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I’m not going to get into the weeds of “this former Trump person said this and this.” I cover politics, but we’re not the New York Times. That being said, it looks like Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton actually left the administration for a reason this summer – Bolton didn’t want any part of Trump’s Ukrainian scheme with Rudy Giuliani, Mick Mulvaney and Gordon Sondland. Fiona Hill, senior director for European and Russian affairs, testified in closed session yesterday where she spilled the tea about how Bolton reportedly said, “I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up… Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.” Basically, there were tons of people inside the White House and outside the White House who knew exactly how bad sh-t was getting with all of Trump’s sad little fringe conspiracies and actual real-life crimes.
All of this is still about g–damn Hunter Biden. To be clear, it’s not that Democrats want to die on the Hunter Biden hill. There’s enough evidence of Trump’s impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors without having to litigate Hunter Biden’s character or business dealings. I hope I’m not the only one secretly hoping that Hunter and Joe Biden get taken down in this impeachment flurry too. I buy that Joe Biden isn’t getting his son these cushy jobs and deals, but Joe Biden absolutely knows that Hunter is a massive liability to his campaign. Hunter knows it too. Which is why Hunter has given an exclusive interview to Good Morning America.
Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son, acknowledged in an interview to be broadcast on Tuesday that he probably would not have been named to the board of a foreign company if his last name weren’t Biden, but he rejected suggestions by President Trump that he and his father had engaged in wrongdoing.
“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” Mr. Biden said in an interview with ABC News, which published excerpts from it on Tuesday morning. “But did I make a mistake based on some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden,” Mr. Biden told Amy Robach of ABC.
The younger Mr. Biden, who recently resigned from the board of a Chinese investment company, said his service there had become a “distraction, because I have to sit here and answer these questions. That’s why I have committed that I won’t serve on any board or work on any foreign entities when Dad becomes president. That’s the rule I’m going to adhere to.”
Mr. Biden, 49, said he had exercised “poor judgment” by getting involved in a situation that he compared to a “swamp.” But he blamed his father’s opponents, including Mr. Trump, for spreading a “ridiculous conspiracy idea” involving his work.
“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father,” he said. “That’s where I made the mistake. So I take full responsibility for that. Did I do anything improper? No, not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever.”
Yeah. I know the old tropes about Democrats eating their young but Hunter Biden needs to go. Every time he opens his mouth, he muddies the water and gives Republicans a small foothold to argue that WELL ACTUALLY there was something wrong with what he did and blah blah blah. Then the conversation becomes about the Bidens rather than the f–king nutjob sitting in the White House. The conversation becomes about Hunter Biden’s shady (but minor) business dealings rather than the Trump family’s criminal empire. If the Biden family really was so dedicated to public service, they would follow a pretty simple path: Joe Biden closes up shop and Hunter Biden fades away without giving any more interviews. Let the focus be on Trump and all the president’s unhinged henchmen. And yes, I wouldn’t be saying this if I actually thought Joe Biden should win the nomination. I hope to God he does not.
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I saw some of this and was really surprised by his almost defiant tone about all of this. How dare anyone question his $50k/month job with a shady Ukrainian energy company? I’m sorry, people who are busting their tails at two or three jobs just to get by are not going to be sympathetic.
And just wait for Trump et al to move on to the crack addiction and his taking up with his brother’s widow….because Trump is going to go there.
Who cares? There is no family in the world, not this country, THE WORLD, as corrupt as the trump crime family. I don’t care. What I care about is that they didn’t stand up to him and demand Don Jr or Ivanka be locked up.
You dominate, or you get out of the way for someone who will.
Bye Joe.
Ok, I completely agree that the Trumps are hella corrupt. But they don’t break into the top ten, maybe even top twenty, most corrupt families in the world. Though it certainly wouldn’t shock me to learn they aspire to reach that pinnacle one day.
You think so? I think the Trumps gave MBS the go ahead to chop up Jamal Khashoggi in exchange for business deals. And I think that’s just the tip of what they’ve done. So, no.
The problem is the right demands total moral purity from the left. We’re talking about serious crimes and misdemeanors coming from the White House, maybe even treasonous actions ordered by the president, but oh, Hunter Biden is kind of shady. So all that legitimate criticism is dismissed because the left has their own shady failsons. I don’t think anything Hunter has done is as bad as the least awful thing a Trump spawn has done, but it doesn’t matter. If the left is not totally morally pure, then they’re just as bad as the Trumps. We’ve lost all nuance.
@Daisysharp
While there’s no evidence, or even whispers, of Trump pre-approving Khashoggi’s horrific murder, let’s just agree he did.
That’s still nothing compared to the corruption and atrocities many other families have wrought upon their sphere of influence and often far farther.
I’m responding very late, so if you actually read this and want a more thorough answer, just respond to this. I will write a very long winded list of all the the families who’ve wrought far worse upon the world than the Trumps.
Yeah, I’ve been wondering why no one is mentioning his sketchy personal life. I agree with Kaiser that Hunter needs to stop talking.
