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The Division of Justice renewed fees Monday in opposition to the person Republicans had repeatedly touted as their star witness in opposition to Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden. Because it seems, the thriller of why Gal Luft is lacking isn’t very mysterious in any case. The Republican “informant” has been scarce as a result of he’s on the run after leaping bail and is dealing with fees of unlawful arms dealing, mendacity to federal brokers, and being an unregistered agent of the Chinese language authorities.
On the identical day, a letter from U.S. Legal professional David Weiss disputed the claims of so-called “IRS whistleblower” Gary Shapley regarding his investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes. In a letter addressed to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, Weiss disputed practically each declare made by Republicans.
With Republicans in each the Home and Senate fuming and the right-wing media slinging unsupported fees of a cover-up, here’s a evaluate of what stays of the Republicans’ much-touted case in opposition to “the Biden crime household.” A greater query may be why they ever thought there was a case to start with—and why an legal professional basic ever gave a U.S. legal professional the duty of personally supervising a fishing expedition into the lifetime of the son of a possible presidential candidate.
Earlier than getting right down to the brand new data this week, it’s price a visit throughout the galaxy of things that Republicans have put ahead and proceed to quote as “proof” in opposition to both Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, or each.
The FD 10-23 ‘informant’ is useless
For months, the central theme of the Republican “investigation” headed by Kentucky Rep. James Comer was an FBI FD 10-23 kind. That’s the shape that the FBI makes use of to “report unverified reporting from a confidential human supply.”
The truth that this data is unverified and that it comes from a confidential human supply may clarify to any informal observer why the FBI doesn’t launch these types. Not solely can they include unfounded accusations in opposition to anybody from anybody, but when a kind is correct, it may additionally reveal data that may characterize a severe risk to the supply behind the shape or to others. Releasing these types would endanger witnesses, endanger the topics of investigation, and invite anybody to file such accusations as a way of revenge. It will additionally make future witnesses to prison exercise a lot much less prone to come ahead.
The FBI doesn’t need these issues to occur. The Republicans do.
Republicans, together with Comer within the Home and Sen. Chuck Grassley within the Senate, went by way of a protracted, chest-thumping pretense that by not releasing these confidential types, the FBI was someway conducting a cover-up to guard the Bidens. Comer and Grassley additionally scoffed at provides to indicate them the shape as a result of, as they made clear, they already knew what it stated.
That’s as a result of regardless of how typically Republicans denied it, the FD 10-23 kind in query was clearly and completely a part of the prolonged scheme by Rudy Giuliani to create “proof” that Donald Trump might use to assault then-candidate Joe Biden. For months, Giuliani and his prison buddies bounced round Ukraine on Trump’s orders, attempting to solicit false testimony in opposition to Biden from rip-off artists, Russian brokers, and sycophants who’ve admitted making issues as much as please Trump.
However Republicans insisted that this type was not a part of that scheme. This type was the true deal. This type got here from a “extremely credible informant.” This type was undoubtedly not a part of Giuliani’s scheme to … okay, all proper. Positive. Possibly it was. And possibly Republicans have been simply going by way of the entire present as a result of, as The Washington Submit wrote:
On condition that hostility to the bureau that has been so helpful for Trump to stoke, Comer and different Republicans have as an alternative made the main target of their ire the FBI’s failure at hand over the doc with out redactions.
Republicans have been by no means considering discovering the contents of the shape. They already knew what it stated. What Republicans wished was the battle over releasing the shape, as a result of that gave them the possibility to proceed a tirade in opposition to the FBI and pad out their inexplicable claims that the FBI works for Joe Biden even when the company was overtly working for Donald Trump.
The furor across the kind seems to have light for now, however what concerning the precise doc? What concerning the informant behind that doc? Because it seems, Giuliani says that the informant was a girl who as soon as labored as an accountant on the Ukrainian vitality agency Burisma, the place Hunter Biden was as soon as a board member. Giuliani additionally says that this star witness is conveniently useless.
The lady who Giuliani is inaccurately describing to Newsmax is reportedly the spouse of Burisma co-founder Mykola Lisin. Lisin died in 2011. That’s three years earlier than Hunter Biden had any affiliation with the corporate.
Oh, and people “mysterious circumstances” behind Lisin’s loss of life are supposed to indicate that the Bidens additionally had a hand in his demise. Right here’s how Lisin died, based on BNE Information in Kyiv on the time:
46-year-old Mykola Lisin, a lawmaker from Ukraine’s ruling Get together of Areas, died in a automotive crash whereas driving at over 100 miles an hour in his Lamborghini Diablo.
Different experiences have put the velocity at nearer to 150 mph. Lisin wasn’t sporting a seatbelt and his blood alcohol ranges have been excessive. All of these issues are likely to make folks useless.
