On Wednesday, Hunter Biden is set to be deposed in closed door testimony to Congress. If recent history is a guide, expect the leftist media to ignore it if there are any bombshells that hurt Team Biden.
Pretty much the only time the media talk about the Biden family scandals is if it hurts the GOP. As seen when they bragged that the February 15 arrest of an FBI informant for giving false information in the Hunter case, as NBC correspondent Ryan Nobles declared “dealt a blow” to all of their investigations. ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir on the February 21 broadcast crowed: “Our Pierre Thomas tonight asks Republicans in the House, how do you move forward if the main informant was lying?”
But as NewsBusters has been tracking, and New York Post columnist Miranda Devine pointed out, there is an “avalanche of evidence” that hasn’t been debunked.
The following are just a few of the Biden family scandal items from the last three months — leading up to the Hunter deposition — that have received no coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC’s evening or morning shows, nor their Sunday roundtable shows:
Hunter Biden’s Billionaire Pals in Russia Escape Sanctions List…AGAIN
On February 23, the New York Post reported:
Two Russian billionaire pals of Hunter Biden were again spared from being hit by financial sanctions as President Biden announced his latest round of penalties on numerous Vladimir Putin-connected people Friday, the Post has learned.
Though some 500 Russian oligarchs, companies and third-country sanctions evaders were hit, real estate developer Yelena Baturina and Vladimir Yevtushenkov again skated free of winding up on the list.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment and has not offered explanation in the past as the pair dodged earlier rounds of sanctions.
The omissions have attracted the attention of House Republicans leading an impeachment inquiry into the president’s links to his relatives’ foreign business dealings.
Baturina, the widow of late Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, built her $1.3 billion fortune through real estate and investments and dined with Hunter Biden and then-Vice President Joe Biden at least once at DC’s Café Milano.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Jim Biden Used His Brother’s Name to Promote Americore Hospital Chain, That Was Accused of Medicare Fraud and Has Now Collapsed
On February 18, Politico reported:
In 2017, a hospital operator set out to build a rural health care empire with the help of a Philadelphia-area consultant.
The consultant, Jim Biden, had no experience running hospitals. But he did understand the federal government and had ties to labor unions. Perhaps more important, he was the younger brother of Joe Biden.
The final years of the Obama administration had cemented the former vice president’s towering stature in the world of health care, where he had made the fight against cancer a top federal priority and, then, a centerpiece of his legacy-building efforts.
For then 67-year-old Jim Biden, the third of four Biden siblings, his ties to his older brother made up much of his pitch as he pursued deals that could help Americore make money from drug rehab, lab testing and even cancer treatment.
“This would be a perfect platform to expose my Brothers team to [your] protocol,” Jim Biden wrote to the CEO of a Tampa-area company that controlled licensing rights to an experimental cancer treatment the hospital operator wanted to offer. “Could provide a great opportunity for some real exposure.”
The email, obtained by POLITICO from a person close to the company, documents one of the many ways in which Jim Biden invoked his brother’s name and clout in the course of his work with Americore, which has since gone bankrupt, wreaking havoc in rural communities in the process.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Hunter’s Ex-Business Partner: Joe Biden “The Enabler” of the “Family’s Business,” Was Sold as “The Brand”
On February 16, the New York Post reported:
Former Biden family associate Tony Bobulinski steadfastly accused Joe Biden of being involved in his son and brother’s foreign dealings in China in impeachment inquiry testimony that was released publicly Friday — hours after the Justice Department charged an FBI informant for allegedly falsely accusing the Bidens of taking bribes from Ukraine.
“Joe Biden was more than a participant in and a beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability,” Bobulinski claimed about the president’s role in a business venture with Chinese state-linked CEFC China Energy.
Bobulinski said in his closed-door House testimony Tuesday that Joe Biden was the “brand” hawked by his relatives and that he’s lied repeatedly about not interacting with their partners. The former Navy officer also unveiled a text message indicating that relations with CEFC began in 2015 when Joe Biden was still vice president — before it culminated in millions of dollars in transfers shortly after he left office as VP in 2017.
The testimony included a screenshot of an apparent Dec. 24, 2015, text message to Bobulinski from another associate, James Gilliar, which corroborated prior testimony from Biden family partner Rob Walker that the CEFC venture began during the final stretch of the Obama-Biden administration.
“There will be a deal between one of the most prominent families from US and them constructed by me, I think this will then be a great addition to their portfolios as it will give them a profile base in NYC then LA, etc,” the alleged message from Gilliar read.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer but culturally they are different but smart so let’s see… Any entry ticket is small for them. Easier and better demographic than Arabs who are a little anti-US after Trump.”
Bobulinski also repeated his prior claim to have briefly discussed CEFC twice with Joe Biden in May 2017, the same month that Gilliar penciled in a 10% cut for the “big guy” — who Bobulinski says was clearly Joe Biden.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Records of Biden Family Credit Cards Allegedly Paid for By China Company, Subpoenaed By Comer
On February 15, the New York Post reported:
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued subpoenas Thursday for records on “several” credit cards that the Chinese state-linked company CEFC China Energy allegedly provided members of President Biden’s family for personal expenses — including a card loaded with $100,000 for a “global spending spree.”
