LOL LOL LOL LOL!!!!!

Eric Swalwell can't 'spot' shit - not even a Chinese spy when his dick was up her ass.

 

https://forum.xnxx.com/attachments/...3/?temp_hash=19d29f994f536434a5f1d0775451bf2c




Convicted fraudster becomes House Republicans' new hope in Biden impeachment probe

Kathleen Culliton
March 5, 2024 5:17PM ET



House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) (L) and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) speak to the media in the Rayburn House Office Building on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)




A federal inmate sentenced to 15 years in prison for scamming a Native American tribal entity out of tens of millions of dollars appears to be the new star witness in House Republicans' quest to impeach President Joe Biden, official documents show.

Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) Tuesday sent out two more angry letters — this time to Manhattan-based assistant U.S. Attorney Negar Tekeei and Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Collette Peters — demanding information about why Jason Galanis' 2023 pleas for early release were denied.

"The Committees held a transcribed interview with Jason Galanis, a former business partner of President Biden's son, Hunter Biden," the trio explained.

"Galanis made several allegations against [Bureau of Prisons] officials, including that he has been the 'victim of a pattern of retribution by the Department of Justice in order to prevent my home confinement, which would have allowed full and free access to congressional investigators.'"

Galanis pleaded guilty in January 2020 to charges linked to multiple frauds, among them funneling about $8.5 million of Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation funds into a personal bank account, according to a lengthy press release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

ALSO READ: ‘Grab any cheerleaders?’ Fans decry Trump’s S.C. football appearance as a ‘terrible look’

He was also tied to schemes to defraud an investment firm and a publicly traded company, according to the release. The Daily Mail noted Galanis was part of a notorious New York City crime family whose patriarch was targeted by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In February 2023, about three years after he was given his 15-year sentence, Galanis requested home confinement under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, House Republicans wrote.

Galanis went through a "lengthy approval process" that was first okayed by the Bureau of Prisons in California but reversed on June 13, one day after the Oversight Committee announced its subpoena of his convicted co-conspirator Devon Archer.

Archer was a former business partner of Hunter Biden — who was not involved in the alleged bribery scheme — according to an NBC report last month on Archer's failed appeal.

Hunter Biden's name appeared during the investigation as an unpaid member of the Burnham Group, of which both Galanis and Archer were also members, the Wall Street Journal reported. Biden denied knowledge of any schemes his partners planned and did not face charges.

This new interest in Galanis arrives just weeks after former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov was arrested on charges he fed investigators false corruption allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden.




https://www.rawstory.com/biden-impeachment-probe/

 

FBI officials say GOP’s Biden witness should have been disqualified long ago

Carl Gibson, AlterNet
March 9, 2024 9:31AM ET



House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) (L) and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) speaks to the media in the Rayburn House Office Building on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)




Alexander Smirnov — the 43-year-old confidential FBI informant recently indicted for lying about President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter — had a long history of behavior jeopardizing his credibility long before he was criminally charged, according to several FBI officials.

Several ex-FBI employees with experience handling confidential informants recently told the Washington Post that Smirnov repeatedly violated protocol throughout his time as an FBI source by using his informant work as leverage for his personal benefit. Dmitry Fomichev, who is a tech investor, decided to loan Smirnov money because he "was representing himself as working for the FBI," and asserted that he was "a very powerful guy."

In a separate incident, Smirnov convinced investors to front him $100,000 for a company he was touting called Grand Pacaraima Gold Corp., again by citing his work with the FBI. Former undercover agent Robert Mazur, who managed informants for the FBI, told the Post that Smirnov committed a "cardinal sin" by disclosing work that was meant to be confidential. Former FBI agent Jerry Hester — who has worked with informants in past FBI investigations of organized crime — said that the bureau should have dropped him at that point, or at the very least, "read him the riot act."

"If he did that, I would have immediately closed him for cause," Hester told the Post. "If you’re out telling people you’re working for the Bureau, you’re of no value to me."

Even as it notified Congress last year about Smirnov's 1023 report (meaning it came from a confidential informant), the FBI warned lawmakers that the veracity of the allegations in the report couldn't be verified. However, Republicans nonetheless charged ahead with multiple investigations of Joe and Hunter Biden, chiefly based on the now-debunked claim that they each solicited a $5 million bribe from Ukrainian officials.

In the summer of 2023, nearly a dozen Republicans gave interviews in which they lauded the credibility of Smirnov's 1023 report as unimpeachable. House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) called it “the biggest political corruption scandal, not only in my lifetime, but I would say the past 100 years." House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told Fox News that Smirnov was "[A] lot more credible than Christopher Steele, the guy who created the dossier that they used to go after President Trump," insisting "this source has a lot more credibility."

