how this conclusion holds up over the next month or six weeks.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

more..

"The senators said their research had been vindicated in recent weeks by New York Times and Washington Post articles that acknowledged the validity of The Post’s 2020 report, which was decried as “Russian disinformation” by former intelligence officials.

Johnson implored the media to pursue the matter “with more rigor,” and provided newspapers and television networks with a letter of questions that he thought they should ask the White House about their report.

They also accused the media and lawmakers across the aisle of being complicit in suppressing accusations of impropriety in the Biden family ahead of the presidential election.

“The liberal media wanted to provide cover for then-candidate Joe Biden,” Grassley said.

“They did whatever they could to smear our investigations.”

“We still haven’t received any apologies from our Democratic colleagues for their false claims against us these past several years. They haven’t apologized to the American people and I’m not going to hold my breath.”"

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Anything negative about Any democrat is RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION!

Harold said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Harold said...

Could be true, but why should we trust anything the Washington Post, the NY Times or any other major media outlet reports connected to the laptop 'alledgedly' abandoned by Hunter Biden.

Amadeus 48 said...

OK, Fat, now do the CEFC China Energy one.

Glenn Kessler has his mission, Kimberley Strassel of WSJ has hers. Today she makes the case for the vindication of Sens. Johnson-Grassley.

Yancey Ward said...

The interesting thing to me is this- that this is the one point on which Kessler is sticking his neck out. If not for the invasion of Ukraine, would Kessler have touched this particular item? I think not.

Joe Smith said...

Nobody has seen the tax filings of the corporations set up to launder the money.

How about the house or senate subpoena those?

Hunter's own business partner said Joe is 'The big guy.'

wendybar said...

THIS Glenn Kessler?? Why would anybody believe anything that comes out of his mouth, when he is wrong about everything??. Talk about Pinocchio...Glenn turned into him. Why Bezos pays him a salary, is beyond me....other than if you are okay getting lied to.

https://nypost.com/2021/06/09/fact-is-washington-post-ignores-truth-devine/

Howard said...

I'm shocked at the cynical responses to responsible journalism.

Dude1394 said...

Jeff Bezos’s democrat propaganda rag begins its spin. I expect the new jornolist is sending out the new messaging.

Kessler is fake news.

Deevs said...

"The flimsiness of the allegation was apparent from the start merely by carefully reading the Senate GOP report itself.... It’s a complicated story, involving a web of corporate entities, that eventually leads to the purchase of millions of dollars worth of real estate in Brooklyn by the Russian billionaire."

I'm not sure what's elided in those ellipses, but I have a hard time squaring the allegations being flimsy from the start while this is simultaneously a complicated story.

Humperdink said...

I am fairly certain (*cough*) that Kessler consulted the 50 former intelligence officials before exonerating the coke snorting, dope smoking, whore mongering first son.

Key words: "supposedly" and "flimsiness".

Meade said...

Quick— give the Washington Post a Pulitzer for “unraveling” that “tale!”

gilbar said...

The flimsiness of the allegation was apparent from the start
as opposed to : Any and All allegations against President Trump?

tim in vermont said...

Wasn’t Kessler the guy who testified to Congress that it was cause for suspicion when Trump did not take any sweetheart deals from Putin when he went to Moscow looking for real estate? Nothing irritates crooked politicians like the guy who won’t dip his beak. Makes them worry about his loyalty to the political class.

Achilles said...

This is so transparently pathetic.

Biden made Putin Rich. Biden is already funneling money to Russia through the Iran agreement that hasn't even been finished.

Biden and Putin are both working together to keep this war going because they both need this war to hide their failures domestically.

Biden and Putin and their illegitimate regimes are going to fall together.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Big Corporate Media and Big Oligarch Tech will continue to cover for the Crooks Biden.


Big Media and Big Tech got away with censoring The Post

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Soviet leftists never apologize. They keep lying and killing. raking in money.

Thank you Amadeus - here it is.

Apologies for Hunter Biden’s Laptop
Smeared as stooges for Russia in 2020, Ron Johnson and Chuck Grassley can claim vindication in 2022.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The Mueller report was a big dud. No connection between Trump and Russia - and the 2016 election where Hillary lost.

But that just mean Mueller is a Russian spy.

Wince said...

A "tale," "unraveled" by an idiot, signifying nothing?

readering said...

Answer for eveything: oh sure (said with sarcasm)

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

If you have an opinion that goes against The Party - you're a Q! or a Trump cultist!

Obey the soviet left.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

why should we trust anything the Washington Post, the NY Times or any other major media outlet reports connected to the laptop 'alledgedly' abandoned by Hunter Biden.

Its not for conservatives consumption. Its for people on the left so that they can dismiss any allegations as being debunked.

Christopher B said...

@John henry

As referenced by Amadeus 48, that was transfers from the Chinese-controlled energy company Hunter was partnering with. According to the documents obtained by the senators, energy company CEFC, “an arm of the Chinese Government,” paid Wells Fargo Clearing Services $100,000 and designated “further credit to Owasco,” Hunter’s firm.

William said...