“We’re subpoenaing several credit card companies,” Comer (R-Ky.) said in a morning interview on Fox Business.
“Through the interviews and depositions we’ve conducted thus far, we’ve learned that there were several credit cards that were used by members of the Biden family — we believe for personal expenses — and we believe that these credit cards were being paid by CEFC or through CEFC-funded affiliates.”
An Oversight Committee staff member told The Post that the subpoenas cast a wide net for records as part of the impeachment inquiry into alleged corruption during Joe Biden’s vice presidency. CEFC, a now-defunct reputed cog in Beijing’s “Belt and Road” foreign influence campaign, was one of the largest and most mysterious sources of overseas income for the first family.
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First brother James Biden and first son Hunter Biden reportedly netted more than $7 million in 2017 and 2018 from CEFC for what critics call influence peddling. The first tranche of more than $1 million flowed shortly after Joe Biden met Ye and was a “thank you” for services during his vice presidency, Walker said.
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CEFC allegedly provided James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, with a credit card to go on a $100,000 “global spending spree,” according to a September 2020 report by Republican-led Senate committees. The Oversight Committee rep said the panel recently received corroborating information from witnesses. “The American people deserve transparency, and these subpoenas will be more evidence of the Biden family’s influence peddling around the globe,” the committee aide said.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
E-Mail Allegedly Shows Bidens Were Doing Business with Beijing-Linked Firm While Joe Was VP
On February 13, the New York Post reported:
A newly surfaced document allegedly helps prove Hunter Biden was working with Chinese state-linked CEFC China Energy while his dad was vice president — as suspected by Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into reputed corruption by the president.
President Biden has repeatedly claimed his family never got money from China — despite his own alleged direct involvement in relations with two different Chinese government-backed firms, including CEFC.
“We anticipate working together on a number of opportunities in the US and abroad,” says the potentially damning March 22, 2016, letter addressed to CEFC Executive Director Jianjun Zang on Hunter’s letterhead about 10 months before his dad Joe left office as vice president.
“I believe we have presented a collection of projects that parallel the interests of you and your team and we look forward to discussing them in detail,” says the draft letter to Zang, which was distributed among Hunter and his partners Rob Walker and James Gilliar as an e-mail attachment.
“As we await your next visit to the United States, please continue to coordinate all matters with my confidant and trusted advisor, James Gilliar,” the letter says.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Met With the Chairman of Chinese Firm That Hunter Worked With
On February 13, FoxNews.com reported:
President Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm Hunter Biden sought to create a joint venture with at the Four Seasons in Washington D.C. in 2017, a former business partner of the first son told congressional investigators.
Rob Walker, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, testified at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees earlier this month as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Walker, during his closed-door transcribed interview, told congressional investigators that Joe Biden attended a meeting where he, Hunter Biden, their other business partners and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming were having lunch.
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Ye Jianming, at the time, was the chairman of Chinese energy company CEFC. Walker said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss “ways we could work together.” “I don’t think we had structured a deal on how to work together at this point,” Walker said, noting the meeting lasted “probably an hour and a half,” but said Biden “was not” there for the entirety of the meeting. “The former vice president was not there the entire time. He was there maybe 10 minutes,” Walker said. “He spoke nice, you know, normal pleasantries. I think he probably did most of the talking and then left.” Walker testified that Biden addressed the entire group — which consisted of approximately 10 CEFC-linked individuals— during his visit.Walker testified that the visit, and Biden’s appearance, “likely” took place before his Robinson Walker LLC received $3 million from State Energy HK Limited—a CEFC-linked entity.
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The House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital that it can “now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son, including Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Romanian oligarch Kenes Rakishev, Burisma’s corporate secretary Vadym Pozharsky, Jonathan Li of BHR, and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
GOP Rep Demands IRS Look Into Joe Biden’s Loan Repayments From Jim Biden
On January 22, the New York Post reported:
Republican Rep. Dan Meuser has demanded the IRS investigate $240,000 in loan repayments President Biden received from his brother, saying the committee probing the financial transactions for foreign business ties has been stonewalled by the White House.
“The potential lack of formal written agreements or promissory notes raises questions about the legality and transparency of these loans,” Meuser (Pa.) wrote in a Jan. 17 letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel.
“Of particular interest is whether President Biden collected interest on these loan repayments, and if so, whether this interest was duly reported in his tax filings,” he added.
“If the payments were neither a loan repayment nor a gift, they were in fact ordinary income received by Joe Biden, Jill Biden, or entities connected to them.”
Meuser, who served as Pennsylvania’s revenue secretary from 2011 to 2015, demanded a “thorough review” and “detailed responses” from the IRS about the payments, saying it was “not only a matter of tax compliance but also one of upholding the public’s confidence in the integrity of our governmental institutions.”