Smirnov was indicted by Department of Justice special counsel David Weiss — the same Trump-appointed US attorney from Delaware who has also indicted Hunter Biden on various tax and firearm-related charges. Following his indictment, Smirnov was revealed to have had contact with numerous "high-ranking" officials within Russian intelligence agencies. The Department of Justice alleged that Smirnov's accusations about the Bidens were part of a Russian intelligence operation meant to sow disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

ALSO READ: 'What a piece of work': Marjorie Greene's 'childish' SOTU response trashed by Senate Dems

Despite Smirnov's indictment, both Jordan and House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) have continued their efforts to impeach Biden. Even Jordan didn't dispute CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju when he pointed out in an interview that Smirnov lied to federal investigators about the nonexistent bribery scheme. He countered, however, that Smirnov's criminal charges didn't change the "fundamental facts" about the case.

Then, during an appearance at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Jordan admitted that "maybe the guy did lie" when CPAC host Matt Schlapp asked about Smirnov. Jordan then pivoted once again to criticizing former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele's dossier about former President Donald Trump (who was promptly removed from the FBI's payroll after he did a public interview with the Atlantic about his work as an informant).

Comer has since done a 180 on Smirnov, now saying he "wasn't an important part" of his own committee's investigation. In a Newsmax interview, Comer said that he "didn't even know" who Smirnov was, and only knew that the FBI had released a 1023 report that alleged "bribery."



https://www.rawstory.com/biden-witness-lies/

 

The monumental fail is worse today than it was yesterday. And that is because yesterday special counsel Hur testified in one of their hearings. And even this morning the pundits are still shaking their heads wondering what the fuck were the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans thinking. Instead of using Hur to attack President Biden on the classified documents and his mental state they must have been bending over to Trump's demand that they use their time to say how unfair it was he got indicted and President Biden didn't. Which was worse than just stupi9d. For one Hur spent a lot of time in his report explaining exactly why Trump got indicted and President Biden didn't. And the Democrats were more than ready for them and just kept hammering away on all the reasons Trump got indicted. But they were also more than ready to defend President Biden's mental state and attack Trump's mental illness. Which they did repeatedly and those examples went mostly unchallenged. And the coup de grace was the release of the transcript of the interview which the Democrats read and the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans apparently didn't. Because they kept launching attacks that were directly refuted by the actual transcript.

Americans are seeing that and it helps them know the whole Hunter Biden/impeachment is nothing but a lying phony scam. And so the Democrats want the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans to move ahead with their impeachment scam now more than ever because they know they've got nothing and the can score big political points by exposing that.



'The chairmen who cried wolf': Comer and Jordan trashed by GOP aide over impeachment dud

Brad Reed
March 13, 2024 8:42AM ET



House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY), joined by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)




Politico's Playbook reported on Wednesday that House Republicans are seeking an "off-ramp" for their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, and a separate report from Punchbowl News adds more color to the GOP's floundering impeachment efforts.

Like Politico, Punchbowl News reports that many Republicans have concluded that there is simply not enough evidence to impeach Biden at this time.

What's more, an unnamed GOP leadership aide trashed the work of Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), who have taken the lead in pushing the impeachment inquiry but who have still not come up with any slam-dunk proof against the president.

"Jordan and Comer are becoming the chairmen who cried wolf, promising there’s a ‘there’ there over and over again and producing nothing anywhere close to an impeachable offense," the aide said.

READ MORE: Racism, arrests, extreme MAGA love: Meet Lauren Boebert’s primary opponents

The GOP impeachment inquiry has been beset by setbacks and blunders for the past several weeks.

Among other things, the GOP's star witness who alleged wrongdoing by Biden was indicted last month for allegedly fabricating the allegations. What's more, the much-hyped congressional testimony from Hunter Biden failed to produce any additional evidence for Republicans to advance the impeachment inquiry further.

Regardless, former President Donald Trump, the GOP's presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, has been demanding the party impeach Biden.

During his own presidency, Trump became the first president in American history to have been impeached on two separate occasions, with the second impeachment garnering a bipartisan coalition of 57 votes favoring his conviction.



https://www.rawstory.com/james-comer-jim-jordan-2667501785/

 

We see how the despicable propaganda machine works.
Biden gives a stump speech for his 2024 SOTU thing.
despicables claim it was the best thing ever, so concise, delivered with such force and vigor!!