Kessler is knee deep in wapoo. I just wonder if there was any kind of similar type of fact check on the Steele dossier.

stunned said...

Schizo Left are living in the reality bubble created by Facebook algorithms. Radical curiosity, what's that?

NYC JournoList said...

So there was "no evidence" because the Baturina payment was made to Rosemont Seneca Thornton (RST) which did not disclose that Hunter Biden was a partner in its corporate records, so he may not have been a partner.

But, Rosemont was a name often used by Devon Archer in entities he created and Seneca was often used by Hunter Biden and Thornton was often used by Jim "Not Whitey" Bulger. So there is enough doubt that the name Rosemont Seneca Thornton cannot be used as "evidence" of Hunter's involvement.

More lack of evidence is that a "person with knowledge of board minutes" told WaPo that the undisclosed partners decided to dissolve RST almost immediately but that Archer failed to follow-thru and kept it intact thereby leaving perhaps-partner Hunter off the hook since he MAY have thought Archer dissolved it (wait, is there proof Archer was a partner?). Too bad WaPo apparently did not ask the unnamed source with knowledge of the board minutes what the names of those board members mentioned in the minutes were.

WaPo seems to accept that Baturina made the payment to RST though at the time it was made Hunter may have thought that RST had been dissolved (but offers no evidence for this, just speculation). Or, perhaps, Hunter was never a partner since there is no "evidence" that he was (other than his frequent business partnerships using similar names). Anyway, the payment made to RST may have been routed by Archer and used as payment for properties in Brooklyn and not -- as the payment memo stated -- rendered in exchange for consulting services. Sadly there is little evidence supporting WaPo's speculation that the memo line cannot be trusted.

And, even if Baturina had sent the money to RST as payment for services rendered and not as some sort of direct payment for the properties, there is no evidence that Hunter took some of that payment.

He may not have been a partner, if he was a partner he thought the partnership was dissolved and Archer screwed him of his $1.4 million share, even if he knew he was still a partner he was too high to realize the partnership was making millions.

See, there is no evidence of Hunter's guilt. Move along.

Oh yes, the Senate misidentified which real estate company made the purchase for Archer and Baturina. So those biased Republican Senators are WRONG about everything.

William said...

The way the Catholic hierarchy went out of their way to shield and protect pedo priests caused a lot of Catholics to lose faith. The way the media goes out of their way to cover for their friends in the Democratic Party is having a similar effect on their customers. It's hard to stand upright when you lean this far over.

Leland said...

Didn't the Washington Post pay Nick Sandmann $250 million. Where was Glenn Kessler to tell the WaPo there was no evidence before they libeled a highschooler?

I heard the Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy Conference didn't go so well for the legacy press. Perhaps one day they'll recognize that we now laugh at their "fact" narrative pushers.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Where and when are the world's intelligence agencies going to take out Putin? The leader Obama and Hillary wanted to play footsie with. Fake red lines, secret deals for personal enrichment, re-set buttons.

Where are Brennan and Clapper and Steele? Oh right- too busying lying on NBC affiliates and lining their pockets...

No one can touch Putin because the intelligence community is worthless, lazy, partisan and on the take.

wendybar said...

When you have LIARS like this in America, and the media rushes to repeat said lies...what do you expect will happen?? THIS is why our Government, the Intel Agencies and the Media are such jokes, and why the American People don't trust the lot of them.

https://thefederalist.com/2022/04/08/why-does-russia-hoaxer-hunter-biden-laptop-throttler-james-clapper-still-sit-on-the-board-of-an-ethics-center/

rcocean said...

1) WaPo - October 2020 - there is no Hunter Biden laptop. That's Trump/Russian Lies.
2) WaPo - April 2022 - there is no evidence that Hunter Biden did anything wrong.

DNC Propaganda talking points.

tommyesq said...

None of our sources would speak on the record because of continuing investigations of Hunter Biden and his business practices, but we sought confirmation from corporate filings and other records.

The sneaky lawyer in me thinks that this is the phrasing you would use when your sources confirmed the allegations off the record but you didn't want to admit it. How many "sources say "articles has WaPo run in the last six years, without concern that the sources asked not to be identified. If the sources refuted the allegations off the record, that would be trumpeted by WaPo. If no sources with information could be identified, this would not be the phrasing used. Ergo, the allegations were confirmed.

Michael K said...

Ann would do much better to read The Daily Mail, which is the best source for news in America on any topic with political connection.

Jupiter said...

What is funny about the whole Hunter Biden disaster is that no one has made any attempt to suggest what all these wealthy foreigners could conceivably have been paying Hunter Biden for, if it was not access to his father. Their position, almost openly, is "We all know these were bribes, but you can't prove it, so it doesn't matter."

Seriously, 80k/month to sit on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company, to an American crack addict who doesn't speak Ukrainian and knows next to nothing about the natural gas business. What do you suppose were Hunter's duties at Burisma? Does his resume mention that? How did they find him, anyway? Post an ad on Monster.com? Immediate opening - Board Member. Must have a detectable pulse and be a Joe Biden family member. Top pay, fully remote position.

Butkus51 said...

