Duckvision
@Duckvision
Replying to @KarliBonne
Grassley knew about the FD-1023 document since 10/17/2022.
This document specifically talked about Mykola Zlochevsky and Burisma.
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110786364024469188
Senator Grassley : Why was the 1023 redacted
6:39
https://rumble.com/embed/v303fck/?pub=4
https://truthsocial.com/@KarliBonne/posts/110786258353171797
10.17.2022
FBI Possesses Significant, Impactful, Voluminous Evidence of Potential Criminality in Biden Family Business Arrangements
Grassley seeks specific records from FBI related to Biden deals with foreign nationals and companies connected to the communist Chinese regime
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley is calling on the FBI to produce specific records in its possession indicating potential criminal activity in the Biden family’s foreign business deals. It remains unclear whether those FBI records, which have been reviewed by Grassley’s investigative staff, have been shared with the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.
Since first raising concern about bias by senior leadership and a double standard by the FBI in politically sensitive investigations, numerous whistleblowers have made legally protected disclosures substantiating these concerns.
“Notably, the Justice Department and FBI have not disputed the accuracy of the allegations that I have made public since May 31, 2022. The Justice Department’s and FBI’s continued silence on these matters is deafening and further erodes their credibility. Simply put, enough is enough – the Justice Department and FBI must come clean to Congress and the American people with respect to the steps they have taken, or failed to take, relating to the Hunter Biden investigation,” Grassley wrote in a letter to FBI and Justice Department leadership as well as the Delaware U.S. attorney.
In the letter, Grassley attached a contract, signed by Hunter and James Biden and three other business associates. The contract was part of an arrangement designed to funnel $5 million from the Chinese communist government-connected CEFC to Hunter and James Biden to compensate them for work done while Joe Biden was vice president, according to an FBI interview summary of Tony Bobulinski. But other records held by the FBI reveal frustration by the Bidens about CEFC’s payment being delayed. Records previously released by Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) show James and Hunter Biden ultimately profited from a $5 million payment from a company connected to CEFC via a separate arrangement.
Other records held by the FBI shed light on Hunter Biden’s business and financial relationship with Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky. These documents include specific details about conversations by non-government individuals relevant to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden. These documents also indicate that Joe Biden was aware of Hunter Biden’s business arrangements and may have been involved in some of them. It remains unclear whether the FBI took appropriate steps to follow up on this information or passed it to the Delaware U.S. attorney’s office.
Whistleblowers
Grassley frequently hears from current and former government employees who come forward to shine a light on fraud, waste, abuse and gross mismanagement in government agencies or by government contractors. He protects the identities of these sources and frequently promotes policies that shield whistleblowers from retaliation. Individuals wishing to call attention to mismanagement or misconduct within the Justice Department and its component agencies, such as the FBI, about the aforementioned allegations or other misconduct should contact Sen. Grassley’s investigations unit at (202) 224-3738 or email wb_reports@judiciary-rep.senate.gov.
Director Wray has personally committed to Senator Grassley that whistleblowers who have come forward will not face retaliation.
Grassley’s letter follows.
October 13, 2022
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General
Department of Justice
The Honorable Christopher Wray
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Honorable David Weiss
U.S. Attorney
District of Delaware
Dear Attorney General Garland, Director Wray and U.S. Attorney Weiss:
Since May 31, 2022, I’ve written three letters to the Justice Department and FBI based on protected whistleblower disclosures that indicate a pattern and practice of political decisions being made at the FBI’s Washington Field Office (WFO) and FBI Headquarters.[1] In those letters, I’ve noted that Congress has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the Executive Branch executes the law and uses taxpayer money appropriated to it in accordance with congressional intent. In furtherance of that constitutional responsibility, Congress has an obligation to investigate the Executive Branch for fraud, waste, abuse and gross mismanagement – acts which undermine faith in the American people’s governmental institutions. Those constitutional and legislative responsibilities apply to this letter to you. My previous letters also invited individuals, including current and former government employees, to contact me and my office to confidentially report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse and gross mismanagement by FBI and Justice Department officials. In response, my office has received a significant number of protected communications from highly credible whistleblowers which have increased since my initial outreach to your offices.