Then the polls come out.
Joe Biden's Approval Rating Falls to All-Time Low After SOTU (msn.com)

Joe Biden's Approval Rating Falls to All-Time Low After SOTU
Story by Ewan Palmer

Turns out, Biden can't get much lower without starting to dig in his basement.

No matter.

Despicables have already moved onto the next BUT TRUMP!! diversion.

 

Trump trial upcoming!

 

House Republicans scrambling to 'save face' with their Biden impeachment in a death spiral

Tom Boggioni
March 14, 2024 8:54AM ET



Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan (Comer photo by Tom Williams/AFP, Jordan photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP)




House Republicans, frustrated with their inability to get any of their accusations of corruption aimed at President Joe Biden to stick, are now making plans to try to get the Justice Department to intercede on their behalf and file criminal charges against him.

After a series of public hearings held by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) went nowhere and one of their key witnesses was arrested by the FBI for lying, House Republicans are regrouping and looking to "save face" according to the New York Times' Luke Broadwater.

According to the Times report, making criminal referrals aimed at Biden and his son Hunter Biden to the DOJ "would be largely symbolic" and would appear to be a bid to keep Donald Trump happy as he seeks a return to the Oval Office.

ALSO READ: House Republican giggles over Hitler praise — and admits he never listens to Trump

The report also added that "it would avoid a repeat of the humiliating process House Republicans, who have a tiny and dwindling majority, went through last month with the impeachment of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary."

Furthermore, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) admitted there is little reason to believe a Biden impeachment is likely.

"There’s nothing that I’ve heard in the last couple of weeks that says that we are anywhere close to having the votes," he admitted.

Speaking on Fox News, Comer hinted the criminal referrals could sit and wait for a new administration — possibly headed by Trump.

“At the end of the day, what does accountability look like? It looks like criminal referrals. It looks like referring people to the Department of Justice,” Comer explained. “If Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice won’t take any potential criminal referrals seriously, then maybe the next president, with a new attorney general, will.”

The report added, "The potential change in strategy also comes as Republicans have lost seats in the House, making impeachment all the more unlikely. With the departure next week of Representative Ken Buck, Republican of Colorado, the party will be down to 218 votes in the House, a bare majority of the 435-member body."

You can read more here.




https://www.rawstory.com/jime-jordan-james-comer-biden/

 

House GOP Biden inquiry stalls as impeachment becomes less likely
Annie Grayer, CNN
Fri, March 15, 2024 at 5:10 AM MDT·11 min read
483

Six months since opening the impeachment inquiry into President leaving the page." data-wf-tooltip-position="bottom" data-wf-reset-every="90">Joe Biden, House Republicans now face a dilemma of their own making: They currently lack the votes in their divided, narrow majority to impeach the president, but ending their investigation would essentially absolve Biden, a signal Republicans do not want to send in an election year.

With the appetite for impeachment waning, Republicans are discussing instead whether to end their investigation by sending criminal referrals to the Department of Justice as pressure to answer calls from the right-wing base to hold Biden accountable remains palpable.

Republicans had structured much of their impeachment investigation around Hunter Biden, the president’s son who was at the center of allegations and theories that his father used his position of power to benefit financially and serve his family’s business dealings. But the closed door-deposition of the president’s son failed to deliver the smoking gun Republicans were hoping for, leaving the inquiry at a standstill.


There are no more closed-door witness interviews scheduled, and there is no clear consensus on how — or even when — to end the probe, multiple sources told CNN.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who are leading the inquiry, both say they have more work to do before concluding their investigation. Comer has long said he expects the final report on his work to include criminal referrals, without specifying who that would include. In an interview on Fox News, Comer indicated how the criminal referrals could serve as an opening for former President Donald Trump if he is elected in November.


“If Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice won’t take any potential criminal referrals seriously, then maybe the next president, with a new attorney general, will,” Comer said last week.

Other top Republicans involved in this process, however, say that a decision on criminal referrals has not been made and conversations are ongoing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told CNN, “There’s more deliberation to be done on it that’s for sure.”

And Jordan said, “Everything is on the table, but we have not decided.”

But as Republicans continue to try to chart a course forward, White House Counsel Ed Siskel called on Johnson in a letter obtained by CNN to bring the probe to a close, since Republicans have been unable to uncover any wrongdoing by the president.

“It is obviously time to move on, Mr. Speaker. This impeachment is over. There is too much important work to be done for the American people to continue wasting time on this charade,” Siskel wrote.

Much of the final decision on how to end the inquiry and when will fall on Johnson, whose leadership style in his short tenure has only emboldened tensions within his narrow majority to grow.

