(New York) Has the plan of Donald Trump’s allies to isolate Joe Biden in the House of Representatives ended in his impeachment proceedings, in light of the recent twists and turns?
Hunter Biden's closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee last Wednesday certainly did not help the cause of its Republican members, who accuse the Democratic president of profiting financially from his son's business and using levers of power to help him.
“When copying [de la déposition] “It's going to come out, and it's going to be good, because they did a good job preparing it,” Andy Biggs, one of the Republicans on the committee, admitted on Fox News after Hunter Biden's long questioning.
The publication of the text proved him right. Hunter Biden, whether well prepared or not by his lawyers, did not call the fifth onceH Amending the Constitution to avoid answering questions that would criminalize it. This includes the more sensitive issues which will be discussed below.
Combatantly, the president's son used his inaugural speech to deliver the first blows, accusing Republicans of “engaging in insinuation, distortion, and sensationalism, while ignoring the clear and convincing evidence that jumps to your eyes.”
You have no evidence to support the baseless, MAGA-motivated conspiracies about my father, because there isn't any.
Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son
In fact, if there is a lead, the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, which began last September, has yet to be found. Hence the impression that Donald Trump's allies' project is nothing but a partisan exercise whose real goal is to distort the president and avenge the impeachment procedures to which his predecessor was subjected. The question is whether this project is still possible.
Because Hunter Biden's testimony was preceded by a near-fatal blow to the Republican cause on February 23. On that day, a Los Angeles grand jury indicted Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, on charges of lying about the Biden family.
He privately told the FBI in 2020 that Joe Biden and his son Hunter each received a $5 million bribe from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, of which Hunter was a director.
Photo by Bezwayhu Tesfaye, associated press archive
Alexander Smirnov (center), entering a Las Vegas courthouse on February 20
According to the prosecution, Smirnov admitted to the FBI that he not only invented the story, but also conveyed false information about the Biden family on behalf of “officials associated with Russian intelligence services.”
However, since the Alexander Smirnov allegations surfaced in May 2023, Fox News host Sean Hannity has devoted at least 85 stories to them, noting in particular that Joe Biden has been “very credibly accused of public corruption on a scale this country has never seen before.” before”. ”
Last January, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, kept saying this was “the most convincing evidence we have.”
The day after Alexander Smirnov was indicted, Democrats were quick to accuse Republicans of being Vladimir Putin's useful idiots.
But Republicans still refuse to acknowledge the failure of their project. Last Wednesday, they questioned Hunter Biden about a message sent via WhatsApp in 2017 in which he hinted at having his father at his side to pressure a potential Chinese partner to go ahead with an energy project.
The president's son responded that he did not remember writing the letter, but if he did it was likely that he was “drunk or… high “At the time of writing this report.
I take full responsibility for being a jerk and a jerk when I sent that message, if I sent that message.
Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son
He also explained that the suggestion made by one of his partners via email to reserve a 10% stake for his father, nicknamed “The Big Man”, as part of a deal with a Chinese company, was not taken seriously.
“The idea was completely ridiculous, and I did not follow through on it,” he said under oath.
And what about the twenty or so phone calls in which he put his father on speakerphone while talking to colleagues?
“I'm surprised my dad hasn't called me yet,” Hunter Biden responded, “and if he does, I'll put him on speakerphone to say hello.”
Devon Archer, former aide to Hunter Biden, is the one who revealed how many times the president's son behaved this way in the presence of his aides. But he himself told the Oversight Committee that Joe Biden never interfered in his son's affairs.
In the middle of Hunter Biden's testimony, James Comer, the committee chairman, met with reporters to once again raise doubts about a $200,000 transfer Hunter Biden made to his uncle James and another $40,000 to his sister-in-law. His uncle and sister-in-law used this money to repay loans to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018.
Photography by Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters
James Comer, Republican representative from Kentucky and chairman of the House Oversight Committee
“Joe Biden received $40,000 directly from entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party. It's b. No more public corruption! Rep. Comer exclaimed, taking a typical shortcut. He added that the $200,000 James Biden received came “directly from an influence-peddling scheme.”
“There's no doubt about that,” he explained, notably ignoring the fact that Joe Biden was just an ordinary citizen at the time.
“Total coffee aficionado. Travel buff. Music ninja. Bacon nerd. Beeraholic.”
