• Alien Nathan Edward
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    5711 months ago

    Then, Rep. Dan Goldman, Democrat of New York, asked Archer if he had any knowledge that Joe Biden had any direct involvement with Burisma, and Archer replied, “No.”

    So what they’re saying, it seems, is that merely being Joe Biden’s son while trying to do business is corruption because it implies that you could go talk to your dad on someone’s behalf if you wanted to. Please let them define that as corruption, I would love for every wealthy failson, Hunter included, to be corrupt by definition.

    • @rockstarmode@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      From the article:

      Archer, according to the transcript, also testified that the elder Biden was put on speaker phone with business contacts, potential business associates including foreign national “maybe 20 times” during the course of Archer’s and Hunter Biden’s business relationship. Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell “the brand,” Archer said.

      Be honest, that isn’t selling the “illusion” of access. That’s Hunter saying “do what I want, or I get my dad on the phone to fuck up your life. Don’t believe me, here, talk to him yourself”

      • @tastysnacks@programming.dev
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        811 months ago

        Point still stands. Please make this illegal. Republicans, please push your legislatures to make this illegal. We’ll back you up.

  • @bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    Curious how none of these Republican house committee members gave a damn when everyone of Trump‘s children did this for their entire lives. Now they suddenly have a problem with Hunter Biden doing it?

    Give me a fucking break 

    • @DarkWasp@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Because they don’t care and never cared. They’re entirely disingenuous and trying to call them out on hypocrisy as if it matters is a losing game.

    • @ShyDrusi@lemmy.caOP
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      -1211 months ago

      I think you’re missing the point. It’s one thing to use your parents’ influence to get ahead in business, but it’s another thing entirely to use their influence to withhold international aid and pressure a foreign government to kill a corruption investigation into the company that you just so happen to sit on the board of. Granted, these are all just allegations at this point, but that’s why this case is receiving so much attention.

      • @jubalvoid@lemmy.zip
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        2711 months ago

        I think you’re missing the point. Ousting Shokin wasn’t Biden blocking corruption investigations, it was him literally doing the bidding of the Obama administration, and was supported by the IMF and the entire G-7. That’s why he was proud of it, because it was an example of him doing his job exceptionally well. Also Shokin liked to open investigations then leave them open as blackmail, which is exactly what he did to Burisma, so this isn’t some smoking gun.

        • Grant_M
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          811 months ago

          Shokin is also a corrupt pro-russian operative.

      • Alien Nathan Edward
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        2011 months ago

        I think you’re missing the part of the report where this “bombshell testimony” confirms that that never happened, and all these charges hinge on the implication that it could just because Hunter is Joe’s son. This is about, to quote the testimony, “the illusion of access to the president”.

      • @bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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        11 months ago

        Well, if you can produce evidence of that, or if anyone else can produce evidence of that, then it should be investigated. Currently, there is no evidence of that. Therefore, an investigation into that does not seem to be warranted. Not legally, anyway.

        You even admit that all there are are “allegations”. That’s not enough to even sustain a search warrant. You can’t just go violating someone’s rights because you have some sort of allegation or suspicion. And the GOP is trying to start some conspiracy circus because they don’t have dirt on Joe Biden, so they’re trying to get to him by making up a bunch of crap about his son instead. and while Hunter Biden may be kind of a scumbag, unless they can actually produce evidence that he did anything illegal with regards to his father, and they haven’t been able to so far, there’s no reason to start a house committee investigation.

  • @Myro@lemm.ee
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    5611 months ago

    This is so weird to see as a European. You have Trump who directly or indirectly provided millions to his entire family - and the Republicans ignore it entirely -, and then you have Biden where his son made a statement like this.

    • rustydomino
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      3011 months ago

      It’s not weird at all, once you realize it’s all about a team sport mentality (and I’m being REALLY generous here) and not about integrity and honor.

      • @Myro@lemm.ee
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        111 months ago

        Good point. The two-party system has its advantages, but clearly also it’s flaws.

