EDITOR’S NOTE, February 16, 2024: On February 15, Justice Department Counsel David Weiss indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov on two felony counts of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record for claims made to the bureau. The charges are in relation to June 2020 FD-1023 form alleging President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden received a combined $10 million in a bribery scheme involving the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday’s CNN This Morning discussed the allegations that President Joe Biden’s role in Hunter Biden’s business dealings approached, in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) words, “the level of impeachment inquiry.” Political commentator Van Jones declared the investigation to be “much ado about nothing” and that it was “pulled out of nowhere.”
Despite growing allegations, CNN treated a Biden impeachment inquiry as unwarranted, especially compared to former President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Host Erica Hill implied McCarthy’s comments served merely as a political strategy:
We’ve been hearing more from Speaker McCarthy talking about the potential for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. We also have reporting from our fantastic colleagues up there on the Hill that there has been more of a push among top Republicans to go after Joe Biden. If you are going to do an impeachment inquiry or proceedings of some sort, go for the top dog.
Jones also dismissed the Biden allegations, warned Republicans that when Trump faced trouble his numbers rose, and speculated the same would be true for Joe Biden. He asserted there were no grounds to impeach Biden and that it distracted Congress:
And, you know, the difference that -- from the Trump impeachments versus this, this will be just completely pulled out of nowhere, even the impeachment efforts against his cabinet members coming out of nowhere. But I would just say as a political matter, pretty foolish. There is a reason that Kevin McCarthy is not in a big rush to do this. It will distract his congressman doing anything Americans care about.
“I think it’s much ado about nothing,” Jones concluded.
According to New York Post article by former MRC Bulldog Award winner Miranda Devine, Hunter Biden’s close friend Devon Archer said Hunter used his father’s position as the Vice President to impress foreign executives and win their money. Hunter Biden frequently called his father when meeting with business partners and investors, introducing them to his father or asking his father for advice.
Furthermore, senior Burisma executive Vadym Pozharskyi emailed Hunter Biden and demanded he use his connections to shut down a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma. A month after the email date, Joe Biden told Ukraine the U.S. would withhold financial aid if they did not fire Viktor Shokin, head of the Burisma investigation, from his position as Ukrainian Prosecutor General. Shokin lost his position.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released an FBI document that claimed Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s owner, admitted to paying the father and son a $10 million bribe to fire Shokin. The White House denied the allegations.
In light of the accusations, McCarthy announced on Monday that he believed Biden’s actions as vice president warranted an investigation, “How do you get to the bottom of the truth? The only way Congress can do that is go to an impeachment inquiry.”
CNN's disapproval of a Biden inquiry was made possible by Cadillac’s sponsorship.
The Transcript is below, click "expand" to read.
CNN This Morning
7/28/2023
8:10 AM Eastern
(…)
ERICA HILL: We’ve been hearing more from Speaker McCarthy talking about the potential for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. We also have reporting from our fantastic colleagues up there on the Hill that there has been more of a push among top Republicans to go after Joe Biden. If you are going to do an impeachment inquiry or proceedings of some sort, go for the top dog.
What do you make of this move here? Republicans say, “Hey, we are just following the facts.”
VAN JONES: Well, I think they might notice that when their guy, Trump, gets in trouble, whether it’s impeachment, whether it’s indictment, his approval goes way up. And so, just from a, as a political matter, as a political matter, going after Joe Biden and trying to impeach Joe Biden will have the same effect for Joe Biden. His numbers will go up. The party will rally to him.
And, you know, the difference that -- from the Trump impeachments versus this, this will be just completely pulled out of nowhere, even the impeachment efforts against his cabinet members coming out of nowhere.
But I would just say as a political matter, pretty foolish. There is a reason that Kevin McCarthy is not in a big rush to do this. It will distract his congressman doing anything Americans care about. It will drive Joe Biden’s numbers up, and also a lot of people will have to testify under oath who we would love to see testify under oath. A lot of their people have to testify under oath, which we would love. So, I don’t think it's going to go forward. I think it’s much ado about nothing.
(…)