Sources say the speaker has yet to weigh in on how Republicans should end their investigation.

Johnson served on the defense teams of Trump’s Senate impeachment trials and was on the House Judiciary Committee prior to becoming speaker. When asked if he believed there is enough evidence to impeach Biden, Johnson told reporters on Wednesday, “To be very frank with you, very honest and transparent because I’ve been so busy with all my other responsibilities, I have not been able to take the time to do the deep dive in the evidence, but what has been uncovered is alarming.”

“I’m not going to prejudge it. I think we’re still in that process,” Johnson said of the inquiry. “And I know that people have gotten frustrated sometimes that it’s drug on too long. But, hey, in our constitutional system, this is the way it’s supposed to work.”

Staff for the trio of committees leading the inquiry meet regularly with the speaker’s office to provide updates on their work, but no decisions on how to end the inquiry have been made, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

“There have been no discussions about the end of the inquiry,” one of the sources familiar with the meetings told CNN. “Nothing has been pre-determined.”

Beyond criminal referrals, Republicans are also considering legislative reforms to federal ethics laws. While some want to wrap the probe up quickly, others believe there is an incentive to drag this investigation out until the 2024 presidential election to try to hurt the president politically.

“It depends on who you talk to,” GOP Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus said of the different opinions his colleagues have about what comes next for the investigation.

While there are several offshoots that Republicans are pursuing to delay the decision-making process, some Republicans are beginning to take stock about whether it is time to turn their attention elsewhere.

GOP Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, who supports impeaching Biden but acknowledges Republicans do not have the votes to do so, told CNN, “We are eight months away from a presidential election. We’ve done our job and laid a good case out there. Let’s move on. Our focus should be on getting Donald Trump elected.”

“If the impeachment vote would fail, how would that make us look?” Nehls asked.

As doubts begin to grow within GOP ranks about the prospects of a Biden impeachment and Republicans search for an off-ramp, Comer has also lowered expectations of what a successful end to the inquiry looks like, insisting his job was never to impeach and pointing to the Democratic-controlled Senate as a dead end. Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month and have yet to send the articles over to the Senate.

“I would vote to impeach him, but I’m not going to lose any sleep whether he gets impeached or not because we know the Senate’s not going to convict,” Comer said, insisting, “My job was never to impeach.”

Even Jordan, whose committee would handle articles of impeachment if Republicans decided to take them up, has maintained that Republicans must make this decision as a conference.

Yet Trump, whose influence has loomed large over the House GOP agenda, has encouraged the push to impeach Biden and even said at a rally last month that Republicans “ought to impeach” the president for claiming without evidence that the president weaponized the legal system into bringing 88 charges across four criminal cases against him.

Both Jordan and Comer have recently interacted with Trump, but neither said the inquiry was discussed. Jordan, a close ally of the former president, was at Trump’s rally in Georgia on March 9 and then flew with the former president to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Miami.

“I don’t get into my conversations with the president,” Jordan said.

Comer said of his recent run in with Trump: “We exchanged pleasantries,” and his spokesperson added, “While having lunch with Vernon Hill in Florida, Congressman Comer unexpectedly ran into President Trump and they had a brief 10-minute conversation.”

The various threads Republicans are using to keep the inquiry alive
Comer has restarted a back and forth with Hunter Biden’s legal team to try and secure public testimony from the president’s son. Even though Hunter Biden initially pushed for a hearing instead of a closed-door interview, he eventually sat for a deposition and has since declined Comer’s request to appear at a hearing next week.

“Your blatant planned-for-media event is not a proper proceeding but an obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended,” Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter obtained by CNN.


Some Republicans have raised questions if a public hearing would even work in their favor, given the president’s son already was deposed for six hours and answered every question Republicans had for him about specific business deals, transactions and surface level interactions his father had with his business associates.

After the first hour of questioning in Hunter Biden’s closed-door deposition, GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of California turned to the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee and made a surprising admission.

“He was well-prepared for the kind of questions,” Issa recounted of Hunter Biden.

Another Republican source described Comer as “being on his own island” for deciding to pursue a public hearing with the president’s son.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have lined up behind Comer to push for this hearing, and Comer has said the point of the hearing is to “iron out some of the discrepancies” he sees between Biden’s testimony and other closed-door interviews his panel has conducted.

Separately, Comer quietly subpoenaed AT&T for over 15 years’ worth of information affiliated with Hunter Biden by March 20, according to documents provided to CNN.