Based on recent protected disclosures to my office, the FBI has within its possession significant, impactful and voluminous evidence with respect to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden and James Biden.[2]
The evidence within the FBI’s possession that I am referencing is included, in part, in a summary of Tony Bobulinski’s October 23, 2020, interview with FBI agents. In that interview, Mr. Bobulinski stated that the arrangement Hunter Biden and James Biden created with foreign nationals connected to the communist Chinese government included assisting them with potential business deals and investments while Joe Biden was Vice President; however, that work remained intentionally uncompensated while Joe Biden was Vice President. After Joe Biden left the Vice Presidency, the summary makes clear that Hunter Biden and James Biden worked with CEFC and affiliated individuals to compensate them for that past work and the benefits they procured for CEFC. According to the summary, Hunter Biden, James Biden and their business associates created a joint venture that would serve as a vehicle to accomplish that financial compensation, and that arrangement was made sometime after a meeting in Miami between Hunter Biden and CEFC officials in February 2017. According to the summary, that vehicle was called SinoHawk, which was owned 50 percent by Oneida Holdings LLC (Oneida) and 50 percent by Hudson West IV. According to the summary, Oneida was made of five evenly divided LLCs, one for each business associate – including Hunter Biden and James Biden. However, according to the summary, 10 percent of Hunter Biden’s interest was to be held for Joe Biden. Attached to this letter is the Oneida Operating Agreement which lists Hunter Biden, James Biden and their business associates and the percentage of interest for each individual.[3] Included below is a copy of the signature block for the Oneida Operating Agreement which was signed on May 22, 2017.
According to the interview summary, the money transferred to Oneida as part of the venture to compensate the Bidens was supposed to consist of an unsecured $5 million loan, intended to be forgivable, from CEFC in 2017. Similarly, the FBI has within its possession a different document, dated in October 2020, but referencing events that occurred years before. That document indicates that in May 2017 – approximately three months after the joint venture was hatched in Miami and the same month it was officially formed – Hunter Biden yelled at CEFC officials at a meeting for failing to fund the joint venture. That same document notes that as of July 2017 the money still had not been transferred and James Biden considered calling CEFC officials and threatening to withdraw Biden family support from future deals. Notably, my September 2020 report with Senator Johnson and our floor speeches from this year made public bank records and financial data that showed that Hunter Biden and James Biden profited from a $5 million wire from a company connected to CEFC in August of 2017, indicating that it could have been the money originally intended for SinoHawk. However, based on records, that money was not transmitted to the SinoHawk joint venture, rather it was transmitted to Hudson West III which could partially explain SinoHawk’s eventual failure.[4] As noted in our report and our floor speeches, the money from the wire was transferred from Hudson West III to Hunter Biden’s firm, Owasco, and James Biden’s firm, Lion Hall Group, apparently circumventing SinoHawk.[5]
Based on allegations provided to my office, the information provided by Mr. Bobulinski formed a sufficient basis to open a full field investigation on pay-to-play grounds; however, it is unclear whether the FBI did so and whether the information is part of the ongoing criminal investigation by U.S. Attorney Weiss.
The FBI also has a document within its possession that notes that then former Vice President Joe Biden met with Hunter Biden and his business associates at a conference in Los Angeles on May 2, 2017, and May 3, 2017. The meetings have been publicly disclosed; however, the fact that the FBI maintains documents referencing these data points has not been made public before.
Lastly, the FBI has within its possession a series of documents relating to information on Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, and his business and financial associations with Hunter Biden. The documents in the FBI’s possession include specific details with respect to conversations by non-government individuals relevant to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden. These documents also indicate that Joe Biden was aware of Hunter Biden’s business arrangements and may have been involved in some of them. Based on allegations, it is unclear whether the FBI followed normal investigative procedure to determine the truth and accuracy of the information or shut down investigative activity based on improper disinformation claims in advance of the 2020 election, just as it did with Hunter Biden information that I wrote to you about on July 25, 2022.[6] It is also unclear whether U.S. Attorney Weiss has performed his own due diligence on these and related allegations.
These new whistleblower disclosures beg the question: in light of the allegations that I have brought to your attention, what have the FBI and Justice Department, to include U.S. Attorney Weiss, done to investigate?
