Democrats accuse the Overarching of selling the family name in a House Democrats ‘ ‘spectacular loss ‘ investigation into the prosecution. ’
On March 20, Sparks erupted on Capitol Hill as House Democrats and Hunter Biden’s former business associates fought back against their evidence.
According to the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the allegations that he and his son Hunter Biden sold their personal names and ties to wealthy foreigners and allegedly received money from LLCs owned by Biden community members.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky. ), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, delivered the open notes.
He claimed that the council is looking into products or services that the Biden family and their partners were selling that would support bills of more than$ 24 million. ”
Throughout the 15-month prosecution inquiry, Mr. Baker said the committee reviewed letters, bank information, text messages, and “suspicious activity information to Treasury and other information, ” allegedly linking the Biden home to corrupt foreign business offers.
The Overarching sell Joe Biden, as they say. that is their business, ” he said.
Two important witnesses who claimed they were directly involved in dishonest business dealings with Mr. Hunter Biden to offer his father’s effect.
Tony Bobulinksi testified in person at the hear, while Jason Galanis, who is already incarcerated, appeared via a video call.
Both are ex-business coworkers of Biden’s alleged involvement in the Russian firm Burisma Holdings led to millions in profits. Republicans claim that he was there solely to use the control and title of his father.
Democrats Dismiss Impeachment Allegations
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md. On March 20, the Democratic Oversight and Accountability Committee’s ( ORAC ) ranking member called the GOP’s impeachment proceedings against President Biden a “spectacular failure.” ”
With any luck, today will mark the conclusion of one of the most egregious failures in the history of parliamentary investigations. The search for a higher crime or criminal Joe Biden committed before being impeached for it, according to Mr. Raskin said.
Mr. Raskin questioned the veracity of the witnesses who Republicans called to testify against the leader and his brother for allegedly utilizing the family’s title and control in foreign nations.
He said they “failed to speak to any political crime, much less proof of high crimes and misdemeanors. ”
Especially, Mr. Raskin gave the name” Mr. Bobulinski a “bitterly disappointed, amateur Hunter business companion” and accused the man of “unsuccessfully suing his own dead father’s generosity for almost a million dollars. ”
Mr. Additionally, Raskin criticized Mr. Bobulinski for being President Trump’s exclusive host at the next 2020 presidential debate, which Mr. Bobulinski confirmed in his evidence.
Jason Galanis, a second GOP see, was likewise called out by the senator, who had made a video call from a distant prison.
Mr. Raskin gave the name” Mr. Galanis, a” serial conman and convicted con man,” was found guilty of defrauding numerous innocent investors, a Native American tribe, and union pension funds. ”
For these reasons, Mr. Despite Republicans critiquing Lev Parnas, the witness called by Democrats to speak against the prosecution claims, Raskin questioned whether their statements against the Trump family were reliable.
Mr. Parnas, who claims he coordinated with Rudy Giuliani to “dig up soil ” on President Biden, was convicted in 2022 on campaign finance charges.
But Mr. Raskin did not stop it. Additionally, he objected to Republicans using pictures of Mr. Bobulinski’s mobile telephone that were reportedly sent to him by Mr. Hunter Biden and asked if the phone’s information may get subpoenaed.
In the end, the committee eventually chose to accept Mr. Raskin’s movement to summons Mr. Bobulinski’s mobile and therefore continued with the reading.
Parnas Evidence
The Democrats ’ head see, Mr. Parnas, alleged he was enlisted by Mr. Giuliani and President Trump to find “dirt ” on President Biden.
Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and several other members of the American people have been lying to them in various government and media opportunities. They give the impression that they have no business serving their personal interests, which would ordinarily destroy the strength of our country, ” said Mr. Parnas said.
He continued, claiming that he had been a vital member and witness to several investigations into whether Joe and Hunter Biden had any connections to problem in Ukraine.
On behalf of then-President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani gave me the task of looking through the world to discover the truth about the Bidens but that a number of networks had spread false information about them, securing the election of Donald J. Trump in 2020. Trump, ” Mr. Parnas said.