As for Lisin’s spouse, it’s not really clear that she’s useless. It’s not even clear she ever existed. For one factor, each story about her refers to her merely as “Mykola Lisin’s spouse.” Even these reporting her loss of life appear notably scant on particulars, like how she died. Or how outdated she was. Or her title. She is, or was, or probably by no means was, simply “Mykola Lisin’s spouse.” There additionally appears to be completely no proof she was ever an accountant at Burisma past a single assertion from Giuliani, which has been endlessly repeated.
The one factor sure is that “Mykola Lisin’s spouse” hasn’t popped as much as verify a narrative a couple of assembly that happened years after her husband died from a selected type of wealthy individual idiocy, or to elucidate why she would go to the FBI to fill out an FD 10-23 kind on occasions that reportedly happened years earlier. Nevertheless, since right-wing media retains reporting that she’s useless, it’s unlikely something she has to say can be useful to the Republican trigger.
Oh, and the Get together of Areas was the pro-Russian occasion that Biden, amongst others, ceaselessly spoke out in opposition to.
The 17 movies don’t exist
Right here’s how Fox Information put it on the day that Donald Trump was indicted on 37 federal fees associated to concealing categorised paperwork associated to nationwide safety.
Fox Information: “Whataboutism? Yeah, rattling proper it’s about whataboutism. The world breathlessly covers the 37 counts on Donald Trump, whereas ignoring the 17 tapes on Joe Biden.”
It’s good to have Fox main off an enormous “what about” story by admitting that’s precisely what it’s doing. Nevertheless, there are a number of “whats” lacking from this story, in addition to how, why, and, significantly, the place. As in: The place are these tapes?
Why would the media not spend Trump’s indictment day detailing the contents of the tapes? Certainly all of us recall when that one tape stated … uh. Or that different tape that stated … hey, simply what was on these tapes once more?
The tapes reportedly confirmed some bribe that Joe Biden reportedly took from the man who was inconveniently useless nicely earlier than both Biden ever got here to Ukraine. Besides the reality is that nobody has heard what may be on these tapes—not even the Republicans. And it turns on the market’s a reasonably good cause for that.
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1669392791758045194
Republicans haven’t heard the tapes as a result of they don’t have the tapes. Neither does the FBI. In reality, Republicans have been pressured to confess that the tapes may be totally fictional.
Possibly they need to test with Mykola Lisin’s spouse.
The Whatsapp message can also be a pretend
A model of what’s supposedly a 2017 Whatsapp message during which Hunter Biden extorted cash from a Chinese language official, circulated broadly across the web after being posted by Missouri Republican Rep. Jason Smith, has a small downside as a result of that 2017 message included a picture of the president’s son that wasn’t taken until 2020.
Nevertheless, Republicans have been fast to say that the image was added on by Smith and must be ignored. And keen-eyed observers must also ignore the truth that the font and spacing don’t match Whatsapp as a result of this picture isn’t a picture. It’s one thing that was typed up later. It’s not the actual message.
They then circulated one other model of the message—besides that one can also be a pretend.
“each embody a photograph of Mr. Biden not from 2017 however from the White Home Easter Egg roll in April 2022 (lengthy after the purported message was despatched); each photographs painting the message in a blue bubble, when WhatsApp messages are in inexperienced; one picture superimposed the Chinese language flag for the contact ID, when certainly that was not how a textual content or contact was saved; and one purports to be a screenshot with the ‘. . .’ of somebody composing a textual content (as in Apple’s iMessage) when that doesn’t occur on WhatsApp.”
If the picture of the message is a pretend, what concerning the contents?
This message is among the key items of proof dropped at the Republicans’ consideration by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley. The agent instructed the Home Methods and Means Committee that he “obtained” the message (how just isn’t clear), and that it data a transaction during which Hunter Biden calls for fee from Chinese language businessman Henry Zhao. Within the message, Hunter declares that his dad is there with him and threatens Zhao with the facility of his father. Besides that on the time the assembly supposedly happened, Joe Biden didn’t maintain any public workplace and was years away from declaring his candidacy for one more.
The entire dialog supposedly recorded within the message by no means actually has made any sense and, as may be anticipated, Hunter Biden’s legal professional says that’s additionally a pretend.
This definitely makes it appear as if not simply Republicans however their surviving whistleblower are greedy at clearly fabricated straws.
The IRS whistleblower is contradicted by the precise U.S. legal professional
For 5 years, U.S. Legal professional David Weiss investigated Hunter Biden after being assigned to the case by William Barr.