Notably, the Justice Department and FBI have not disputed the accuracy of the allegations that I have made public since May 31, 2022. The Justice Department’s and FBI’s continued silence on these matters is deafening and further erodes their credibility. Simply put, enough is enough – the Justice Department and FBI must come clean to Congress and the American people with respect to the steps they have taken, or failed to take, relating to the Hunter Biden investigation. With respect to the new – and numerous – legally protected disclosures that have been made to my office, please provide the following no later than October 27, 2022, so that Congress can perform an independent and objective review:
-
The full and unredacted FBI summary of Tony Bobulinski’s October 23, 2020, interview.
-
Was Tony Bobulinski’s interview summary placed within Guardian? Was it placed within an investigative case file?
-
The full and unredacted October 2020 document that lists a timeline of events associated with Hunter Biden’s business associates, foreign and domestic.
-
All records relating to the May 2, 2017, and May 3, 2017, meetings between Tony Bobulinski and Joe Biden.
-
All records,[7] including FD-71, FD-209a, FD-302, FD-794b, FD-1023, FD-1040a, FD-1057 and Guardian leads, from January 1, 2014 to the date of this letter that reference Mykola Zlochevsky, Hunter Biden, James Biden and Joe Biden.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
cc:
The Honorable Richard Durbin
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz
Inspector General
Department of Justice
-30-
[1] Letter from Senator Grassley to Attorney General Garland and Director Wray (May 31, 2022) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CEG%20to%20DOJ%20FBI%20(WFO).pdf; Press Release, Senator Grassley, Whistleblowers’ Report Reveal Double Standard in Pursuit of Politically Charged Investigations by Senior FBI, DOJ Officials (July 25, 2022) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/whistleblowers-reports-reveal-double-standard-in-pursuit-of-politically-charged-investigations-by-senior-fbi-doj-officials
[2] At my direction, my staff have reviewed the unclassified records.
[3] Attachment at p. 8.
[4] Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., and Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff. Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns 78 (Sept. 23, 2020) https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC%20-%20Finance%20Joint%20Report%202020.09.23.pdf; Floor Speech, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson Discuss Investigation into Biden Family Foreign Financial Entanglements - Part 1 (Mar. 28, 2022) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/grassley-johnson-discuss-investigation-into-biden-family-foreign-financial-entanglements_-part-1; see also Floor Speech, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson Release Bank Records Tying Biden Family to CCP-Linked Individuals & Companies (Mar. 29, 2022), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/grassley-johnson-release-bank-records-tying-biden-family-to-ccp-linked-individuals-and-companies; Floor Speech, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson, The Biden Family Investigation – Part III: James Biden (Apr. 5, 2022) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/the-biden-family-investigation_part-iii-james-biden.
[5] Id.
[6] Press Release, Ranking Member Grassley, Whistleblowers’ Reports Reveal Double Standard in Pursuit of Politically Charged Investigations by Senior FBI, DOJ Officials (July 25, 2022) https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/whistleblowers-reports-reveal-double-standard-in-pursuit-of-politically-charged-investigations-by-senior-fbi-doj-officials
[7] “Records” include any written, recorded, or graphic material of any kind, including letters, memoranda, reports,
notes, electronic data (e-mails, email attachments, and any other electronically-created or stored information),
calendar entries, inter-office communications, meeting minutes, phone/voice mail or recordings/records of verbal
communications, and drafts (whether or not they resulted in final documents). This definition applies to all requests for records in the questions for the record.
https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/fbi-possesses-significant-impactful-voluminous-evidence-of-potential-criminality-in-biden-family-business-arrangements
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110786461066860104
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Jul 4
Under charging Hunter opened up so many more doors. Now Weiss can be questioned why he charged Hunter for just tax invasion and gun charges. Weiss needs to answer why he subpoenaed JPMORGAN about 150+ SARs in 2019. Weiss was looking into the biggest crimes by the Biden crime family years ago. These ridiculous charges goes directly to Garland. He is now caught and will be exposed. The trap was to under charge Hunter to expose the whole corrupt system. You get them all this way.
