GOP memo argues direct payments to President Biden not needed to show corruption

[Social Media]

 

House Republicans probing the foreign business dealings of President Biden’s family members are arguing that they do not have to show direct payments to the president in order to demonstrate corruption. 

The new argument comes as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other Republicans have floated opening an impeachment inquiry into the president over issues revolving around his family’s business dealings, and could forecast future Republican messaging on the matter. 

The argument is reflected in a memo released Wednesday by House Oversight and Accountability Republican staff that outlines millions of dollars from foreign sources that flowed to Hunter Biden and his associates.  

Focusing on payments from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan that occurred when Joe Biden was vice president, the memo adds further details about transactions that had been previously reported, including details from a Senate GOP report about Biden family foreign business dealings. 

It is the third memo based on bank records obtained by the committee’s Republicans, who say that the probe has identified over $20 million in payments from foreign sources to Biden family members and their associates so far. 

 

None of the memos have identified payments to President Biden directly, or that it directly benefited him.  

“President Biden’s defenders purport a weak defense by asserting the Committee must show payments directly to the President to show corruption,” the memo said. “This is a hollow claim no other American would be afforded if their family members accepted foreign payments or bribes. Indeed, the law recognizes payments to family members to corruptly influence others can constitute a bribe.” 

The memo also noted that the committee has not yet subpoenaed records from the Biden family.  

 

FULL STORY

[Tug]

Desperation personified 

[Chomper Higgot]

Or to put it more simply.

 

There’s no need for evidence, an accusation is enough.

 

So long as it’s the GOP making the accusations.

[placeholder]

This amounts to a confession that they've got no "smoking gun". And it ookd like that gun is only loaded with blanks.

Edited August 10, 2023 by placeholder

[Tug]

6 minutes ago, placeholder said:

This amounts to a confession that they've got no "smoking gun". And it ookd like that gun is only loaded with blanks.

Yup!

[JonnyF]

I doubt even Joe Biden is stupid enough to have the payments go to him directly.

 

Quite smart having it go through Hunter. Kind of the equivalent of Thai politicians with maids with Millions of Baht in their bank accounts and several properties in prime downtown Bangkok. I'm actually seeing more and more similarities between Thai and US politics since Biden came in, and not due to Thai politics improving.

 

Obviously it would be better if his son wasn't a crack addict, but still safer than going to his own account directly. Let's hope he can bury any asset transfers from Hunter to himself until after the next election, like they did with the laptop.

 

 

[placeholder]

28 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

I doubt even Joe Biden is stupid enough to have the payments go to him directly.

 

Quite smart having it go through Hunter. Kind of the equivalent of Thai politicians with maids with Millions of Baht in their bank accounts and several properties in prime downtown Bangkok. I'm actually seeing more and more similarities between Thai and US politics since Biden came in, and not due to Thai politics improving.

 

Obviously it would be better if his son wasn't a crack addict, but still safer than going to his own account directly. Let's hope he can bury any asset transfers from Hunter to himself until after the next election, like they did with the laptop.

 

 

Your comment reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld's justification of his claims that Iraq possessed nuclear and chemical weapons "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." 

Stop making things up.

 

[Purdey]

Well, at least they admitted they have no clear and damning evidence on the president,. 

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Your comment reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld's justification of his claims that Iraq possessed nuclear and chemical weapons "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." 

Stop making things up.

 

Patience Grasshopper. These things have a tendency to surface in the end, it's just a case of how deep they buried it.

[ozimoron]

Meanwhile, on the planet Erf...

[riclag]

4 hours ago, Social Media said:

 

House Republicans probing the foreign business dealings of President Biden’s family members are arguing that they do not have to show direct payments to the president in order to demonstrate corruption. 

The new argument comes as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other Republicans have floated opening an impeachment inquiry into the president over issues revolving around his family’s business dealings, and could forecast future Republican messaging on the matter. 

The argument is reflected in a memo released Wednesday by House Oversight and Accountability Republican staff that outlines millions of dollars from foreign sources that flowed to Hunter Biden and his associates.  

Focusing on payments from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan that occurred when Joe Biden was vice president, the memo adds further details about transactions that had been previously reported, including details from a Senate GOP report about Biden family foreign business dealings. 

It is the third memo based on bank records obtained by the committee’s Republicans, who say that the probe has identified over $20 million in payments from foreign sources to Biden family members and their associates so far. 

 

None of the memos have identified payments to President Biden directly, or that it directly benefited him.  

“President Biden’s defenders purport a weak defense by asserting the Committee must show payments directly to the President to show corruption,” the memo said. “This is a hollow claim no other American would be afforded if their family members accepted foreign payments or bribes. Indeed, the law recognizes payments to family members to corruptly influence others can constitute a bribe.” 

The memo also noted that the committee has not yet subpoenaed records from the Biden family.  

 

FULL STORY

McCarthy is always preaching that he doesnt want to play politics. Cut to the chase , subpoena the bidens .

Ask hunter about his email to a family member saying he was paying 1/2 of his fathers bills!

That should make  joe a accomplice to a FARA VIOLATION .imop

https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal/

 

[ozimoron]

9 minutes ago, riclag said:

McCarthy is always preaching that he doesnt want to play politics. Cut to the chase , subpoena the bidens .

Ask hunter about his email to a family member saying he was paying 1/2 of his fathers bills!

That should make  joe a accomplice to a FARA VIOLATION .imop

https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal/

 

You can't get a subpoena to go fishing.

