Federal criminal investigation Hunter Biden focuses on his business dealings (Update: DOJ appoints special counsel) (1 Viewer)

[SaintForLife]

Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the richest woman in Russia and the widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow, Senate Republicans revealed in their report on the younger Biden’s work in Ukraine.

Baturina is referenced in the 87-page report, which was released Wednesday, addressing her payment to Biden’s investment firm in early 2014.

“Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor,” it said in providing background on the businesswoman.

The report described her involvement with Biden as “a financial relationship,” but declined to delve deeper into why the wire transfer was made.

The probe also found that Baturina sent 11 wires transfers between May and December 2015 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA, a tech startup that filed for bankruptcy in March 2019.

Nine of those 11 wire transfers were first sent to Rosemont Seneca Partners, the investment firm founded by Biden and Chris Heinz, stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, before being transferred to BAK USA.

Hunter Biden received $3.5M wire transfer from Russian billionaire: Senate report

Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the richest woman in Russia and the widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow, Senate Republicans revealed in their r…

nypost.com

We all know their is massive corruption on both sides of the aisle. Here is an alleged allegation against Hunter Biden who was allegedly enriching himself because his Dad was Vice President.

 

[Ayo]

The free press is under attack?

Yes

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

I can't believe that people still take everything Trump says literally.

I don't take everything he says literally, I only take him literally when he tells the truth.

The free press is under attack?

Absolutely!

 

[wardorican]

The dictator talk is just crazy. I can't believe that people still take everything Trump says literally.

The free press is under attack? The same free press that is basically an arm of the Democratic party? You guys will believe any anonymous intelligence sources from that same media as long as it's about Trump.

I'm glad you brought up this point about not taking Trump literally. It's very convenient when your guy says something, that you can say he didn't mean it. You can assign any meaning you feel suits your needs.

Yet, you don't offer that same level of rhetorical flexibility for anyone on the left? why is that?

And you know I agree that many in the media tend to hyperventilate, to sell ad space, but... it's not really a sign of being part of any party wing (since they go after the left too). I mean, a lot of these reactions are just what 'reasonable' people would think. Sometimes it's group think, other times, a lot of people just reach the same conclusions independently.

 

[Ayo]

He said “you’re a criminal” to the reporter three times. The third time, he walked back to the reporter just so he could say it again and point at him.

hilarious!

 

[wardorican]

Also, when we talk about buying political influence... c'mon, there is a beam in the Trump family's collective eye.

https://news.yahoo.com/7-key-findin...GFHk4YiOyb5vYbw2wNduXy6sB7QK3efPtNbGUc6uYNi2o

You don't think Mar a Lago is essentially paid access to rub elbows with the president? What do you think happens there? They just say hi?

 

[MT15]

Just for the record, 50 former national security officials think this is Russian disinformation.

Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say

More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter casting doubt on the provenance of a New York Post story on the former vice president's son.

www.politico.com

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000175-4393-d7aa-af77-579f9b330000

 

[barbar]

I don't really care if it came from russia or elsewhere. Wherever It came from, It stinks. There is a reason no one wanted to have their name attached to it.

 

[UriUT]

I do wonder; how much money did the Russians spend? Because Russia's meager investment has paid off exponentially it seems. My mom even mentioned it the other day, and she isn’t one that consumes the news that much. The effectiveness goes as far as her declaring that it is an example of all politicians are corrupt. This clearly alludes to trumps history as I’ve given her examples in the past. Their activity clearly paid off - it sent one political party into a complete meltdown over these obviously false allegations.

 

[UriUT]

I'm glad you brought up this point about not taking Trump literally. It's very convenient when your guy says something, that you can say he didn't mean it. You can assign any meaning you feel suits your needs.

Yet, you don't offer that same level of rhetorical flexibility for anyone on the left? why is that?

And you know I agree that many in the media tend to hyperventilate, to sell ad space, but... it's not really a sign of being part of any party wing (since they go after the left too). I mean, a lot of these reactions are just what 'reasonable' people would think. Sometimes it's group think, other times, a lot of people just reach the same conclusions independently.

My second favorite response from Trump supporters that I talk to is, "None of it matters, cuz he'll win again".