LandzngroovesDuckvision
@Duckvision
Jul 5
Replying to @demscanthandlethetruth
Garland, Wray, Blinken, 51 former intelligence officials that said the laptop was Russian disinformation and the whole Biden crime family is fried chicken now. The main reason is the laptop is verified. That blew Hunter's whole case. Don't expect anything to happen to Hunter with Wray and Garland. That is the point of Weiss's under charging Hunter. The real prosecutions will come but not now. This is still about exposure and showing a two tiered justice system. Weiss is part of the set up.
@landzngrooves
1h
Replying to @Duckvision and @demscanthandlethetruth
I think the Impeachment Inquiry has the prosecution and defense, nervous. This inquiry will certainly look into Obstruction, which would easily implicate both sides, of scamming the system..
Duckvision
@Duckvision
59m
Replying to @landzngrooves and @demscanthandlethetruth
I was against impeachment because the senate will never get 2/3 votes. However I have changed my opinion because if congress goes with impeachment they can call more witnesses and collect more evidence. Like you said it keeps the pressure on amd makes them nervous. Ultimately the democrats need to make a decision on Biden not the Republicans. Clock is ticking and the heat is getting hotter on this fake administration. I think they pull the plug on Biden within the next 100 days.
GrayandWhiteCat
@GrayandWhiteCat
30m
On second thought, “bribery” is specifically mentioned in the Constitution. We still have testimony from Archer and Bobulinksi coming. Who knows who else might come forward? The high-level CCP defector?
If bribery can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt and it is untenable for Senate Dems to cast a vote to acquit, there might be a chance at Senate removal.
Yes, all that is speculative and hope.
I’m not betting the rent on it but it is a possibility.
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Replying to @GrayandWhiteCat, @demscanthandlethetruth, and 1 more
Devon Archer
Eric Schwerin
Tony Bobulinski
These guys will make Joe Biden use the 25th amendment soon.
Jul 27, 2023, 10:14 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110786461066860104
Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸
@KarliBonne
1h
John Ratcliffe - Panetta doesn’t regret signing letter: Biden laptop, Russian disinformation- unfortunately for all of them, the last chapter hasn’t been written- there was a fraud on the American people
https://rumble.com/embed/v303al2/?pub=4
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Replying to @KarliBonne
Anthony Blinken has a major problem.
He was part of the letter that 51 former intelligence officials said that the laptop was Russian disinformation.
Anthony Blinken might be the dumbest person ever.
Jul 27, 2023, 9:28 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110786280262878398
Anthony Blinkin has a problem explaining this.
How can Blinkin think Hunter's laptop was Russian disinformation when his WIFE IS EMAILING HUNTER ON THE LAPTOP!
John Ratcliffe - Panetta doesn’t regret signing letter: Biden laptop, Russian disinformation- unfortunately for all of them, the last chapter hasn’t been written- there was a fraud on the American people
https://rumble.com/embed/v303al2/?pub=4
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Did David Weiss have "ultimate authority" or did Merritt Garland handcuff Weiss with his investigation?
I think Weiss under charged Hunter on purpose. This put Garland in the cross hairs and shows a two tier justice system. If Weiss charges Hunter with money laundering, FARA, espionage, Rico, human trafficking and prostitution this let's the DOJ, FBI and Garland off the hook.
Weiss was put in charge of Hunter's case during the Trump administration.
This move was done to target Garland.
Jul 05, 2023, 10:48 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110662025754618061
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Under charging Hunter opened up so many more doors. Now Weiss can be questioned why he charged Hunter for just tax invasion and gun charges. Weiss needs to answer why he subpoenaed JPMORGAN about 150+ SARs in 2019. Weiss was looking into the biggest crimes by the Biden crime family years ago. These ridiculous charges goes directly to Garland. He is now caught and will be exposed. The trap was to under charge Hunter to expose the whole corrupt system. You get them all this way.
🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸
@mrddmia
Why has Garland politicized and weaponized the Biden Justice Department to protect his boss and indict his boss's top political enemy?
Because congressional Republicans haven't stopped him.
Where the hell are the articles of impeachment?
Jul 27, 2023, 10:45 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@mrddmia/posts/110786583723398056
Yes
How can Blinkin think Hunter's laptop was Russian disinformation when his WIFE IS EMAILING HUNTER ON THE LAPTOP!