It appears price pausing for a second to ponder that sentence. Has there ever been a comparable investigation? Merrick Garland doesn’t appear to have given any U.S. attorneys the duty of digging into Donald Trump Jr.’s taxes or retracing the funding of Jared Kushner’s overseas journeys. However Barr particularly instructed Weiss to dedicate his workplace to the investigation of Hunter Biden, and that’s what Weiss did for the previous 5 years.
Throughout all that point, Weiss, like particular counsel John Durham, was a determine of Republican worship as they only waited on him to convey the hammer down on Hunter. Nevertheless, when Weiss got here again in any case that point and produced solely two small tax fees and a cost of carrying a pistol whereas utilizing medicine, he instantly adopted Durham into the lengthy line of people that had betrayed Trump by failing to take down his perceived enemies. Republicans accused Weiss of going gentle on Hunter Biden and giving him a “sweetheart deal.”
The seek for some strategy to repudiate Weiss was thrown an enormous lifeline when Shapley got here ahead with claims that Weiss:
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wished to lodge stronger fees in opposition to Hunter Biden however was refused.
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wished to be a particular counsel however was turned down.
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refused to comply with up on essentially the most damning data, like that Whatsapp message.
Aside from the useless Lamborghini driver and the on-the-run Chinese language agent, Shapley seems to be the one “informant” remaining within the Republican investigation. It’s not shocking that he has turn out to be the keystone of their claims in opposition to the Bidens since Shapley is 1) alive and a couple of) not at present being looked for a protracted checklist of felonies.
Trump definitely agrees as a result of, no matter it was that Hunter Biden did, Trump is certain it deserves the loss of life penalty.
Since Weiss didn’t order up a firing squad, Republicans have been in overdrive looking for some proof that the U.S. legal professional (who was not solely appointed by Trump however certainly one of his declared favorites) went straightforward on Hunter Biden.
The truth that Weiss was ordered by the legal professional basic to chase down a non-public citizen who was the the son of a possible candidate, and that Weiss had not solely two years of unrestrained freedom to function underneath a DOJ fully managed by Trump operatives in addition to a promise of full arms off from Merrick Garland within the years that adopted, has been changed by the concept that Weiss was someway constrained from going after Hunter Biden even earlier than Joe Biden introduced his candidacy.
As a result of Joe Biden is concurrently a sleepy outdated man who forgets to put on socks and essentially the most fearsome mob boss America has ever recognized.
It’s not clear when or how Shapley got here throughout the supposed Whatsapp message or whether or not he ever confirmed it to Weiss. Nevertheless, Shapley has been specific in his claims in opposition to Weiss, together with emails he reportedly despatched following a gathering on Oct. 7, 2022, the place Shapley says, “Weiss acknowledged that he’s not the deciding individual on whether or not fees are filed.”
However the Monday letter from Weiss walks level by level by way of Shapley’s claims. In response to Weiss:
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He by no means “requested Particular Counsel designation.”
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Months earlier than the Oct. 7 assembly, he had the authority to file fees in different districts.
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He has “by no means been denied the authority to convey fees in any jurisdiction.”
Weiss refers Graham again to one other letter written to Rep. Jim Jordan on June 30 during which he denies one other of Shapley’s massive claims:
The Division of Justice didn’t retaliate in opposition to “an Inside Income Service (“IRS”) Prison Supervisory Particular Agent and whistleblower, in addition to his complete investigative staff… for making protected disclosures to Congress.”
The rationale Weiss felt it essential to make such an announcement was that Shapley has been making complaints for the reason that investigation started. He started making these complaints nicely earlier than Joe Biden was elected and Merrick Garland grew to become legal professional basic. He’s nonetheless making these complaints.
Shapley doesn’t appear to present a flying fig about Hunter Biden besides as to how his claims can be utilized to assault Weiss. Why is Shapley so eager on discrediting a U.S. legal professional who lead an investigation the place Shapley labored for years? As The New York Occasions reported, it appears to return right down to one thing quite simple:
Mr. Shapley blamed Mr. Weiss, with out proof, for serving to to kill a promotion he had hoped to get, by criticizing him to his superiors on the I.R.S.
Shapley has a private vendetta. That’s precisely the form of motivation the trendy Republican Get together understands. In reality, it’s simply concerning the solely motivation they perceive.
Sum all of it up and Republicans have:
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One useless Ukrainian in a Lamborghini who died years earlier than Hunter Biden grew to become concerned with Ukraine.
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One spouse with no title who can also be reportedly useless, if she ever existed.
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Seventeen audio recordings that don’t exist.
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Two variations of a pretend Whatsapp message.
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One IRS agent who’s offended on the legal professional he blames for not getting a promotion.
That’s their case. And actually, it’s wonderful … simply not in the way in which they need everybody to imagine.
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