Meanwhile, Jordan still wants to talk to two Department of Justice tax attorneys involved in the Hunter Biden criminal probe whom the department has previously prevented from testifying.

And Republicans say they want the audio tapes of the president’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur that they subpoenaed DOJ for in the wake of Hur’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week.

Republicans also recently requested interviews and documents to probe whether a witness they interviewed in federal prison has been mistreated, straying from their stated purpose of investigating the president.

“There is no timeframe on doing congressional oversight,” Jordan told CNN.

GOP focus shifts away from impeachment probe
Investigating the Biden family and going after President Biden was a top priority for House Republicans when they reclaimed the majority and got control of committees.

But after 14 months, over 100,000 pages of documents and over 40 interviews including Biden family members, business associates, administration personnel, Department of Justice officials and Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers, Republicans have failed to uncover evidence to support their core allegations against the president.


GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana said: “Have I seen anything that is impeachable? No, I haven’t.”

Republicans have been skeptical their efforts would lead to impeachment for months, and some have suggested at this point it is better to let the voters decide in November.

GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who serves on the Judiciary panel, said he would impeach the president over his handling over the southern border, but “based on what I know on Hunter, you got to present a case, right? And so, I got to see that get laid out and as the clock is ticking to November, you got an election, let the people decide.”

GOP Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, who serves on the Oversight Committee and supports impeachment, told CNN, “I think the American people want outcomes. They want change. They want policy change. So, do I think he is going to get impeached? No.”

It certainly is not an issue Republicans are pushing as one of their top priorities on the campaign trail as GOP House members look to grow their razor-thin majority in several competitive races.

The chairman of the House Republican campaign arm, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, told CNN, “Congress is still investigating, so it’s not really something in front of the candidates right now.”

GOP Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, who represents a district Biden carried in 2020, conceded this investigation was not his focus compared to the southern border, international issues and affordability for his constituents. “I’m focused on five or 10 things other than that right now,” he said.

Ultimately, Republicans admit that the final decision about impeachment will come down to whether they have the votes to pass it.

“This is a game of numbers,” Norman said.

And without the votes to overcome their shrinking margins, impeachment seems off the table.

GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana said the three Republican chairmen leading the impeachment inquiry have the same message: “They say we’re not in a position to go forward on impeachment.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-gop-biden-inquiry-stalls-090037022.html

 

Biden lawyer shovels dirt on impeachment probe in sarcasm-filled letter to Mike Johnson

Brad Reed
March 15, 2024 8:09AM ET



President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C. on August 9, 2022. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images




White House counsel Edward Siskel on Friday sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in which he declared the GOP-led impeachment probe of the president dead.

As Axios reports, Siskel encouraged Johnson to formally drop the impeachment probe and concentrate on solving problems that matter to American voters.

"There is too much important work to be done for the American people to continue wasting time on this charade," Siskel argued. "It is obviously time to move on, Mr. Speaker. This impeachment is over."

The letter comes at a time when GOP efforts to find evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by Biden have fizzled, as earlier this year their star witness in the case was arrested and charged with fabricating claims to federal investigators about Biden accepting bribes from Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.

ALSO READ: Racism, arrests, extreme MAGA love: Meet Lauren Boebert’s primary opponents

In fact, Siskel even included both off-and-on-the-record quotes from House Republicans in his letter declaring the impeachment inquiry against Biden to be a massive flop.

Added to that, Siskel dismissed Republican demands for more information about Biden's handling of classified documents by describing it as "a flotation device for the sinking impeachment effort."

Even Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who has been taking the lead in the Biden impeachment probe, has been acknowledging that he doesn't currently have the votes to impeach the president and has instead tried to pivot to possibly making criminal referrals against Biden and his family instead, despite the fact that Department of Justice policy states that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted.



https://www.rawstory.com/biden-impeachment-2667519020/

 

Ok, cite the cases and judges rulings the Trump admin gave that proved widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

 

Revealed: Trump allies' ties to indicted Biden impeachment witness

Travis Gettys
March 14, 2024 10:53AM ET



WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 26: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the America First Agenda Summit, at the Marriott Marquis hotel July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Former U.S. President Donald Trump returned to Washington today to deliver the keynote closing address at the summit. The America First Agenda Summit is put on by the American First Policy Institute, a conservative think-tank founded in 2021 by Brooke Rollins and Larry Kudlow, both former advisors to former President Trump. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)




An American company that paid an indicted FBI informant who testified in the Joe Biden impeachment inquiry has ties to a British company owned by associates of Donald Trump in Dubai, according to a new report.