Kash Patel
@Kash
READ…Wray n Garland are the targets
https://fightwithkash.com/articles/kash-patel-forget-joe-biden-its-time-for-congress-to-hold-merrick-garland-and-christopher-wray-to-account
Jul 27, 2023,9:08AM
https://truthsocial.com/@Kash/posts/110786205001772966
KASH PATEL: Forget Joe Biden, It's Time For Congress To Hold Merrick Garland And Christopher Wray To Account
President Joe Biden and his administration appear to have lied at least four times about the president’s ‘relationship’ with Hunter and business deals in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Although many are rightfully calling for his impeachment, blaming Biden alone misses the bigger problem.
While many want to understandably target Joe Biden, I want Congress to stay on mission – focus solely on the DOJ and FBI role in running cover for the administration and interfering in our elections. Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray have been called to task by their own documentation. Just like we have been demanding for so many months, Senator Chuck Grassley’s most recent release by – the now-famous FD-1023 – is at least partially verified. No politically funded operators, no bogus confidential human sources, and no Hillary Clinton media disinformation campaigns – so definitely not like the infamous Steele Dossier.
As the former chief investigator for Russiagate under then-Chairman Devin Nunes, we partnered with the Iowa senator to unveil the source of funding for the dossier’s debunked litany of disinformation. It’s good to see some in Congress returning to the simplicity of investigations, following the money, getting the documents and putting them out for the world to see. And now, whistleblowers have testified that millions of dollars were sent to the Biden crime family syndicate from the likes of Ukraine and the Chinese Communist Party’s henchmen.
The problem is that this is just one document. How many more FBI and DOJ documents, internal emails and memorandums exist on all things Hunter Biden? Congress cannot simply end with Joe Biden. It has to impeach the roots of the problem: Garland and Wray. Congress must immediately demand they produce alloutstanding documents currently under congressional subpoena. Failure to comply is itself grounds for impeachment, not to mention against the law.
Forcing a trial of these two government gangsters in the House of Representatives will put on display all relevant documentation that Garland and Wray have likely been withholding using the farcical D.C. government cheese excuse of an “ongoing investigation.” The FD-1023 in question was issued three years ago in June 2020. This one document shows the depths of the investigation, and sources like the IRS whistleblowers don’t show up overnight and provide that level of specificity. If what they say is true, Garland and Wray would have already lied repeatedly. Make them testify in person, under oath. Wouldn’t it be poetic justice to show the world and afford the next Trump administration and his DOJ to prosecute them if warranted?
The Democrats want the Republican majority to focus on the child-sniffing commander-in-chief, but that’s a political distraction. America must complete the Hunter Biden investigation and then expose the pair that seems to be covering for him – Garland and Wray. Stay on target. There is a reason you are hearing a growing chorus to put Joe Biden in the crosshairs. The more we look there, the less we expose what Garland and Wray might have buried.
https://fightwithkash.com/articles/kash-patel-forget-joe-biden-its-time-for-congress-to-hold-merrick-garland-and-christopher-wray-to-account
DC_Draino
@DC_Draino
Hunter Biden simple recap:
Plea deal contained secret provision to provide Hunter w/legal immunity for all future federal charges currently under investigation
Judge said “wtf is this?”
DOJ & Defense: “well, uhh..umm”
Judge: Never seen that before. No deal. How do you plead now?
Hunter: Not guilty
Hunter’s now going to trial for his crimes
Jul 26, 2023, 1:58 PM
https://truthsocial.com/@DC_Draino/posts/110781682728847728
thats cant be bill gates
4 hours ago
James Comer: Hunter Biden's plea deal collapse a 'victory for justice in America'
the walls are caving in on the Biden crime family
9:47
https://rumble.com/v32obno-james-comer-hunter-bidens-plea-deal-collapse-a-victory-for-justice-in-ameri.html
https://rumble.com/embed/v302wsm/?pub=4
🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸
@mrddmia
Here we go again.
A (Democrat) Delaware federal judge torpedos the Biden Justice Department's sweetheart deal for Hunter Biden yesterday.
So full speed ahead on another indictment of Trump.
Today?