[Bkk Brian]

If they set the bar any lower they'll be in the Mariana Trench

[billd766]

12 minutes ago, riclag said:

McCarthy is always preaching that he doesnt want to play politics. Cut to the chase , subpoena the bidens .

Ask hunter about his email to a family member saying he was paying 1/2 of his fathers bills!

That should make  joe a accomplice to a FARA VIOLATION .imop

https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal/

 

quote "Cut to the chase , subpoena the Bidens".

 

On what grounds?

 

An allegation is NOT proof, nor is it evidence. If you or the oversight committee can come up with either, or preferably both, then go ahead.

 

If not, the supply of straws for you both to clutch are running short.

[Brickleberry]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Anyway back on topic, let's see if Biden can keep all this under the carpet until the next election. You can bet the Republicans are going to continue to be all over this like white on rice.

Definitely.

 

It doesn't look good though, does it? Trump and his kids have been investigated and sued, now Biden and his kids are being investigated and charged with crimes. Hunter Biden has admitted his guilt regarding tax, but I think it very unlikely that President Biden was receiving bribes etc. whilst serving as vice president.

 

We all know that nepotism exists, and we all know that family members of powerful people, celebrities etc. get preferential treatment in the hope that they can meet or associate with the family member who has power. 

 

This is what has happened. Nothing more, nothing less. If they were going to investigate all instances of this type of thing, then I imagine the entire senate and congress would be under investigation.

[candide]

So they don't need evidence! Pathetic....

It seems they have lost any hope to find evidence and are preparing ground to disguise a failure.

 

[placeholder]

30 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Anyway back on topic, let's see if Biden can keep all this under the carpet until the next election. You can bet the Republicans are going to continue to be all over this like white on rice.

Sweep what under the carpet? A hypothetical something for which no evidence of a crime exists?

[ozimoron]

Just now, placeholder said:

Sweep what under the carpet? A hypothetical something for which no evidence of a crime exists?

The gullible fools who worship Trump don't need evidence.

[JonnyF]

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Sweep what under the carpet? A hypothetical something for which no evidence of a crime exists?

It all seems to be seeping out slowly. Quite a while until the next election. Can the Dems keep sweeping water up the slope that long? Who knows, will be interesting for a neutral observer like me for sure. 

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

It all seems to be seeping out slowly. Quite a while until the next election. Can the Dems keep sweeping water up the slope that long? Who knows, will be interesting for a neutral observer like me for sure. 

Neutral observer, LOL.

 

The slime is seeping out of the Trump swamp.

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

It all seems to be seeping out slowly. Quite a while until the next election. Can the Dems keep sweeping water up the slope that long? Who knows, will be interesting for a neutral observer like me for sure. 

What is seeping out? I remember all the excitement on the right when Devon Archer's upcoming testimony was announced. How it was going to nail Joe Biden. As it turns out, Archer said over and over again, Hunter Biden was trying to make it look like he had influence over Joe Biden's actions but really had none. He said over and over that Joe Biden never discussed business at all, zero, nada, zip when Hunter Biden put him on speakerphone. Again, at those 2 dinners, Archer testified that absolutely no business topic was broached. Republicans questioning him tried time and again to get something new out of Archer which would incriminate Joe Biden. They failed.

[JonnyF]

2 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Neutral observer, LOL.

Indeed. Despite your baiting, I remain a fan of neither Trump nor Biden. I know it takes some posters a little longer than others to realize that such a position is possible, so stick with it - determination can overcome limitation.

 

2 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

 

The slime is seeping out of the Trump swamp.

Yep. And Biden's.

[sirineou]

 

3 hours ago, placeholder said:

Your comment reminds me of Donald Rumsfeld's justification of his claims that Iraq possessed nuclear and chemical weapons "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." 

Stop making things up.

 

Perhaps they can use some of  Kellyanne Conway's "alternative facts"????

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, sirineou said:

 

Perhaps they can use some of  Kellyanne Conway's "alternative facts"????

or some "known unknowns".

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Indeed. Despite your baiting, I remain a fan of neither Trump nor Biden. I know it takes some posters a little longer than others to realize that such a position is possible, so stick with it - determination can overcome limitation.

 

Yep. And Biden's.

Really? Comparing the evidence against Trump to the evidence against Biden? There is a huge amount of evidence that Trump violated the law in the documents case. Where is the evidence that showed Biden did anything criminal?

[sirineou]

24 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Really? Comparing the evidence against Trump to the evidence against Biden? There is a huge amount of evidence that Trump violated the law in the documents case. Where is the evidence that showed Biden did anything criminal?

All the evidence in the world are no evidence when it comes to trump

But no evidence against Biden is plenty????

I think it's fair. don't you?

Edited August 10, 2023 by sirineou

[candide]

25 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Really? Comparing the evidence against Trump to the evidence against Biden? There is a huge amount of evidence that Trump violated the law in the documents case. Where is the evidence that showed Biden did anything criminal?

Come on! He's "neutral"!

[Tug]

4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Indeed. Despite your baiting, I remain a fan of neither Trump nor Biden. I know it takes some posters a little longer than others to realize that such a position is possible, so stick with it - determination can overcome limitation.

 

Yep. And Biden's.

Sorry I’m going to call bs on that neutral observer bit lol ???? 

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies about Blair and WMD's have been removed.

[BKKKevin]

“Alternative Facts”…

”Known Unknowns”…

”Aspirational Evidence”…

Same Same… ????

Edited August 10, 2023 by BKKKevin