In one of the few times right-leaners weren’t outnumbered on CNN’s Thunderdome (aka CNN NewsNight), on Thursday night, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler (NY) (with back up from CNN commentators Scott Jennings and Coleman Hughes) spelled out the Biden family corruption scheme; only to have host Abby Phillip cut short their conversation with claims she’ll only talk about it if formal charges were brought (despite being reminded that Hunter Biden’s pardon covered the alleged time period).
As they were reacting to a recent tone-deaf and false complaint from President Biden that he supposedly didn’t have much money given how he’d worked in government his whole life, Hughes pointed out that the President had no legs to stand on given his family’s alleged antics.
“I think Biden should not talk about money at all. I think the Biden family's got away with murder in the sense that – metaphorically, in the sense that they've really escaped a lot of close scrutiny over their foreign business deals. Hunter Biden, Jim Biden, et cetera,” he explained.
Far-left columnist Solomon Jones invoked some supreme whataboutism by trying to shift the focus to President-elect Trump. “I'm trying to figure out why we’re talking about corruption, when you've got a convicted felon … you've got a convicted felon that you're sitting here defending who's getting ready to be the president of the United States,” he whined.
Phillip stepped in to scold Hughes that such “speculative” conversations about Democrats would not be happening on her show.
Jennings confronted Phillip on her false claim that the connections were “speculative” and pointed out that suspicious money had indeed changed hands among the Biden family. Still, Phillip claimed there was no “proof” anything (Click “expand”):
JENNINGS: Speculative?
PHILLIP: After four years of Donald Trump –
JENNINGS: Did money not change hands?
PHILLIP: Scott. Scott.
JENNINGS: Did it not?
PHILLIP: Four years of Donald Trump, four years of a Joe Biden DOJ looking into these very things. I'm still waiting to see.
JENNINGS: Well, he can't be charged. He’s the president.
PHILLIP: Right. I’m still waiting
[Crosstalk]
PHILLIP: I'm not talking about charges. I'm still waiting to see the proof of Joe Biden enriching himself. I take his brother and his son perhaps.
LAWLER: I'll give you. I'll give you the direct line.
PHILLIP: I think that is yet to materialize.
“Otherwise your colleague James comer could have produced the evidence, and he didn't,” Phillip chided Lawler. “He did,” Lawler shot back as he explained: “I’ll give you a direct line.”
Lawler proceeded to spell out how receipts existed showing how money from China had made its way through the web of Biden family shell companies to President Biden’s pocket:
A Chinese company transferred money to a shell company owned by Hunter and Jim Biden that then transferred money directly to Jim and Sarah Biden’s shell company that then transferred the money to Jim and Sarah's personal account, who then immediately wrote a check for $40,000 to Joe Biden. So, to say that there was no evidence is not true.
“We have to go,” Phillip huffed in frustration, trying to get to the commercial break quickly.
“If there if there is something illegal happening here, there should be charges on the basis of what you're saying. And there have not been,” she proclaimed. But Lawler and Jennings interjected to note “he just he just pardoned Hunter for an 11-year time period” and “He just wiped the slate,” respectively.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CNN NewsNight
December 26, 2024
10:28:29 p.m. Eastern(…)
COLEMAN HUGHES: I think Biden should not talk about money at all. I think the Biden family's got away with murder in the sense that – metaphorically, in the sense that they've really escaped a lot of close scrutiny over their foreign business deals. Hunter Biden, Jim Biden, et cetera. So for Joe Biden to say, ‘I haven't been making any money my whole life,’ the natural question is then, ‘well, why did your brother Jim Biden, who's been working in the private sector forever, owe you like $40,000 that was supposedly a repayment of a loan, but was probably some nefarious China deal stuff?’
SOLOMON JONES: I'm trying to figure out why we’re talking about corruption, when you've got a convicted felon –
HUGHES: Joe Biden brought up money.
JONES: -- you've got a convicted felon that you're sitting here defending who's getting ready to be the president of the United States. I don't think we can talk about corruption without talking about Donald Trump and talking about the fact that this is a guy who's a convicted felon, who's talking about criminals that we need to we need to put out of the country, while at the same time talking about other criminals from January 6th that we need to pardon.
ABBY PHILLIP: Look, I – Coleman. I hear what you're saying and I've told this to Scott too. I all of that you're saying is very speculative. I am still waiting –
SCOTT JENNINGS: Speculative?
PHILLIP: After four years of Donald Trump –
JENNINGS: Did money not change hands?
PHILLIP: Scott. Scott.
JENNINGS: Did it not?
PHILLIP: Four years of Donald Trump, four years of a Joe Biden DOJ looking into these very things. I'm still waiting to see.
JENNINGS: Well, he can't be charged. He’s the president.
PHILLIP: Right. I’m still waiting
[Crosstalk]
PHILLIP: I'm not talking about charges. I'm still waiting to see the proof of Joe Biden enriching himself. I take his brother and his son perhaps.
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): I'll give you. I'll give you the direct line.
PHILLIP: I think that is yet to materialize.
LAWLER: I'll give you the direct line.
PHILLIP: Otherwise your colleague James comer could have produced the evidence, and he didn't.
LAWLER: He did. A Chinese company transferred money to a shell company owned by Hunter and Jim Biden that then transferred money directly to Jim and Sarah Biden’s shell company that then transferred the money to Jim and Sarah's personal account, who then immediately wrote a check for $40,000 to Joe Biden.
PHILLIP [Interrupting]: Look, I – Congressman --
[Crosstalk]
LAWLER: So, to say that there was no evidence is not true.
[Crosstalk]
PHILLIP: We have to go.
What I'm saying is that Trump was president for four years. He wanted to charge Joe Biden. Why did the charges not come? And I think that still remains an open question. If there if there is something illegal happening here, there should be charges on the basis of what you're saying. And there have not been.
LAWLER: Well, he just he just pardoned Hunter for an 11-year time period.
[Crosstalk]
JENNINGS: He just wiped the slate.
PHILLIP: Hang on guys, hang on guys.
JENNINGS: Jim will be next, by the way.
PHILLIP: Well we're waiting. We're waiting for the charges. And when the charges come, we'll have a conversation about that. I promise you that.