Trump’s minions HAVE gone there. The hypocrisy would be astounding except these are Trump’s minions so nothing they do is shocking
No, this not about Hunter Biden. What Trump did was wrong. Point. Blank. Period. It annoys me that we’re at “well, Hunter Biden …”. Why is no one looking at Ivanka’s patents and business in China?
Hunter stepping down from his position and admitting poor judgement is why from this day forward. You don’t give in to a madman’s domination politics. Not and be MY nominee you don’t.
Yeahh the other Bidens (his sons and his brother) have been using Joe’s name to advance their own careers for DECADES. Nepotism is common for a lot of rich and well connected people but the Bidens take it to a whole other level since the 70s (its partially why Warren went into politics in the first place – look it up!). Of course none of this is worse than Drump and he needs to be taken out of office but the Bidens are also a liability at this point.
^^^Joe Biden is not corrupt nor is his family. This is poopaganda likely paid for. Possible just a dupe, but a lot of paid trolls in all comments sections now. And if this is actually a Warren person like they are implying, using an ILLEGAL Rudy/Trump propaganda operation to smear Warren’s biggest rival…keep it up. You are gonna fall and fall hard.
So when I say corrupt – im talking about how his family has been using his name for years to get business deals (There are some great articles from The Washington Post and The Intercept that have reported this over the years). HOWEVER what i should’ve included in my original comment was all of this is legal – its sketchy and reeks of nepotism but it was in fact legal – there was no grand conspiracy and this was concluded years ago when the story first broke.
As far as Joe Biden’s history, I was referring to his link with credit card companies and how it inspired Elizabeth Warren to leave academia for politics – you can read the article here: https://www.npr.org/2019/06/11/731370440/democratic-presidential-debates-could-reignite-warren-biden-bankruptcy-fight
Garbage, garbage, garbage! The trolls are coming out and we can expect more of this stupidity!
My view is that once Hunter stepped down, Joe disqualified himself. If you are going to play trump’s game and allow him to dictate your actions and dominate you, you are not going to be my nominee. This is a very strongly held view I have, and it will not change. This also disqualified another Dem for me, but I am not allowed to say who here. (hint, DNA test)
Ooh, I don’t know that the DNA test was giving in to Trump (he didn’t demand it, did he?) as much as it was her mistakenly thinking it would curb the Pochahontas narrative for good.
Warren did the DNA test for Trump
“In a rollout video about Warren’s heritage, the Massachusetts Democrat is seen sitting behind a laptop as she calls Bustamante.
“Now, the President likes to call my mom a liar,” Warren asks him. “What do the facts say?”
Bustamante responds, “The facts suggest that you absolutely have a Native American ancestor in your pedigree.” Warren is shown nodding.”
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/politics/elizabeth-warren-dna-test-native-american/index.html
If you keep on disqualifying Dems, you’ll be left with Trump.
Giddy, I think I will end up with the strongest candidate who will not allow trump to dominate them. Trump practices domination politics, because he has dominated people his entire life. IF you cannot stand before him unbowed, and punch that sob back, hard, and knock him down, you don’t get my support. Every democrat will pretty much be the same, that is to say; wow, TONS better than this s-show!. And, since they will all have to get their policies through congress, and through moderate democrats, guess what? All of their policies will be the same too! People fool themselves, but I seen this all before. So what do I need? I need the person who is going to knock this sob down and not let him up. Two have failed this test so far. There are plenty more left who I do not believe will ever make that mistake. I need to know NOW, not after it’s too late and they are the nominee.
@Giddy Exactly. We need to beat Trump & there is no evidence – again, Trump loves to be evidence-free – of any legal wrongdoing on Hunter Biden’s part. People just don’t like it, but that doesn’t rise to meet any criminal statute.
What Trump et al have done, does.
Just out of curiosity, what happens if one of those Ds who “disqualified” themselves is the nominee?
Trump will beat them like a redheaded step child..if he’s still in office. Even though I doubt he will be, I have to go forward assuming he is…until he’s not. If you’re asking if I will keep my mouth shut and also vote for them…yeah, I’m not a lefty purist. I leave that stuff to, well, you know.
Yeah, I’m resigned to voting for someone I’m not 100% passionate about, but whatever it takes.
Democrats who are buying into smear merchants’ Rudy and Trump’s ILLEGAL propaganda efforts against Joe Biden because it helps their fav will have their turn in the barrel. He is disqualified for not standing up to Trump’s domination politics. Not because either he or his family are corrupt. That is nonsense.
Why do the Dems do this to themselves? This is the same as Elizabeth Warren doing an ancestry test. Republicans DO NOT CARE about any of this, it’s just a smokescreen of whataboutism so you arent changing any minds for the better, and you’re just giving substance to their ridiculous theories. Are the Bidens corrupt? Probably. Are they trying to commit treason and grift an entire economy? No. Sit down, shut up, and stop giving the GOP somewhere else to shift the conversation about impeachment.