    • @cybersandwich@lemmy.world
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      1711 months ago

      Its equal parts sad, terrifying, infuriating, depressing, and embarrassing. The Republican Party as we once knew it, is gone and the ilk that have replaced it have no principles, morals, ethics, or honor.

      • ThrowawayOnLemmy
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        11 months ago

        And plenty of kids without parents in positions… My dad works at xbox dude, I swear I’m gonna hack you if you spawncamp me again.

    • @bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      The difference is that there is proof of their wrongdoing, And the fact that they were actual political appointees while they were doing it, not private citizens

      • @uid0gid0@lemmy.world
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        311 months ago

        So Biden should just give his son top secret clearance and a spot on the White House staff and everything will be business as usual and the Republicans won’t care?

        • @bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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          111 months ago

          hehehe. if Hunter Biden wants the Republicans off his ass, he should declare himself a Republican. then they’d suddenly call him a saint, and everything he does would be the best thing ever!

    • @Killgannon@lemmy.world
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      -6511 months ago

      I KNEW prior to clicking on the comments the first post I read was going to be “but what about Trump?!?”

  • @JakenVeina@lemm.ee
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    4111 months ago

    Archer was also asked if then-Vice President Biden regularly “checked in on his son, who’s admitted he’s had issues with drugs.”

    “Every day,” Archer replied. But asked whether he had ever heard them discuss the “substance of Hunter Biden’s business,” he responded, “No.”

    He asked Archer, “Is it fair to say that Hunter Biden was selling the illusion of access to his father?”

    Archer replied, “Yes.”

    Glad to have confirmation of the nothingburger, I guess.

    • Tb0n3
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      411 months ago

      Yeah. I think this was fairly obvious all along.

    • @MarxMadness@lemmygrad.ml
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      011 months ago

      In response to questions from Congressman Goldman about the [Joe Biden] brand’s alleged impact, Archer said that it appeared to shield Burisma “because people would be intimidated to mess with them…”

      Republicans on the committee asked Archer about two dinners, one in 2014 and another in 2015 at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates, both of which the then-vice president attended…

      Archer, according to the transcript, also testified that the elder Biden was put on speaker phone with business contacts, potential business associates including foreign national “maybe 20 times” during the course of Archer’s and Hunter Biden’s business relationship. Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell “the brand,” Archer said.

      It looks like a conscious effort to imply favoritism without being stupid enough to say it out loud. It’s not normal to invite your dad to dinner with your business associates, especially when your dad is VP. It’s not normal to loop your dad in on a bunch of business calls, especially when your dad is VP.

      Is anyone seriously suggesting Hunter Biden got on the board of a Ukranian energy company on his own merits? There’s one reason you have that guy in a plush job.

  • @neptune@dmv.social
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    2411 months ago

    When did it become illegal to say “do you know who my father is?”

    Lots of kids in salmon colored shorts are heading to prison!!

    • @Pratai@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      Around the same time as when it became only allowable when trump’s spawn does it.

    • @ShyDrusi@lemmy.caOP
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      -1211 months ago

      I’m reposting this comment because it’s relevant:

      “I think you’re missing the point. It’s one thing to use your parents’ influence to get ahead in business, but it’s another thing entirely to use their influence to withhold international aid and pressure a foreign government to kill a corruption investigation into the company that you just so happen to sit on the board of. Granted, these are all just allegations at this point, but that’s why this case is receiving so much attention.”

  • @sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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    1811 months ago

    Republicans are milking this distraction for all that they can. Their dumb ass constituents don’t even know they’re being played. Or they like being played, it lets them comfortably embrace their ignorance and lack of character.

    • @marmo7ade@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Republican voters aren’t ignorant. They are shameless. They are fully aware of their hypocrisy and they do not care. These are their death throes. They know trump breaks the law and it’s OK because they are actual authoritarians who do not believe in democracy.