 

[superchuck500]

 

[superchuck500]

So this is interesting - and there might be other examples of left-leaning media outlets doing the same thing, but it underscores how today's media cycle degrades journalistic standards.

The Biden laptop story wasn't credible enough for Fox News to take as an original story. But since its release by the NY Post, FNC has amplified it with the full depth of the network.

 

[MT15]

Fox News has a very tenuous hold on journalistic standards in the best of times. They were happy to run with birtherism and Pizza Gate, this is no different.

 

[zztop]

oh the irony

 

[SaintForLife]

pot calling kettle black here, except you trust anonymous Twitter accounts. At least the legitimate media has a standards and practices department which vets their anonymous sources before publication. Which is exactly why Rudy couldn’t get anyone, even Fox News, to publish his Russian propaganda other than the NY Post. He even said everyone wanted to check it out before they published it and he couldn’t have that.

Also, anonymous sources cited in legitimate media aren’t unknown to the reporter. They know who it is and they know if they are in a position to know what they claim. I will trust these (to a certain extent) all day over some random person in Twitter who doesn’t identify themselves.

BTW, what happened to the picture of the “FBI subpoena” you posted? I was curious about that. Did you figure out it was a fake?

Also, in order to appoint a special counsel, don’t you need a crime? Committed by someone who has sway over the DOJ? there is nothing here that would meet any criteria for a special counsel.

Republicans in the House are just being stupid. Or they believe the public is stupid, take your pick.

The anonymous Twitter profiles that I've posted here all post the evidence of their claims which includes screenshots of articles & government and court documents. The articles that you post that use anonymous sources don't provide any evidence for their claims and yet you still believe them after their dismal record on the Russia investigation. I'm aware that those reporters know who the anonymous sources are, but when they are consistently wrong what difference does it make ?

A moderator must have deleted my post that contained the screenshots of the FBI subpoena. I won't post the picture of the subpoena this time, but this article shows the entire subpoena with the Mac shops owners name on it. Let me guess, you think Russia somehow forged the document?

Receipt 'shows Hunter Biden's signature for repair work on laptop'

A receipt from The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware appears to show Hunter Biden's signature for work on three laptops for $85 and FBI papers show the owner was subpoenaed in 2019.

www.dailymail.co.uk

What was the specific crime listed when the Mueller Special Cousel started? I don't think there is any need for a special cousel. The Republicans are just trying to use it to damage Biden just like the Democrats did with Mueller and the Impeachment.

 

[coldseat]

The anonymous Twitter profiles that I've posted here all post the evidence of their claims which includes screenshots of articles & government and court documents. The articles that you post that use anonymous sources don't provide any evidence for their claims and yet you still believe them after their dismal record on the Russia investigation. I'm aware that those reporters know who the anonymous sources are, but when they are consistently wrong what difference does it make ?

A moderator must have deleted my post that contained the screenshots of the FBI subpoena. I won't post the picture of the subpoena this time, but this article shows the entire subpoena with the Mac shops owners name on it. Let me guess, you think Russia somehow forged the document?

Receipt 'shows Hunter Biden's signature for repair work on laptop'

A receipt from The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware appears to show Hunter Biden's signature for work on three laptops for $85 and FBI papers show the owner was subpoenaed in 2019.

www.dailymail.co.uk

What was the specific crime listed when the Mueller Special Cousel started? I don't think there is any need for a special cousel. The Republicans are just trying to use it to damage Biden just like the Democrats did with Mueller and the Impeachment.

You keep acting like Russian interference and Mueller's special counsel investigation where a hoax and illegitimate and like we all accept that as a fact. They were not and we do not, no matter how many times you keep repeating the same thing. Just like the Obama administration wasn't spying on the Trump campaign, no matter how many times you or Trump say they where.

 

[Saint by the Bay]

You keep acting like Russian interference and Mueller's special counsel investigation where a hoax and illegitimate and like we all accept that as a fact. They were not and we do not, no matter how many times you keep repeating the same thing. Just like the Obama administration wasn't spying on the Trump campaign, no matter how many times you or Trump say they where.