ETA thanks Kaiser… I was so mad about the interview I didn’t read even your article before posting, but you said it better!
I agree, trying to play by the GOP/Trump’s rules is pointless. I don’t think Warren was wrong to take the ancestry, test, though. The whole thing had gotten so out of hand, and people were trying to prove she had unfair advantage as she rose up the ranks in the law field. She certainly overinflated her ancestry (most Americans do, though), but she had to nip the “unfair advantage” narrative in the bud.
I don’t care about anything having to do with Biden but he was never my candidate. I have read and heard people thinking all this stuff with Hunter will hurt Joe. Maybe? But so far he hasn’t been hurting in the polls. Warren is getting up there with him but honestly I think that has more to do with Bernie’s heart attack and Warren’s overall goodness more than any consequences from trump’s harassment of the Bidens. Basically I don’t think this drama with Hunter is going to stick.
Why can’t they turn it around on trumps grifting kids at every turn? Or just say, it is in the past. Going forward I’ll push for legislation that makes it illegal for any president, vice president, their spouse and their children, to engage in any business over seas. It can’t be that hard to spin this back at javanka.
They are trying to spin this back.
So far they are failing.
How many people think about the result if they managed to impeach Trump? In such an impeachment procedure there is one player who is most involved: the US secret services. And if you impeach Trump with the help of the US secret services then the US secret services will rule the US.
Do you know the result of the KGB ruling the former Sowjet Union aka Russia? The result is that one of their man is now Russia’s strong man. He goes by the name of Pu:tin.
^^^^um, none of the above is true.
But what does it say about me that I would still climb him like a tree and perch myself on his face? WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT ME AS A PERSON? I really like Pete Buttigieg and finally registered parties just to vote in the primary this election, so this goes beyond politics.
😂
l know the Bidens don’t need the money and Hunter probably could get another job with his dad’s connections stateside, but imagine Don Jr., Eric and the Trump’s entire damn cabinet commenting on nepotism hires and forcing yourself to leave your cushy job because of it. Over my dead body. I know Dems are a special kind of stupid when it comes being firm on things, but my goodness Joe, grow a spine.
^^^^
Exactly!
Most politicians are from the cushy nepotistic elite.
Expensive elite private education.
The right family connections.
The right habitus.
The *’right’ way to think.
*not really
Most politicians manage to get elected because they make the right friends who help promoting them in the media and into the right starting position and so on and so forth. Just read some honest biographies of politicians (not auto-biographies) and you will see.
In this day and age of economic insecurity, people are tiring of “crony capitalism.” This isn’t a Dem or Republican issue, it is a powerful person issue. Rich, powerful people get their children jobs and advantages in life….the Trumps, the Bidens, cushy TV jobs for Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush, and all those parents who tried to cheat their kids into college (including the Kushners). It’s nonpartisan. It may not be “corrupt”, but to people who are economically insecure, it is maddening. And yes, Trump has a set on him to call out this when his own kids benefit from the same crap. But the good news is there are plenty of other Dem candidates who do not have this vulnerability who CAN run against Trump and make it an issue, and defuse the “well what about _____?” response. It’s not as if Biden is this great candidate with this one problem. He’s a weak candidate for this reason and many others.
The Trump offspring needs to be investigated, now. Sick of the smug corrupt assholes.
Yea…this doesn’t help Joe at all and where can I get a $50k a month do-nothing job??? Also, I hear Bloomberg still might run. Interesting.
Yeah, interesting. If anything can give trump four more, a Bloomberg independent run is probably it. I mean, it’s interesting in the way of that old curse, may you live in interesting times. I for one, long, LONG, for boring ones.
It really hurts to see people tearing Biden and trashing him and his family. This is EXACTLY what Dumpkins wanted and we are merrily obliging. Biden is in no WAY anything like dRump, who is in a corruption league of his own on par with the Russian oligarchs. Biden is STILL THE BEST BET to win – we must win centrist, independent, and some conservative voters. I just don’t believe Liz can do it – she is too progressive for this election cycle. Please, stop tearing down our candidate and making it in any way possible for the Dump Truck and his parade of thieves to win again.
IMO 50% of the reason for Trump’s success is that he used to be a Democrat. He knows Dems are spineless, and avoidant. They make speeches without action and are easily made to feel guilty while innocent. Ronald Reagan, the previously most successful Republican was also a former Democrat….
It’s not because he used to be a democrat. It’s because he is a sociopathic monster who does not have any shame and doesn’t care if he is lying or being a hypocrite. The democrats are still treating him like he has shame. He does not. He needs to be crushed and his family as well. There should be non stop ads right now about what all the dump kids are doing. There should be no mercy. Remind every American every day that they elected a soulless monster who is destroying their country and only cares about personal profit. There are rich Dems with the money to do this. They need to start right now. Let the candidates focus on issues, but always have the non stop denunciation of the worst human elected to American office. No ifs and or explanations.