Jul 27, 2023, 11:34 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@mrddmia/posts/110786776632839118
BREAKING: Trump Lawyers Told to Expect Indictment as January 6 Grand Jury Meets
Indictment watch
Just in time to distract from Joe and Hunter Biden’s pay-to-play crimes.
President Trump’s lawyers arrived at special counsel Jack Smith’s offices as the DC grand jury reconvened on Thursday.
Trump’s lawyers were told to expect charges.
Last Tuesday morning President Trump released a statement on the Biden DOJ’s latest attempt to arrest him on junk charges.
“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury Investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,” Trump said last week.
Special Counsel Jack Smith leaked another report to The New York Times last Wednesday night.
The leak came after the House Oversight Committee produced $17 million in bank receipts and witness testimony in the Biden Family bribery, corruption, and influence peddling schemes with foreign regimes.
Jack Smith is likely to use the same Civil War Civil Rights Violation that Merrick Garland and the DOJ have been using to send January 6 protesters to prison for years for non-violent crimes.
Trump’s lawyers met with Jack Smith on Thursday morning as members of the DC grand jury arrived at the courthouse.
The grand jury may vote to indict Trump on Thursday.
ABC News reported:
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have arrived at special counsel Jack Smith’s offices this morning for a meeting as a potential indictment of the former president looms, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Trump’s attorneys, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, are expected to meet with Smith’s team following the receipt of a target letter alerting Trump he is a target of the special counsel’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The target letter, sent on July 16, mentions three federal statutes: conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under a civil rights statute, and tampering with a witness, victim or an informant, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Special Counsel Jack Smith recently indicted Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami.
Trump was charged with 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and 6 other process crimes stemming from his conversations with his lawyer.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/developing-trump-lawyers-arrive-special-counsel-jack-smiths
BV pls check reports
How A Federal Judge Turned The Tables On Hunter Biden’s Sweetheart Plea Deal
By: Will Scharf
July 27, 2023
6 Min Read
Judge Noreika knew lawyers were trying to paint her into a corner and hide the ball while forcing her to rubber-stamp their absurd bargain.
Hunter Biden arrived in a Delaware federal court on Wednesday morning expecting that, in a few short hours, he would walk out a free man with full immunity from prosecution for an exceedingly wide range of alleged criminal conduct, ranging from gun and drug charges to foreign influence peddling. His expectation was that his deal would be insulated from challenges from the presiding judge, or from a prosecutorial change of heart under a future administration. His expectation was that his legal ordeals were coming to a close.
Instead, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika picked apart his plea deal with surgical precision, exposing its legal contradictions, and upbraiding both defense counsel and the Department of Justice for structuring an unprecedented deal that in her view — and mine — was illegal and unconstitutional.
I have reviewed the hearing transcript from Wednesday’s aborted change of plea hearing, as well as the agreed-to plea agreement and pretrial diversion agreement that Hunter thought were his salvation. I have spoken to individuals who were in the courtroom and witnessed Judge Noreika’s upturning of the apple cart. Based on my experience as a federal prosecutor, and based on everything that I have seen and heard, here is what I believe to be the story of Hunter’s blown plea.
An Attempt to Avoid Judicial Oversight
Typically, if the government is offering a defendant to either drop charges or decline to bring new charges in return for the defendant’s guilty plea, the plea is structured under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(A). Pleas under this subsection are subject to judicial approval. So if a judge believes the government’s decision to decline prosecution or dismiss charges in return for a plea to other charges is unjust, the judge can reject the plea agreement.
The deal reached between the DOJ and Hunter seems to have been that, in return for his pleading guilty to the two tax misdemeanor charges that were the subject of his plea, the government would agree not to prosecute Hunter for unlawful possession of a firearm, Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) violations, and other crimes related to his international business schemes in China and Ukraine with Bohai and Burisma, among others. In any normal case, this would have been structured as a Rule 11(c)(1)(A) plea, which would have made it subject to judicial approval.
In Hunter’s case, though, the parties were apparently worried that Judge Norieka might reject such a broad grant of immunity from prosecution in return for such minor guilty pleas. As a result, Hunter’s plea was structured under a different provision, Rule 11(c)(1)(B), which is usually just a plea agreement in return for a nonbinding sentencing recommendation, and which does not provide any ability of a court to intervene or reject the plea.