    • @stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub
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      311 months ago

      For thee and not for me

      Just remember though, keep this same energy for the people you trust too and the people in your in-groups.

      Objectivity is tough to obtain but easy to pursue!

  • Grant_M
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    1111 months ago

    lmao these R congress squatters are insane.

  • @hark@lemmy.world
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    211 months ago

    I hate how corruption is so rampant in politics. Trump did much worse, but this shouldn’t be seen as nothing.

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    111 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    In response to questions from Congressman Goldman about the brand’s alleged impact, Archer said that it appeared to shield Burisma “because people would be intimidated to mess with them.”

    In a separate line of questioning by Republican congressman Andy Biggs, of Arizona, Archer was asked whether the brand was about "Dr. Jill or anybody else.

    Republicans on the committee asked Archer about two dinners, one in 2014 and another in 2015 at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates, both of which the then-vice president attended.

    Archer’s interview was the latest development in the GOP’s investigations into Hunter Biden as Republicans seek to tie his controversial business dealings to the president.

    The Oversight Committee has sought information on any possible involvement from the president in his son’s foreign business deals for months.

    His conviction was overturned later that year, and U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abram wrote in her decision she was “left with an unwavering concern that Archer is innocent of the crimes charged.”


    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • @rstrube@lemmy.world
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    -311 months ago

    Trump was incredibly corrupt and certainly deserves to be punished, but this doesn’t in anyway excuse what happened with Hunter Biden peddling influence for millions of dollars to foreign companies. When you dig into the details it’s really quite shocking. I also fully acknowledge that this probably happens with other powerful families - which I would argue should also be rooted out and potentially punished.

    I wish we would stop being so tribal - always rationalizing and defending bad behavior when it’s “our side”. We should call this out whenever it happens, regardless of party and political affiliation. Politics has become like sports, and we’ve become like rabid sports fans. It’s really dysfunctional.

    Personally I think neither party deserves any sort of allegiance whatsoever. They’re both working for their own self-interest and to stay in power, and they’re largely controlled by elites. I’ll vote for whatever candidate talks about the corruption money plays in our political system, which in my opinion this is the largest threat to our democracy.

    • @TheActualDevil@lemmy.world
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      611 months ago

      Is anyone defending Hunter Biden? I mean, I’m sure someone is (other than his lawyers who are paid to), but from what I’ve seen, everyone is of the thought that what he did is wrong and he should be prosecuted. Your comment feels like along winded “both sides” while propping up a strawman for one side and comparing it to a real person on the other and calling them equal.

      • rigatti
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        111 months ago

        He should be prosecuted if he did anything illegal. But as far as I’ve heard he hasn’t (other than whatever tax stuff he was charged with).

        • @TheActualDevil@lemmy.world
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          111 months ago

          You’re commenting in a thread about an article publishes 2 days ago about an ongoing investigation by the oversight committee. There has to be an investigation and illegal actions found before prosecution can happen. This is literally an active evolving thing and you’re acting like you’re upset that we haven’t just jumped right to punishment.

          And you still just blew right past being confronted with your “both sides” lies. Just moved right on to the next talking point, huh?

          • rigatti
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            111 months ago

            I think you were thinking I’m someone else… to the point that I’m not actually sure you read my comment.

            I’m not upset about Hunter Biden in any way. I don’t give a shit about Hunter Biden because he’s a private citizen. If he did something illegal, he should be prosecuted, just like anyone else (including Trump who did many obviously illegal things).

            I’m not one of the people out there saying both sides are the same.

      • @rstrube@lemmy.world
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        111 months ago

        That really wasn’t my intention, but I can see why you might think that. For the record I’ve largely voted Democratic (probably 80%+ over the past 4 election cycles - I do split my ticket typically) - so I’m definitely not trying to strawman here for the right.

        I think there’s more and more evidence that Biden knew more than he originally admitted to, and that’s what I’m referring to. At the end of the day I really just think money corrupts politics and we should call that out whenever we see it.