Writes William McGurn in "Hunter Biden's Bargain Plea" (Wall Street Journal).
"On top of all this, U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the federal prosecutor handling Hunter's case, has a credibility problem. Attorney General Merrick Garland was unequivocal in asserting that Mr. Weiss had 'complete authority' to bring charges wherever he wanted – and never asked for special-counsel status. But [IRS whistleblower Gary] Shapley testified (under oath, remember) that Mr. Weiss told him and other investigators that he wasn't the 'deciding person on whether charges were filed.'
Mr. Weiss, who could clear this up, has made a series of public statements that instead only add to the confusion. He has said that he had 'ultimate authority,' that he never sought special-counsel status, and that if he had asked he would have been granted it.
Someone isn't telling the truth here.
The Heritage Foundation... is asking a court to force the Justice Department to release internal communications relating to Mr. Weiss and the special-counsel question...."
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50 comments:
"What steps, if any, did the FBI take to verify these allegations? Think about it."
We don't need to think about it. Thinking is for suckers. We want to know. We know already. The answer is zero. We don't need to think about why either. We already know why too.
The NIC is running the country.
Intelligence is not about creating a perfect picture, it's about creating a preponderance of knowledge that allows you to take action under imperfect circumstances within the fog of war. The NIC relies on the citizenry and institutions requiring proof. Intelligence professionals don't operate under the constraints of proof, they operate under the constraints of what they can and cannot get away with. It is the enemy's job to do the same thing and create a preponderance of knowledge that allows them to react to circumstances as they are presented, and as I've said more than once, The NIC now views the American people as the enemy.
Once you start seeing this from their perspective, it all makes sense. There are a lot of lawyers on this blog, and it seems so many conservatives are looking for this smoking gun so they can yell 'gotcha'. It's not going to materialize. You are fighting Leviathan. While everyone is asking for stupid forms, they're already working on the next thing they can get away with.
These agencies and institutions have ceased being accountable to the American people and their elected representatives. They entail yet another column of secret, unelected and perpetual authority within the entire global economic and geopolitical structure and they must be defunded and destroyed. Not a little. Not broken apart. Destroyed.
Either we do this or what's remaining of this country's civic culture will not be salvageable. Everything else, with the exception of immigration reform, is small potatoes.
Ah, the Washington DC "Circuit of Verification."
There are both positive and negative polarities of this Circuit.
In a functioning Republic, either the federal law enforcement service or the federal judicial arm, would be all over this.
The papers would have coverage24/7
The corruption and illegal activity is 24/7, and the media refuses to cover any of it.
Leftists applaud this, this whole thing is about jailing a political opponent, and jailing his supporters as well.
Being ignorant of history, the leftists are unaware that once they succeed in muting half the country, and putting Trump in jail, it isn't over
totalitarians always have to have an enemy to chase, and enemy to blame.
Once the first targets are gone, then the next problem people are set up and destroyed. These are usually some of the most vocal supporters of the regime.
This isn't difficult to prove or understand. 100 years of communist betrayal, and even a book that proceeded most of it.1984.
So continue to cheer for the destruction of the Republic, in the name of saving it for democracy. Rip the constitution apart, in the name of saving it.
But when it is your turn at the wall, I truly hope I'm still around to see the look on your face when you finally understand what you helped to bring into being-
"What steps, if any, did the FBI take to verify these allegations?"
Funny stuff. Lemme guess. Still, it's good that McGurn and others keep at it.
So, how will it all play out? Probably according to the Dem denial playbook: 1. Nothing happened. There's nothing there. Rightwingers raising a fuss. 2. Sure, there may have been the appearance of an issue, but it has all been investigated. Rightwingers questioning the the integrity of law enforcement. 3. Yes, new information is coming out, but it's no big deal. Happens all the time. Rightwingers going crazy. 4. Major scandal you say? Old news. Everyone knows. Water under the bridge. Rightwingers harping on ancient history.
""News outlets dutifully reported that the [FD-1023] form was 'unverified'"
What would this "verification" look like, anyway?
And McGurn is right; what did the FBI do in an attempt to verify it? We already know the answer; they buried it.
"News outlets dutifully reported that the [FD-1023] form was 'unverified'"
Here Are All The People Who Have Corroborated Biden Family Corruption
Someone isn't telling the truth here.