He claimed to have found “zero evidence of the Bidens ’ corruption in Ukraine ” in “nearly a year traveling the world ” and said “no credible sources ever provided proof of criminal activity—not the FBI, CIA or the NSA. ”
Republicans ’ response to Mr. Parnas’s witness was related to Mr. Raskin’s for the GOP testimony: Mr. Parnas was convicted of crimes, reportedly made false statements in the process, and so, he should not be trusted to respond accurately on the complaints in the senate trials.
Democrats Spar With Bobulinski
Additionally, some Democrats verbally altercate with Mr. Lead Republican. Bobulinksi.
Rep. Daniel Goldman (R-N. Y. ) grilled Mr. Bulinski in relation to his reported business dealings with Mr. Through Oneida Holdings LLC, a business, you can bid on goods.
Mr. Goldman inquired as to whether the mutual agreement in the business deal split the shares among the five companions, but Mr. Bobulinksi expressed uncertainty over the query.
“It’s not complicated, ” Mr. Goldman responded, prodding Mr. Bobulinksi to provide a distinct solution.
The witness was then accused of “filibustering ” by responding with clarifying questions rather than direct responses.
Mr. Goldman claimed that in Oneida Holdings, “there were five associates, Hunter Biden, and Biden, Rob Walker, James Kelly, and you, [who] each owns 20 percentage. ”
Mr. Bobulinski claimed that the individual men’s LLCs held the portions rather than the men immediately.
Do you see Joe Biden or a Joe Biden-related LLC on this? ” Mr. Goldman asked.
“ I don’t hear if Joe Biden owns any of Jim Biden’s LLC or Hunter Biden’s LLC; I’ll leave that up to the council, ” Mr. Bobulinski replied.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N. Y. ) even sparred with Mr. During her doubting, Bolinski inquired whether he had witnessed President Biden commit an indictable crime or offense.
“Mr. Bobulinski… I have a speedy problem; [it is ] easy. Do you have any personal witness accounts of President Joe Biden breaking the law now? ” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez asked.
In answer, Mr. Bobulinski claimed that Biden, the president, allegedly engaged in economic corruption while running his son’s international business.
“Excuse me, sir. RICO is never a murder. It is a group, ” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said.
With Mr., the two began to argue and interject each other. Bobulinski, who claims that Ms. Biden committed RICO transgressions. Ocasio-Cortez was once more turned down because it was a category rather than a distinct legal allegation.
She described the investigation into President Biden’s impeachment as a “Republican lot lost in the plains.” ”
“Impeachment 101: lot party or whoever is raising impeachment may accuse the leader of a great crime, a certain high crime, or criminal, ” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez argued.
Unless the committee can provide a specific example of a “high crime, ” Ms. The impeachment inquiry is unconstitutional, according to Ocasio-Cortez and the rest of the Democratic coalition.
“This resolution does not outline a high crime or misdemeanor. It’s not here, ” she said.
‘The Bidens Sell Joe Biden’
President Biden and the members of his family have long been suspected of having engaged in shady business dealings by the Republicans leading the impeachment investigation.
After more than a year of investigation, it became clear that the Bidens do not work in any traditional sense of the word. Comer in opening the hearing.
“They do not work as consultants, or lawyers, or advisers. The Bidens don’t sell a product, or service, or a set of skills. The Bidens sell Joe Biden. That is their business. ”
That has been the Republican investigators ’ theory from the start of the impeachment inquiry. And during Wednesday’s hearing, their invited witnesses backed it up.
It is obvious from my direct personal experience and what I’ve learned later that the Biden family was selling Joe Biden as a brand, ” said Mr. Bobulinski testified.
His family’s operation to sell out to foreign actors who wanted to influence Joe Biden and the United States, from China to Ukraine and elsewhere. S. government. ”
The president was an “active, aware enabler ” of his family members ’ business endeavors, meeting with associates like him to advance their goals “despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability, ” Mr. Bobulinski testifed.