It's The Art of the Deal. If you keep telling the same lie over and over people will start to believe it.

 

[wardorican]

wow.

 

[SaintForLife]

You keep acting like Russian interference and Mueller's special counsel investigation where a hoax and illegitimate and like we all accept that as a fact. They were not and we do not, no matter how many times you keep repeating the same thing. Just like the Obama administration wasn't spying on the Trump campaign, no matter how many times you or Trump say they where.

I've never said the Russian interference was a hoax and you know that. What I've said about the Mueller investigation was they knew very early that there wasn't collusion, but they strung out the investigation as long as they could for maximum political damage.

The Obama administration didn't spy on the Trump campaign? You can't be serious. What about the illegal FISA on Page? I'll repost this from the Durham thread:

We know for a fact that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign with the FISA on Carter Page according to the IG report.

https://www.justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf

The FISA warrants gave the FBI the authority to spy on Page and it gave them access to internal Trump communications. The FISA warrants also authorized physical searches.

The FBI also had informant Stefan Halper with targeting Page and Halper also asked for Trump campaign information. Halper also secretly recorded conversations with Trump campaign member Sam Clovis.

FBI agent Joe Pientka, supervisor of Crossfire Hurricane, used what was supposed to be a private security briefing to then-candidate Trump and Flynn to assess Flynn in anticipation of a subject interview.

The IG report said that the FBI viewed the briefing of candidate Trump and his advisors as a possible opportunity to collect information potentially relevant to the Crossfire Hurricane and Flynn investigations. According to the IG report, Trump and Flynn’s statements were “added to the Crossfire Hurricane system and uploaded in the FBI’s case management system.”

The IG report said “the FBI had several other CHSs with either a connection to candidate Trump or a role in the Trump campaign.” CHS is a confidential human source.

The IG report also said they “also learned about a different CHS who at one point held a position in the Trump campaign,” The Crossfire Hurricane team said they decided not to use that source, but the IG found an email that said something different: “After careful consideration, the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE team has decided, at this time, it is best to utilize your CHS as a passive listening post regarding any observations [he/she] has of the campaign so far,” Also: “Base[d] on current, on-going operations/developments in the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE investigation, we are not going to directly task or sensitize the CHS at this point in time. We appreciate [your] assistance in this matter and remain interested in any campaign related reporting that you guys may receive from the CHS during normal debriefs.”

The IG report found another CHS in an October 2016 email written by an intelligence analyst on the Crossfire Hurricane team to FBI agent Pientka: “email copied information out of a CHS’s Delta file stating that the CHS is ‘scheduled to attend a ‘private’ national security forum with Donald Trump’ in October 2016, after which the CHS will provide ‘an update on the Trump meeting."

The IG report also revealed multiple CHSs involved in either the Trump transition team or administration.

The FISA warrants gave the FBI access to Pages emails, which includes emails from when he was a member of the Trump campaign, phone records, and also physical searches. It doesn't matter that he wasn't a member of the campaign for the time period that you are referring to. They could go back and look at all his emails or any emails that he has CC'd on.

The FISA Two hop rule also gave the FBI access to even more people than just Page:

While most FISC warrants remain classified, the few which have emerged through leaks, or been forced into the public domain by First Amendment lawsuits, paint a rather bleak picture. These warrants tell us the FISC has issued “mass” warrants which permit government surveillance based on statistical “selectors.”

These documents also tell us the FISC routinely includes authorization in their warrants for the government to surveil people in contact with their target, and people in contact with the contact; in a scheme referred to as “chaining,” these authorizations will include 2 or 3 “hops.” While the text of the Carter Page warrant application, and court approval, remain a secret, one shudders to think this authority was used to spy upon other members of the Trump campaign team who were in contact with Page.

Opinion | The FBI's secret warrant against Carter Page should scare us

A secret, non-adversarial system of judicial review is an insufficient check to our intelligence agencies and law enforcement.

www.nbcnews.com

According to the IG report: Gabriel Sanz-Rexach, the chief of the Office of Intelligence’s Operations Section, said “that the evidence collected during the first FISA application time period demonstrated that Carter Page had access to individuals in Russia and he was communicating with people in the Trump campaign.”