This statement itself is a deception since it implies an egalitarian probability to the Democrats preferred outcome. Even the gullible have caught on at this point…
A few days ago a search on NYT returned zero results for FD-1023. Prolly still does…
I don't know if Joe and Hunter Biden are guilty or not.
But they sure don't act like they are. These actions would be the actions you would expect if a cover-up was occurring, not if the straight-shooters at the FBI were just trying to get their man. Maybe we don't need a law enforcement agency who's primary purpose is covering up Democrat Party bribery scandals.
(Republican) "US attorney who has led Hunter Biden probe offers to publicly testify to Congress this fall "
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/politics/david-weiss-testify-congress-hunter-biden-irs-probe/index.html
NUFF SAID!
Look who served in the office of the US Atty for Delaware keeping an eye on Joe's back:
Alexander Mackler served:
-As press secretary to Sen. Joe Biden.
-As legal counsel to VP Joe Biden.
-As campaign manager for Beau Biden’s successful Delaware AG campaign
-On the Biden-Harris transition team
-As Hunter Biden's personal confidant
and... SHOCK:
-IN U.S. ATTORNEY WEISS'S DELAWARE OFFICE WHILE WHISTLEBLOWERS CHARGE THE DOJ WAS SABOTAGING THE BIDEN INVESTIGATION.
Looks like they are going to have to find more charges against Trump to distract from this. Maybe Trump is to blame for the cocaine in the White House and the Bong hits taken on the balcony of Hunter Biden's lawyer's condo while Hunter was visiting.
No worries!! Kevin is ON it!!
https://babylonbee.com/news/mccarthy-says-783rd-impeachable-offense-by-biden-will-be-the-last-straw/
It’s time to start an impeachment inquiry.
"…an impeachment inquiry that investigates not just President Joe Biden, but Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney David Weiss, and FBI Director Christopher Wray."
"That is not to suggest articles of impeachment will necessarily result for any of the individuals; [but] following last week’s revelations — and more explosive details revealed over the last few days — the evidence now is just too weighty to stay on the current investigative path. Evidence is spattering out from different House committees and the offices of various members of Congress, while the DOJ and FBI withhold evidence and issue vague and misleading statements."
"A belated appointment of a special counsel is untenable because, beyond interfering with congressional oversight and delaying a transparent accounting to the American people, the necessary investigation includes both the DOJ and FBI, the heads of both agencies, and, at minimum, one U.S. attorney. Thus the attorney general’s control over any special counsel appointment creates an untenable conflict of interest."
"Unverified" is also an interesting choice of words, when many others note the FD-1023 is corroborated by other evidence and testimony. The Steele Dossier was considered "verified" simply by the then FBI Director Comey claiming it was covered by the news media, despite corroborating evidence for any of the events described in the Steele Dossier. If you want to argue that Comey never claimed verification; explain how the Steele Dossier was submitted to the FISA court as unverified evidence? Comey essentially said it was verified because the media wouldn't report on it if it wasn't real, but then the media reported on it because the FBI leaked it to them claiming it was real. That's all the verification needed for the Steele Dossier.
" There's a pattern here that would suggest that a briiiiibe isn't out of the question."
James Comer
This is the best they can do? Benghaziiiii !!!
Corruption. plain and simple.
and now Gen z want to limit free speech and call anything outside of the corrupt narrative - "misinformation" and jail you for not using proper pronouns.
USA going to hell, fast.
Virtually anyone bound by the principles of physics, by time and space, who has looked at the FD-1023 closely has recognized that the allegation in the report does not match known reality.
Lev Parnas, who wandered the Ukraine with Giuliani, swears it didn’t happen. In Twitter, Thomas Fine calls the report, the "Science Fiction Double Feature Bribery Scheme" (because to make it work, Biden would have to have BOTH a time machine AND a mind control ray). ABC provided multiple ways the allegations conflict with reality and even notes that Chuck Grassley waged war on the exploitation of such unvetted intelligence with Christopher Steele. Phil Bump (WAPO) last month described how James Comer was spinning his wheels but couldn’t find any substance to it; he even noted Ron Johnson’s admission that he couldn’t substantiate a key claim in it.
Committee Republicans have repeatedly contradicted the facts communicated by the FBI on June 5, 2023, regarding the months-long efforts by the Department of Justice and FBI team led by U.S. Attorney Scott Brady to review the unsubstantiated, double hearsay allegations contained in this Form FD-1023.