Its been Debunked. Sheesh.

Nudge nudge wink wink, say no more.

Charlie Eklund said...

In a fact-based world, the Washington Post fact checkers would be more honestly be called the Washington Post False Narrative Support Team. But we live in this world, where fact-checkers even lie about their true role in things.

Kevin said...

Tony Bobulinski spoke on the record.

CTRL+F Bobulinski returns?

Dave Begley said...

"We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions...."

How hard did you look? Do you have subpoena power? Wiretaps? Confidential informants?

Half the country knows Joe Biden has been bribed by foreign countries. Half of Hunter's "salary" was paid to his father. In court, that's called an admission against interest.

Andrew said...

"We found no evidence that Donald Trump was part of any collusion with Russia...."

Words we will never see.

Quaestor said...

No mention of Ukraine or China.

Temujin said...

"... the laptop Hunter Biden supposedly left behind for repair in a Delaware shop in April 2019."

Supposedly? This dogged reporter can't even get the most basic of all of these facts corroborated?

I'll not wait for WaPo to get to this story. Or any story. The information is out there, and has been out there for a few years. It'll be leaking out. Just not from where Democracy goes to be kept in a trunk, under lock and key, in a dark basement, somewhere in Maryland.

Whiskeybum said...

“ None of our sources would speak on the record because… “ they didn’t want to be called out for their lies, so we just spun it as “I guess there’s nothing there”. - WaPo

Static Ping said...

"From WaPo's Disgraced Fact Checker: "Unraveling the tale of Hunter Biden and $3.5 million from Russia."

FIFY

MadisonMan said...

The flimsiness of the allegation was apparent from the start merely by carefully reading
This is true about so many things Trump. It was true about Nick Sandmann too. Yet somehow, WaPo can't read carefully about things aligned with the right-hand side of politics. Washington Pravda.

TickTock said...

Francis Menton has a good blog post to the effect that:
"large payments to the children of powerful government officials by those with interests potentially affected by those officials’ actions are universally understood to be corrupt efforts to influence the officials" with recent cases.

See https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-3-31-the-rules-just-dont-apply-to-the-bidens

gilbar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MikeR said...

"WaPo's fact checker" Useful job: jump into the middle of an ongoing complex investigation, and - decide. Thank you.

Tomcc said...

So, people who were nominally involved wouldn't talk, but he was able to form a "not guilty" conclusion. Impressive.

Iman said...

Kessler is just another clown who “works” for the WaPo/ Democrat Party.

Rusty said...

"We found no evidence that Hunter Biden was part of those transactions...."
Answering a question not asked.
The question is; did Hunter Biden profit from the relationship?

effinayright said...

Michael K said...
Ann would do much better to read The Daily Mail, which is the best source for news in America on any topic with political connection
****************

Agreed. Go over and read about the two Pakistani? Iranian? spies who pretended to be Secret Service.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10700055/USSS-agents-Biden-Kamalas-probed-fake-DHS-agents-showered-gifts.html.

Many photos of their fake passports, ID cards, weapons .....

It's a major security breach and a huge scandal....so the US media will likely give it a "good leaving alone".

Aggie said...

I'm grateful that the paper puts Glenn Kessler's name at the top of the article, allowing me to immediately turn 180° and look for the facts before they get away while I'm reading.

wendybar said...

Leland said...
Didn't the Washington Post pay Nick Sandmann $250 million. Where was Glenn Kessler to tell the WaPo there was no evidence before they libeled a highschooler?


"Christopher Phillips, a first-year student at the University of Chicago, confronted Stelter, who was invited to speak about the phenomenon of “fake news” at a seminar titled “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy.” reminded Stelter of CNN’s reporting errors.

“They push the Russian collusion hoax, they push the Jussie Smollett hoax, they smear Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh as a rapist, and they also smeared Nick Sandmann as a white supremacist,” Phillips told Stelter.

“And yes, they dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop affair as pure Russian disinformation.”


"I think you are watching a different channel than I do" Stelter says."

They did ALL that stuff, and he says he didn't see it?? Is he blind, or just a lying asshole?...you decide.



wendybar said...

Michael K said...
Ann would do much better to read The Daily Mail, which is the best source for news in America on any topic with political connection


100% agree. When I want to know what is REALLY going on, and not the progressive spin, I go there. They usually have the breaking news before Progressives decide what way to spin it to make things look good for them. (which is REALLY hard to do anymore...people are awake, and not as gullible as we used to be)

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Akshully, Hunter Biden has done nothing wrong that we can find.

Narayanan said...

how many would agree : raise your hand

truth seeker / fact checker should first indicate with a reference flow-chart for >>>>

how process begins and proceeds and explanation / justification for steps intermediating.

Narayanan said...

!Best defence of all would be Hunter is no child of Joe! just a waif Joe and Jill rescued

Narayanan said...

wendybar said...
Michael K said...
Ann would do much better to read The Daily Mail, which is the best source for news in America on any topic with political connection


100% agree.
==========
Professora is the designated clutcher of pearls and thrower of pitches
= somebody has to do it - best done with career teaching /law/.