The Biden White House sent a letter to its media allies Wednesday, directing them to intensify their “scrutiny” of House Republicans after Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced an impeachment inquiry into the Biden family’s influence-peddling operation.
“It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies. Impeachment is grave, rare, and historic. The Constitution requires ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, wrote in the letter to top U.S. news executives, according to CNN. “After nearly 9 months of investigating, House Republicans haven’t been able to turn up any evidence of the President doing anything wrong,” Sams added inaccurately.
In reality, Republican investigators have produced a mountain of evidence in the form of bank records, suspicious activity reports, wire transfers, text messages, whatsApp messages, emails, voicemails, photos, along with the testimonies of whistleblowers, and Hunter Biden’s former business partners, not to mention Joe Biden’s admission on tape that he got the Ukrainian prosecutor general fired by withholding $1 billion in US loan guarantees in exchange for his ouster.
Democrats, on the other hand, launched an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump in 2019 based on the complaint of one then-anonymous Democrat operative (who was aware of Biden’s corruption) who blew the whistle after Trump asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to look into the Biden family’s shady business dealings in a phone call.
The White House memo reportedly includes a 14-page appendix that “comprehensively addresses the 7 key lies House Republicans are suggesting they are basing an impeachment on.”
Sams alleged that an impeachment inquiry with no supporting evidence should “set off alarm bells for news organizations.”
The letter was reportedly sent to top news executives in major news organizations, including CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press, CBS News, and others, although most news organizations have been downplaying the scandal without any prompting from the White House.
George Washington University Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley opined Wednesday that “the letter has an uncomfortable feeling of marching orders to the media.”
Once again, what is most disturbing is that the White House shows no reluctance or concern in making such an open pitch to the press. There is a sense of license in using the media as an extension of the White House press push. The fact that this is a representative of the White House counsel’s office is particularly chilling. This is not the press office but the counsel for the President calling on media to form a unified front against the Republicans and the impeachment inquiry.
Multiple media outfits have already dutifully disseminated the White House’s false narrative.
Since gaining the House majority, House Republicans have aggressively investigated Biden and his son, claiming without evidence that they engaged in an influence peddling scheme.
Here's what comes next: https://t.co/4Qxz6C2IXY
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 12, 2023
“The Republican House-led investigations into Biden have yet to provide any direct evidence that the president financially benefited from Hunter Biden’s career overseas,” CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported on Tuesday.
“The biggest difference the burgeoning Biden impeachment inquiry has with Clinton’s and Trump’s first is that no real evidence of wrongdoing by Biden has been uncovered,” claimed MSNBC.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee responded Wednesday with a list of over 20 documented examples of Biden’s involvement in the family’s corrupt business schemes.
🚨 No evidence? 🤔
Here are 20+ examples of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling schemes that enriched the Bidens.👇https://t.co/h7l8LIcFUm
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) September 13, 2023
WATCH @GOPoversight Chairman @RepJamesComer highlights several of the mainstream media narratives regarding the Biden's family's influence peddling scheme that our investigations have proven to be false. pic.twitter.com/QdZ9YNpUoH
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) September 13, 2023
1) In July 2023, former Biden business associate Devon Archer described how Joe Biden was “The Brand” and was used to send “signals” of power, access, and influence to enrich the Biden family from foreign sources.
2) Devon Archer alone was aware of at least 20 times in which then-Vice President Biden spoke on speakerphone with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates. Democrats would have Americans believe that these phone calls with then-Vice President Biden were simply to discuss the weather.
3) In February 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden dined with oligarchs from Russia and Kazakhstan who funneled millions of dollars to Hunter Biden and his business associates.
4) In April 2015, then-Vice President Biden dined with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates, including Ukrainian Burisma executive Vadym Pozharsky. Burisma was then being investigated by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin for corruption.
5) Then-Vice President Biden had coffee with Hunter Biden’s Chinese business associate, Jonathan Li of BHR, in Beijing and wrote a college letter of recommendation for his daughter.
6) In 2015, then-Vice President Biden hosted Hunter Biden and Devon Archer and other business associates at the official residence of the Vice President. The topic of discussion was filling the top seat at the United Nations. The Kazakhstani government official who wanted the U.N. position attended both dinners at Café Milano with then-Vice President Biden.