The Guardian reported that business filings and court documents show Smirnov, who has been accused of lying to investigators about the president and his son Hunter Biden, was paid $600,000 in 2020 by a company called Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT), and the indictment shows that same year he started lying to the FBI about the Bidens.

ETT's chief executive is Christopher Condon, an American who is also one of three shareholders in ETT Investment Holding Limited in London.

The other two shareholders are Pakistani American investor Shahal Khan and Farooq Arjomand, a former chairman and current board member of Damac Properties in Dubai.

Arjomand and Khan have ties to Trump through some of his associates and Damac, a Middle Eastern developer who has partnered with the former president for a decade, and Trump describes Damac's former chairman Hussain Sajwani as a "friend” and a “great man," and their families have attended weddings, Mar-a-Lago parties and ribbon-cutting ceremonies together.

ALSO READ: Trump campaign hit with new warning about taking illegal donations

Sajwani attended the former president's 2016 inauguration, and Trump reported making up to $5 million in 2017 from a Damac licensing deal for the Trump International golf club in Dubai, and multiple reports show he and Sajwani continued discussing business into his presidency.

Khan is CEO of the "blank check company" BurTech Acquisition Group, while Patrick Orlando, a special adviser and shareholder for that public shell company, served as chief executive of another blank-check company, Digital World, when it began the process of merging with Trump Media & Technology Group – which could yield $4 billion in shares for Trump once it's finalized.

A former business associate told the Wall Street Journal last month that the $600,000 payment from ETT to Smirnov was for a stake in an Israel-based crypto trading platform, Bitoftrade, that Smirnov was involved in launching.

The Guardian reported that calls and emails to Condon, Arjomand, Sajwani, Smirnov’s lawyer and Trump's team were not returned, which Khan said he was "on the board for a very short period" but had no connection to the payment.

Smirnov is currently being held without bond after prosecutors argued that his contacts with officials associated with Russian intelligence and easy access to money made him a flight risk.

https://www.rawstory.com/alexander-smirnov-2667511356/

 

House GOP looking for impeachment 'off-ramp' after nonstop 'embarrassing setbacks': report

Brad Reed
March 13, 2024 7:00AM ET



WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 13: (L-R) Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) arrive to speak to reporters after the House voted to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Joe Biden. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)




House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden has so far failed to turn up concrete evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, and Politico's Playbook is reporting that the GOP is now looking for an "off-ramp."

According to the publications sources, "Republicans of all ideological persuasions are increasingly admitting that they pulled the trigger on Biden’s impeachment too soon and that the effort has been hobbled by embarrassing setbacks."

Among other things, the GOP's star witness who alleged wrongdoing by Biden was indicted last month for allegedly fabricating the allegations. What's more, the much-hyped congressional testimony from Hunter Biden failed to produce any additional evidence for Republicans to advance the impeachment inquiry further.

Given this, Republicans are now plotting backup plans in lieu of impeachments that include potential criminal referrals to the DOJ for Hunter Biden and perhaps even the president himself; legislative reforms that would clamp down on influence peddling by politicians' family members; and assorted lawsuits aimed at turning up more potentially incriminating documents.

ALSO READ: House Republican giggles over Hitler praise — and admits he never listens to Trump

That said, Republicans seem to understand that their base will be disappointed by such options, which is why they're debating holding a vote on impeaching Biden even if such a vote is doomed to fail.

"The base is going to demand it," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said recently.

But that notion is getting pushback from other Republicans who say a failed impeachment vote would be worse than having no impeachment vote at all.

"That’s not a vote you put on the floor if you don’t have a chance of passing it," said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND).

Former President Donald Trump, the GOP's presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, has been demanding the party impeach Biden.

During his own presidency, Trump became the first president in American history to have been impeached on two separate occasions, with the second impeachment garnering a bipartisan coalition of 57 votes favoring his conviction.

https://www.rawstory.com/biden-impeachment-inquiry-2667500701/

 

Now I am betting this might be really good. I know ol' Lev has surprised me at every turn and there has been a shit load of really dramatic turns since he first came on the scene. And one thing I have seen most every time is when Lev makes a claim, some of them sounding pretty wild, he brings the receipts. And in a lot of instances Trump and his treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republicans don't even know he's got the receipts, documents, and even recordings until its too late and he lays them on the table.

And then just in general this is another great stunt for the Democrats in the treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republican shit show circus.


