MSNBC weekend host Ayman Mohyeldin attempted a ridiculous "debunking" of claims about the Biden family influence-peddling on Saturday night. He began by declaring "Kevin McCarthy's impeachment inquiry on President Biden is built on a slew of misleading claims and flat-out lies, with no clear evidence of wrongdoing on the president's part."
But wait, when Joe Biden lied -- like claiming repeatedly that he never talked business with his son Hunter -- they're somehow not lies:
MOHYELDIN: This week, McCarthy claimed that quote, "President Biden lied to the American people about his knowledge of his family's foreign business dealings. Let's go back to 2020 to investigate that.
During the presidential debate, then-candidate Biden said that Hunter did not earn money from his businesses in China while he was serving as vice president. Nearly three years later, we actually learned from Hunter Biden's court testimony that he had been paid in China, but it is unclear whether Joe Biden was actually aware that that was the case.
Because, as the president said during his 2020 campaign, he and his son never discussed his overseas business dealings. Republicans haven't produced any evidence to the contrary.
This is the flat-out lie from the guy accusing others of flat-out lies. What Biden said in the debates was untrue. Just for starters, the Daily Mail reported last summer: “Voicemail from Joe Biden to Hunter about NY Times report on his Chinese business dealings proves he did speak to his son about his relationship with criminal dubbed the ‘spy chief of China.’”
How does Biden show up in multiple photographs and on multiple phone calls with Hunter's business partners without talking business? Ayman isn't fact-checking. He's face-planting. Then he actually turned to the phone calls!
MOHYELDIN: Okay, this summer, Hunter Biden's former business associate, Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee that Biden put his father on speakerphone during business meetings about 20 times. Never to talk business. Quote, "as he described, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, what's going on." There wasn't a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had. Congressman Dan Goldman told reporters that after a closed-door meeting. Again, there's no public evidence that the president ever participated in business dealings with his son. No one else has corroborated that.
Hey dummy! The phone calls and the photographs are "public evidence" that the president "participated in business dealings." Archer did say they didn't talk business. The point was to establish that Hunter had influence over his dad. Archer testified "it's quite obvious what we're talking around," before stating that "part of what was delivered is the brand." Hire the Bidens to have influence in America.
Then Ayman acknowledged some things were true, and then said they were harmless. It's true that Hunter Biden and his partners created 20 LLCs to receive millions from foreign sources -- which could help them hide money destined for Joe Biden -- but hey, LLCs are commonly used by new businesses. Ayman added it's true that there were 150 "suspicious activity reports" about Biden financial transactions -- but hey, none of them resulted in criminal charges (yet).
“So if you take away anything from this, let it be this,” Ayman concluded. “Yes, Hunter Biden may have used his father’s name and cachet to pursue business deals overseas, which may be distasteful, but so far it is far from illegal.”
“If you aren’t a fan of Hunter Biden, I have some really good news for you,” said Mohyeldin. “He’s not running for president in 2024. He does not serve in the government, nor does he serve at the White House.”