7) Using the pseudonym “Robert L. Peters,” Vice President Biden was informed by his staff of a call in 2016 with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. Copied on that official email? Hunter Biden, who was sitting on the board of the Ukrainian company Burisma.
8) On December 4, 2015, Biden business associate Eric Schwerin wrote to Kate Bedingfield in the Office of the Vice President providing quotes to use in response to media outreach regarding Hunter Biden’s role in Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. Later that day, Ms. Bedingfield responded to Mr. Schwerin saying, “VP signed off on this[.]” According to Devon Archer, after a Burisma board of directors meeting in Dubai on the evening of December 4, 2015, Hunter Biden “called D.C.” to discuss pressure that Burisma asked him to relieve.
9) In May 2017, James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, emailed Hunter Biden and other associates to formalize how they would divide the profit from their deal with CEFC, a Chinese Communist Party linked energy company. Gilliar indicated Joe Biden would receive 10 percent, which has been confirmed by former Biden family associate, Tony Bobulinski.
10) On May 20, 2017, James Gilliar told Tony Bobulinksi, another business associate, “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face[.] I know u know that but they are paranoid[.]”
11) In a September 21, 2017, email, Hunter Biden wrote that Joe Biden is his business partner and provided Joe Biden’s personal cell phone if the recipient seeks confirmation. Emails also show that Hunter Biden, CEFC officials, and Joe Biden would share offices under the Hudson West/CEFC/Biden Foundation name.
12) On July 30, 2017, Hunter Biden demanded money from Chinese business associates and threatened that Joe Biden was sitting next to him: “if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you….I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direct.”
13) On August 3, 2017, Hunter Biden claimed “The Biden’s are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership[.] Please let’s not quibble over peanuts.” The Chairman is Ye Jianming is a Chinese billionaire tied to a CCP-intelligence gathering agency. Ye stated that CEFC China’s vision “is to obtain overseas resources and serve the national strategy.”
14) During Rob Walker’s recorded interview with the FBI in December 2020, he told agents that Joe Biden attended a CEFC meeting.
15) As Vice President, Joe Biden allowed his son to travel on Air Force Two with him to court business around the world. Vice President Biden brought Hunter Biden along to at least 15 countries where he sold “The Brand” to enrich the Biden family.
16) Hunter Biden’s business associates reportedly visited the White House more than 80 times when Joe Biden was Vice President.
17) In February 2014, a report indicates then-Vice President Biden met with two of Hunter’s Mexican business associates at the White House.
18) In October 2015, a report says that Hunter Biden arranged a video call with his father and Mexican business partners. The next month, then-Vice President Biden hosted Mexican business partners and a Biden associate, Jeff Cooper at the Vice President’s official residence.
19) In February 2016, then-Vice President Biden allowed his son and Biden associate, Jeffrey Cooper, to fly to Mexico on Air Force 2 to meet with business partners.
20) The FBI’s June 30, 2020 FD-1023 form contains allegations that then-Vice President Joe Biden allegedly engaged in an extortion scheme where he was paid $5 million in exchange for certain actions.
21) Hunter’s pitch to Chinese investors was access to his father, Joe Biden. In September 2011, while his father was Vice President, Hunter wrote in an email that his value to Chinese investors “has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my last name.”
22) In 2019, Hunter Biden texted his daughter, claiming that, “unlike Pop I won’t make you give me half your salary.”
To explain Joe Biden’s frequent participation in his son’s overseas business calls, Sams repeated the risible White House talking point that Biden “calls his family every day to check in.”
“He loves them. They’re a tight-knit family,” Sams added.
WH’s @IanSams46: Biden attended Hunter’s business meetings because he “loves” him pic.twitter.com/gSZD5pcda7
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 13, 2023
Update:
The House Oversight Committee issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon in response to the Biden White House letter:
“The White House refuses to answer questions about President Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence-peddling schemes and what the Bidens sold to make millions. That’s because witness testimony reveals Joe Biden was ‘The Brand,’ and he was used to send signals of access, influence, and power that enriched the Biden family,” the Oversight Republicans said.
“When faced with defending the indefensible, the White House is now threatening the media to stop reporting on it. What are they trying to hide? Our Committee will continue to follow the evidence and deliver the transparency that the American people demand and deserve about President Biden’s abuse of public office.”