Democrats plan to upend Biden impeachment inquiry by calling Giuliani henchman to testify

Travis Gettys
March 19, 2024 12:00PM ET



Lev Parnas speaks to the media in front of the Thurgood Marshall United States Court House in New York on Feb. 3, 2020. - John Lamparski/SOPA Images/Zuma Press/TNS




House Democrats will call convicted criminal and one-time Rudy Giuliani henchman Lev Parnas to testify in the impeachment probe against President Joe Biden.

The Ukrainian American businessman, who worked alongside Giuliani ahead of the 2020 election to dig up dirt about Biden and his son Hunter Biden, will be testifying alongside Tony Bobulinski, a former associate of the president's family who has made unsubstantiated allegations about their business dealings, reported CNN.

“Lev Parnas can debunk the bogus claims at the heart of the impeachment probe and, in the process, explain how the GOP ended up in this degraded and embarrassing place,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

House Republicans eagerly lapped up conspiracy theories Parnas had peddled with Giuliani, such as their claim that Biden, as vice president, corruptly tried to use his authority to pressure Ukraine to fire a top prosecutor who was -investigating the energy company Burisma to protect his son, who served on the company's board at the time.

ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different

That conspiracy theory formed the basis of the GOP defense against Donald Trump's 2019 impeachment and remains a key allegation against Biden, but Parnas has recanted those claims and was eventually charged with lying about Biden and his son's dealings with Burisma.

“With all due respect, Chairman [James] Comer, the narrative you are seeking for this investigation has been proven false many times over, by a wide array of respected sources,” Parnas wrote in July 2023 to the Oversight Committee chairman. “There is simply no merit to investigating this matter any further.”

Republicans will also call convicted felon Jason Galanis, who will testify remotely from a prison where he's serving time for his role in multiple fraudulent schemes, to testify along with Bobulinski and Parnas.

Hunter Biden declined a GOP invitation to appear at Wednesday's hearing, as did his business associate Devon Archer, although both men have testified in closed-door hearings.

Democrats had also considered calling former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to testify but ultimately chose Parnas instead.

"Cohen could have spoken directly to how Trump used the White House to enrich himself," said a source familiar with the discussions, "but Parnas can speak directly to how Trump used sketchy sources to fabricate dirt on Biden.”



https://www.rawstory.com/lev-parnas-impeachment/

 

Uh oh.
No honor among thieves, it would seem.​

Former Biden Business Partner Accuses Hunter, Jim of Lying under Oath about Chinese Dealings (msn.com)
Former Biden Business Partner Accuses Hunter, Jim of Lying under Oath about Chinese Dealings
Story by James Lynch
• 48m •

In his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski publicly accused the first son and his uncle, Jim Biden, of lying under oath about the nature of their business dealings with Chinese conglomerate CEFC.

Bobulinski cited three examples from Hunter Biden’s sworn testimony last month where the younger Biden allegedly committed perjury in describing the timeline of his CEFC dealings and his father’s apparent involvement.

“Hunter Biden gave his transcribed interview to the House Oversight Committee on February 28 and lied throughout his testimony,” Bobulinski said in his opening statement. Hunter Biden said his work for CEFC began with a retainer in 2017, a claim Bobulinski believes is false based on a conversation he participated in where Hunter referenced his previous business dealings with CEFC.

Bobulinski is testifying on Wednesday about the Biden family’s foreign business dealings, the subject of the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. He testified behind closed doors last month and vividly recalled meeting Hunter, Joe, and James Biden in May 2017 to discuss a proposed joint venture with CEFC.

Hunter Biden claimed his father never interacted with his son’s business partners and repeatedly denied his father’s involvement in those dealings. However, Hunter Biden confirmed Joe Biden met Bobulinski and multiple foreign business partners, and spoke to business associates on speakerphone.

“The sole reason Hunter wanted me to meet his father was because I was the CEO of Sinohawk, the Bidens’ partnership with CEFC. I was a business associate. In his transcript, Hunter confirms that that meeting with Joe took place and incriminates his Uncle Jim for perjury by confirming it,” Bobulinski said.

In March 2017, Hunter Biden’s then-business partner Rob Walker received a $3 million payment from State Energy HK, an account linked to CEFC.

Walker distributed roughly $1 million of the State Energy HK funds to bank accounts linked to Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family, bank records show. The $3 million wire to Walker took place after Hunter Biden and his business associates held meetings with CEFC and helped explore business deals, according to Walker’s testimony and Hunter Biden’s federal tax indictment. Joe Biden’s vice presidency concluded only weeks before the State Energy HK payment came in.

Bobulinski also accused James Biden of lying under oath about the details of their involvement.