He told The Post that the IRS investigation should be able to “determine the legitimacy of the supposed loan Joe Biden made to his family members that they now claim to be paying back.”
“If the IRS cannot verify the existence of the loans, then Joe Biden, the receiver of the payments, is intentionally misrepresenting what the payments were for and is in violation of state and federal tax laws,” he said.
“This falsifying of records would only be done to conceal payments made indirectly to Joe Biden from foreign entities, including a $40,000 payment from a Chinese Communist Party-linked company. If an average citizen had skirted tax law in this manner, they would be in jail.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.*
*UPDATE: On the February 28 edition of CBS Mornings, correspondent Scott McFarlane briefly touched on the subject in this 15-second mention: “The GOP probe alleges that Hunter and the President’s brother James traded off the Biden name to score business deals and raise questions about payments sent to the President while they were conducting business. The Bidens say the checks were repayments of old loans.” Two checks were shown on-screen from Sara and James Biden to Joseph Biden. One totaling $200,000 and another for $40,000.
Art Dealer Admits Hunter Knew Names of Art Buyers, Despite White House Claims to Contrary
On January 9, the New York Post reported:
Hunter Biden’s Manhattan art dealer said Tuesday that he never worked with the White House on an ethics pact to ensure buyers would remain anonymous — and added that the top purchasers were known to the first son, contrary to prior claims from President Biden’s aides.
Georges Bergès also revealed that in addition to the lack of supposed anti-corruption safeguards he actually met and spoke on the phone with the president while repping his son, the House Oversight Committee said in a readout of a closed-door deposition.
The art dealer testified that Hunter, 53, knew who bought about 70% of his art — including Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who obtained works by the first son before and after scoring a prestigious presidential appointment.
Bergès disclosed that he personally interacted with Joe Biden on multiple occasions, including at a closed-to-press White House wedding for Hunter’s daughter Naomi in 2022.
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Hirsh Naftali, who scored repeated visits to the White House during the timeframe in question, inked a $42,000 sale in February 2021, before her appointment that July by Joe Biden to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, and then another for $52,000 in December 2022.Bergès also confirmed that the first son was aware that Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who met Hunter at a political fundraiser in December 2019 before bankrolling his tax payments and living expenses, was his top patron, buying $875,000 worth of art in a January 2023 deal.
“The Biden White House appears to have deceived the American people about facilitating an ethics agreement governing the sale of Hunter Biden’s art,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement. “Hunter Biden’s gallerist never had any communication with the White House about such an agreement to make sure there was any sort of ethics compliance at all, and he provided information to the committee revealing how Hunter Biden’s amateur art career is an ethics nightmare.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Joe Biden Used An Alias In Emails Sent to Hunter’s Business Partners, Totaling 327 Times Over Nine Years
On December 5, FoxNews.com reported:
As vice president, Joe Biden used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with son Hunter Biden and Hunter’s business associates hundreds of times, new records released by the House Ways & Means Committee revealed.
The committee obtained metadata from IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler that reveals Joe Biden used alias email accounts 327 times during a nine-year period — 2010 to 2019 — to correspond with his son, Hunter, and one of Hunter's key business associates, Eric Schwerin, among others.
The majority of the email traffic took place while Biden was vice president.
The committee says 54 of the emails were “exclusively” between Joe Biden and Schwerin, who the committee describes as “the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies.”
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Hunter’s Firm Sent Joe Biden a Recurring $1,380 Payment Starting in 2018
On December 4, the New York Post reported:
President Biden received a recurring payment of $1,380 from his son Hunter’s law firm beginning in late 2018 shortly after a bank money laundering officer warned that the same account was receiving millions of dollars in Chinese government-linked funds without “any services rendered.”
A bank order shows that Owasco PC set up a “monthly” transfer to then-former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., with a voided check for the future president included in the documentation, which was released Monday by the House Oversight Committee.
A source told The Post that at least three payments were made — on Sept. 17, Oct. 15 and Nov. 15, 2018 — totaling $4,140 to the elder Biden from Owasco PC, according to the firm’s bank records.
“President Biden and his family must be held accountable for this blatant corruption,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a video release.
“This wasn’t a payment from Hunter Biden’s personal account but an account for his corporation that received payments from China and other shady corners of the world,” Comer said.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
Stonewalling: Joe Biden Has Turned Over Only 14 of 82,000 Requested E-Mail Pages
On December 1, the New York Post reported:
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer accused the White House Friday morning of obstructing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden — as the White House countered with a memo claiming it actually has shown remarkable cooperation.
A source familiar with Comer’s remarks during a closed-door meeting of Republican lawmakers told The Post that he emphasized the administration’s failure to produce emails sent or received by Biden using email accounts registered under pseudonyms during his eight-year vice presidency.
Comer (R-Ky.), who on Friday afternoon sent a letter to first son Hunter Biden’s legal team requesting confirmation that he will appear for his scheduled deposition later this month, told colleagues that his panel has received just 14 out of about 82,000 pages of Biden’s vice presidential emails known to exist.
ABC, CBS, NBC evening and morning show coverage: 0 seconds.