To insulate Hunter’s plea from judicial oversight — and the possibility of judicial rejection — Hunter’s lawyers and the Department of Justice included no mention of the agreement not to prosecute Hunter for further crimes in the plea agreement. Instead, they buried it in a separate pretrial diversion agreement, which they argued the judge was not a party to and therefore lacked the power to reject.
Publicly, this pretrial diversion agreement was described as applying just to the unlawful possession of a firearm charge. This was a wild mischaracterization of the agreement. Included in the agreement was a provision that bound the United States to not prosecute Biden “for any federal crimes encompassed by . . . the Statement of Facts” attached to the Plea Agreement.
The referred-to Statement of Facts includes: Hunter’s role with and compensation from Burisma; Hunter’s role with and compensation from Chinese private equity firm Bohai, Harvest, and Rosemont; Hunter’s holding company Owasco; Hunter’s consulting firm Rosemont Seneca; and many other aspects of Hunter’s controversial web of business relationships.
In other words, if Hunter were to complete probation, this pretrial diversion agreement would prevent DOJ from ever bringing charges against Hunter for any crimes relating to the offense conduct discussed in the plea agreement, which was purposely written to include his foreign influence peddling operations in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere.
Hunter and DOJ put the facts in the plea agreement, but put their non-prosecution agreement in the pretrial diversion agreement, effectively hiding the full scope of what DOJ was offering and Hunter was obtaining through these proceedings. Because this allowed them to, in their view, structure the plea agreement as a Rule 11(c)(1)(B) plea, it insulated the agreement from judicial oversight.
They went even further, though. In an apparent effort to shield Hunter from a new administration, which might try to throw out the pretrial diversion agreement by claiming that Hunter had violated his probation terms, they included a provision — which they admitted was entirely novel, with no precedent — stating that the government could not deem Hunter to have violated the agreement without first proving up violations in front of the judge. So the agreement they stated the judge had no role in and therefore no ability to reject, also placed the judge in a position of having to sign off on any future prosecution.
An Unconstitutional Agreement
Judge Noreika smelled a rat. She understood that the lawyers were trying to paint her into a corner and hide the ball while forcing her to rubber-stamp their absurd bargain. Instead of being that rubberstamp though, she backed DOJ and Hunter’s lawyers into a corner by pulling all the details out into the open, explaining the very serious legal and constitutional issues with this unprecedented method of structuring what should have been a simple plea agreement, and demanding that the lawyers explain themselves, which they simply couldn’t to her satisfaction.
DOJ, attempting to save face and save its case, stated on the record that the investigation into Hunter was ongoing and that Hunter remained susceptible to prosecution under FARA. Hunter’s lawyers exploded. They clearly believed that FARA was covered under the deal because as written, the pretrial diversion agreement language was broad enough to cover it. When the parties attempted to paper over the many issues raised, Judge Noreika was not satisfied. She demanded extensive briefing on the constitutional and legal issues raised during the hearing, leaving no chance that Hunter will be able to wrap up this case with any degree of rapidity.
And so here we are. Hunter’s lawyers and DOJ are going to go off and try to pull together a new set of agreements, likely narrower and less novel in its arrangement to satisfy Judge Noreika and move the case. They will have to explain their conduct in a public briefing which may shed some light on the obviously tortured negotiations that led us to this place. And, fortunately, the chances of any agreement proceeding with the kind of blanket immunity the parties had in mind as they walked into court yesterday are essentially nil at this point.
Hunter may in fact have to face up to his crimes one day.
https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/27/how-a-federal-judge-turned-the-tables-on-hunter-bidens-plea-deal/
Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸
@KarliBonne
Here we go again- Trump lawyers meeting with special counsel
1:30
https://rumble.com/embed/v304cz6/?pub=4
Duckvision
@Duckvision
Thanks to Jack Smith for handing out giant red pills to Americans. We all see a two tiered justice system. They lay one finger on Trump, they will have 200 million Americans demanding their heads.
Jul 27, 2023, 11:58 AM
https://truthsocial.com/@Duckvision/posts/110786870027602897