Committee Republicans have contradicted senior FBI officials and falsely suggested that “according to the FBI and according to Bill Barr, Joe Biden is currently under investigation for bribery.” However, at no point during the briefing did the FBI state or suggest this in any way.
Trump is now 4 points up on Biden. Biden is getting slaughtered among independents. Why is this man's career so important to Democrats?
https://twitter.com/IAPolls2022/status/1683865276364750848
From McGurn's article: "Even more disturbing, though the form is dated June 30, 2020, Messrs. Shapley and Ziegler said their team never saw it. By releasing the document, Mr. Grassley has given the American people more detailed information about the bribery allegation than Justice and the FBI ever gave the IRS team. The same goes for the laptop, which the IRS whistleblowers say they never saw."
And this from National Review: "Yet, the Biden Justice Department’s infighting and foot-dragging caused the statute of limitations for the 2014 and 2015 tax years to lapse, vitiating some of the investigation’s key allegations. And it gets worse. Shapley and Ziegler testified Wednesday that, in the interests of negotiating a plea agreement, Hunter’s lawyers had agreed to extend the statute of limitations by stipulation; it was the Justice Department that allowed the charges to lapse. This is simply inexcusable: Prosecutors never have an incentive to forego the possibility of filing serious criminal charges.". (emphasis in the original)
The FBI and DOJ are neck deep in obstructing this case.
"Republicans pounce"
Ds good. Rs bad.
Basically the FBI, CIA, and the IRS have actively worked against every American who voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
The worst part for the world is by doing so they created the Russian bogeyman all based on bullshit. And we have asshole John McCain and Hillary to thank for the dossier.
It is now clear why the United States avoided creating a Federal Police Force 1908. What are they most famous for? Dumping booze and chasing mobsters who became powerful because of stupid prohibition.
If hidden then verified. A 1023 is not the same animal as a dossier written outside the legal system which was known to be a work of fiction
What ever you think about Trump's wealth, or what he got from his father to build it, Trump built things. You can see where his money came from.
Grifters like the Bidens, Pelosis, Clintons, and all the congressional inside traders don't build or produce shit. The level of coordinated corruption between the media and the American political elite has to be huge. Mind boggling.
I think were fucked. Stuck here. Not just because of our corrupt federal gov't, but because American liberals have been brainwashed by the media and the education establishment. Human nature is to double down, even when you know deep down you've been completely full of shit.
If, as some, including Senator Grassley, seem to have charged, Director Wray initially denied that the 1023 existed, then he should be indicted for lying to Congress, shouldn’t he? So did he deny it or not?
The identity of who’s ultimately clearing Hunter has to be kept secret, because to reveal it would unmask the real power behind the clearing, the father of the accused, the president of the United States asking special treatment for his son.
It’s not something smart people openly volunteer for.
The plea bargain is about providing the president with a plausible narrative to parrot when questions pop up at uncontrolled settings such as the campaign trail.
To paraphrase another president of investigations past...
It's the re-election stupid.
I did DuckDuckGo and Google searches on [nyt FD-1023] and limited the results to within the last week.
Nuffin. Nada. Zilch. Squanto. Nil.
Can any of our resident progressives explain this?
The FBI is now a wholly partisan outfit and that needs to be undone somehow. I am pessimistic that that doing can be done.
Why do I see all these Democrats as useful tools without conviction, or commitment?
Do the media think people don't notice these things?
Do the media think people don't CARE about these things?
or?
the media think THEIR people don't notice these things?
maybe?
The media think THEIR people don't care about these things?
I wonder
No US Attorney can be appointed for Delaware, even by a Republican, without the approval of the two Democratic Senators from that state. ‘Nuff said.
The Mushroom Media Complex is always running interference for Democrats and especially for Joe "I love cluster bombs and China Owns Me" Biden. He makes the best talking dummy they have. So compliant with the progressive agenda. Ban cars, hot water heaters, dishwashers, gas stoves.
The Mushroom Media Complex won't cover Biden corruption until their faces are held over the gas-stove burners (on high). Then they'll deflect, deflect, deflect. They are neobarbarians, covering up the crimes of the Democrat party.
IDK if Joe Biden is guilty, but I do know that Merrick Garland and Christopher Wray are obstructing justice. How ironic if it turns out they just assumed they needed to cover for Biden, even though he in fact has done nothing wrong. It's still obstruction, right?