Testifying behind closed doors last month, James Biden repeatedly denied meeting Bobulinski, contradicting the testimony given by Bobulinski and Hunter Biden, according to a transcript of his testimony. Despite being shown exhibits to the contrary, James Biden doubled down on his denial that the May 2017 meeting with Bobulinski and Joe and Hunter Biden took place. Likewise, James Biden denied signing any agreement to get into business with Bobulinski through Oneida Holdings, a holding company created for the CEFC proposal.

When presented with a signed copy of the Oneida agreement, James Biden said he could not recall being part of the Oneida arrangement. The CEFC proposal involving Bobulinski fell apart, and the Bidens entered a separate joint venture with CEFC called Hudson West III to help CEFC explore U.S. energy deals.

“There are many other examples of Hunter’s and Jim’s lies, which I am happy to discuss during my testimony here today, and I hope this Committee will hold them accountable for their perjury before you,” Bobulinski added.

Alongside Bobulinski, imprisoned former Biden associate Jason Galanis is testifying virtually about the business enterprise he worked on with Hunter Biden and other business partners. Galanis’ opening statement on Wednesday mirrors private testimony in which he claimed Joe Biden helped his son finalize deals with Chinese and Russian business partners.

“The entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe Biden,” Galanis testified. He believes he is risking his safety to testify because of alleged retaliation by the Justice Department during his time in prison for participating in a fraudulent bond scheme. Devon Archer, a key witness for the impeachment inquiry, declined to participate in the hearing. He is facing a year and a day in prison over his role in the bond scheme.

The impeachment inquiry is primarily focusing on Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings with individuals and entities in Ukraine, Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Romania. Hunter Biden declined to show up at the public hearing after previously urging the committee to allow him the opportunity to testify publicly.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) is leading the hearing examining the Biden family’s business dealings.

“What is apparent, after over a year of investigation, is that the Bidens do not work in any traditional sense of the word. They do not work as consultants. Or lawyers. Or advisors. The Bidens don’t sell a product or a service or a set of skills,” Comer stated.

“The Bidens sell Joe Biden.”

 

I already posted the story on another thread but at least the headline is fitting here. Just to beat back on the false propaganda you are seeing.




New texts raise questions about another GOP witness against Biden: report
https://www.rawstory.com/tony-bobulinski-russia/






'Running on empty': Jamie Raskin opens latest Biden impeachment hearing with GOP takedown

Sarah K. Burris
March 20, 2024 11:21AM ET



DECEMBER 23: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is interviewed on camera outside the House Chambers of the U.S. Capitol Building on December 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)




The House Oversight and Reform Committee began another Joe Biden impeachment hearing Wednesday, and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) opened with a takedown of the Republican Party's inquiry so far.

It has become clear to many Republicans that they don't have the votes for impeaching Biden as the attempt at collecting incriminating evidence has largely fallen flat.

"The impeachment bus is running on empty," Raskin said in his opening statement.

Before the committee Wednesday was former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, who worked to gather "dirt" on the Bidens from Ukraine.

Another witness is Tony Bobulinski, who Raskin characterized as being a shill of Donald Trump.

ALSO READ: Trump is exploiting, abusing, playing, bending and breaking the legal system

"Mr. Bobulinski made his hazy allegations against the Bidens public for the first time at a press conference choreographed by the Trump for President campaign, which provided him a gaggle of journalists and even a dress shirt that they went out and bought for him to wear to the event," alleged Raskin.

"Hours later, Mr. Bobulinski points to the second 2020 presidential debate as Donald Trump's personal guest, where he was seated with Kid Rock and Mark Meadows."

Raskin continued, saying that his GOP colleagues are trying to "save face" with accusations of criminal behavior based on the information they "found."

"But criminal referrals require evidence of crime," he said. "And the only crimes we have seen are those of the GOP's own star witnesses alike, Russian asset Alexander Smirnov, Chinese agent Gal Luft, Devin Archer and Jason Galanis."

In the hearing Wednesday, Raskin said that the witness the Democrats brought forward, Parnas, would cast a "piercing light" on what was actually unfolding.

"And he has reason to note that he, too, used to be a MAGA, peddling lies and disinformation to smear Joe Biden. Today, he joins a long line of self-exiled from Trump World who could no longer stomach all the corruption" Raskin said, reading off names of those who have been willing to step forward and reveal what unfolded in Donald Trump's administration.

Raskin mentioned former Vice President Mike Pence in his group of self-exiled, pointing out he refused to endorse Trump last week.

See the opening statement in the video below or at the link here.




https://www.rawstory.com/biden-impeachment-hearing-jamie-raskin/