Mr. Bobulinski served as the CEO of Sinohawk, the Bidens ’ now-defunct partnership with CEFC China Energy, in 2017. As such, he claims to have attended a May 2017 business meeting at The Beverly Hilton Hotel with not only the president ’s son but the president himself, as well as his brother, Jim Biden.
During his Feb. 28 deposition before the committee, Mr. Hunter Biden confirmed that the meeting was held. His uncle, however, denied it in his transcribed interview on Feb. 21—a contradiction that Mr. Bobulinski noted.
“ Hunter confirmed his uncle perjured himself in front of this committee, ” he charged.
Meanwhile, Mr. Galanis, testifying remotely from prison, said that the only value Mr. Hunter Biden brought to their business relationship was his father’s influence, or “the Biden lift. ”
Our goal was to create a broad private equity platform that would be anchored by well-known Wall Street brands and Biden, he told the committee.
“Our goal—that is, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and me—was to make billions, not millions. Hunter Biden’s entire benefit from being included in our company was his family name and access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden. ”
Republicans Challenge Democrats ’ Narrative
During the hearing, some Republican members rehashed the evidence that their investigation into President Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business schemes had been completed.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla. Bank records appeared to show money coming from CEFC China Energy being routed through various Biden family bank accounts before it even reached President Joe Biden himself.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga. ), in contrast, focused her line of inquiry on highlighting the discrepancies between Mr. What Biden’s recovered text messages reveal, along with his testimony.
Ms. Greene made note of this in one conversation with Mr. Bobulinski, he referred to “my Chairman”—a label that appeared to confuse some of his associates. Rob Walker, another one of those partners, later explained in another exchange that Mr. Biden was referring to “his dad, ” according to Hunter Biden. However, that response disproves Mr. Hunter Biden’s own testimony before investigators.
“ In CEFC, there were two people that we regularly referred to as chairman, ” Mr. Hunter Biden told the committees. “One was Chairman Ye [Jianming], who was the titular chairman of the company, and the other was Mr. [Jianjun ] Zang. When you would meet with Chairman Zang, you would refer to him as Chairman Zang. ”
Mr. Zang, he added, was the individual he was referring to at the time. But Mr. Bolliniski refuted that assertion.
“That’s a lie, ” he said. “I’ve never heard Zang referenced as Chairman. And I had direct communications with Director Zang over WeChat, met him in Romania, met him in Moscow, met him around the world in New York, trying to develop this business, and he was never referred to as the Chairman. ”
As for the Democrats ’ treatment of the GOP’s witnesses, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich. ) was quick to point out that it was markedly different from how Mr. Hunter Biden.
I believe that the majority of Americans are taught that you are who you surround yourself with from a very young age, ” Ms. McClain said.
While she claimed that her Democratic colleagues had treated Mr. Hunter Biden as “this golden boy, ” she noted, “His associates, such as Jason Galanis and Devon Archer, are felons convicted of fraud, yet he is the golden child. ”
She then inquired about Mr. Why did Bulinski believe his former business associate did n’t attend the hearing?
“ I don’t think he wanted to sit next to me because, obviously, I’ve emphatically stated he perjured himself in his transcribed interview with the committee, as did his uncle, Jim Biden, ” he replied. “And for every fact he claims or wants to say, ‘ I was high on drugs, ’ or obfuscate, I can show a document, a text message, a recording that has … confirmed that he’s lying. ”
‘Constitutional Interpretation ’ of Impeachment
Besides the growing allegations against Mr. Hunter Biden, questions remain: Can President Biden be impeached for crimes he allegedly committed while he was a private citizen, and whether there is conclusive evidence that he was selling his father’s name in exchange for foreign business deals and payouts?
In a June 2023 Op-Ed in The Hill, Alan Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law professor who defended President Trump during his impeachment trial, raised this issue.
If the allegations against the Bidens were confirmed, he said, “it would raise a profound, challenging, and unresolved issue of constitutional interpretation: whether a president can be impeached and expelled for a high crime committed before he assumed the presidency. ”