For the record, gadfly's comments are credibly sourced by gadfly to:
gadfly
And it gets worse, late breaking:
1. A friend of the court brief detailing the FD1023 information was submitted to the judge deciding Hunter's fate .
2. Hunter's attorney called the judge's office impersonating the brief submitter asking for the brief to be withdrawn.
3. The judge has demanded the attorney explain himself by 9pm tonight.
4. One of the DOJ attorneys on the Delaware US attorney's staff was a close associate of the Joe and Hunter and was in regular contact with Hunter.
Freaking unbelievable.
gadfly said…"ABC provided multiple ways the allegations conflict with reality "
Bullshit. You keep saying this, but I read your link and your claim is not in there. What it did have is the crappy "bound by the principles of physics, by time and space," line you keep using.
You need to read your own links. And get some new material.
tim in vermont said...
Trump is now 4 points up on Biden. Biden is getting slaughtered among independents. Why is this man's career so important to Democrats?
Because no other person elected to the Presidency will allow Barack Obama to be the real President “behind the curtain”?
"Think about it."? The author told us to think about it? Let me guess, that isn't NYT or WaPo.
“Biden is getting slaughtered among independents. Why is this man's career so important to Democrats?”
That, @tim in vermont, is the $64,000 question, no?
There is intrigue in the FD-1023 regarding the identify of the confidential human source (CHS). The first meeting described in 2015/2016 (E. Jean Carroll deniers take note that the exact year is not identified) lists the participants, and only the names of CHS and CHS’s then business partner are redacted. The report then says, “The conversation was in Russian, and thus [redacted] did not participate therein.” The released version of the report makes the identity of CHS and CHS’s business partner absolutely clear to the Burisma people at that meeting.
What if CHS turns out to be someone connected to the Republican Party or Donald Trump? After the 2016 election, CHS seems to back the Burisma exec into a corner about the payments he is said to have made to the Bidens - he defensively claims he was forced to make them and suggests that should make a legal difference. That section reads like CHS is acting as an enforcer for the new Trump administration. Such a link would also explain why Republicans knew about the existence of the report before it was made public.
So who is CHS/CHS’s business partner? Let’s round up the usual suspects:
1. Carter Page
2. Paul Manafort
3. Newt Gingrich
4. Michael Flynn
5. Rudy Giuliani
"PB said: And it gets worse, late breaking:
1. A friend of the court brief detailing the FD1023 information was submitted to the judge deciding Hunter's fate.
2. Hunter's attorney called the judge's office impersonating the brief submitter asking for the brief to be withdrawn.
3. The judge has demanded the attorney explain himself by 9pm tonight."
An amazing development, and apparently verified by the MSM:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-bidens-counsel-faces-possible-sanctions-accusations-lying-criminal-tax-case
Poor Hunter's attorneys appear to be in deep doo-doo. The morality of the client seems to match the morality of his representation.
Anyone making book on disbarment odds?
Is this the attorney who was seen taking bong hits on his balcony while Hunter was there?
read stephen mcintyre and hans moncke they have the receipts on this whole thing,
https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1682444844747173888
This is the best they can do? Benghaziiiii !!!
Just once, I wish someone like you would go up to the friends and family of those four, dead Americans and joke about it. Use it as a punchline and be sure to let them know nobody was held accountable for it.
I bet they'd split a side laughing so hard ... while watching you pick up your fucking teeth.
Always makes me smile when lefties claim no bribery involved:
"In 2016, Hunter’s total income from Burisma was $999,996. In 2017 it dropped to $665,000, and then $498,000 in 2018.
Hunter resigned from the Burisma board in April 2019, according to his lawyer George Mesires, after his controversial business dealings dogged his father’s presidential campaign.
The Burisma invoices and emails were among thousands of documents on the water-damaged Macbook Hunter left at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019 and then failed to pick up or pay the repair bill for.
Documents on the laptop also show that Hunter invited Pozharskyi to meet then-vice president Biden at a dinner in Washington DC in April, 2015."
https://nypost.com/2021/05/26/hunter-bidens-ukraine-salary-was-cut-after-joe-biden-left-office/
Jim at said...
"I bet they'd split a side laughing so hard ... while watching you pick up your fucking teeth."
Jim- the internet tough guy.
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