Shoeless Joe Biden
What you need to know about the sudden developments in the Biden family bribery coverup, in context.
“It ain't so, Joe, is it?” A young boy reportedly asked those immortal words of disgraced Chicago White Sox baseball star “Shoeless” Joe Jackson after he confessed to a Grand Jury that he and several teammates were bribed to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.
The rural South Carolina native reportedly replied, "Yes, kid, I'm afraid it is." Catch up on the legendary “Black Sox” scandal here. Jackson and others were banned from baseball after the 1920 season, despite recanting his confession and being acquitted by a jury. The late Ray Liotta played Jackson in “Field of Dreams.” That scandal still rocks Major League Baseball more than a century after it happened.
I borrow this analogy from Dr. Jonathan Turley, legal pundit and law professor at George Washington University, from his post on Sunday about the sudden reversal and naming of Delaware US Attorney David Weiss as a “special counsel” to investigate alleged tax and other related improprieties involving Hunter Biden. It reeks of corruption.
That was the second of two developments that changed the matter's trajectory. First, the House Oversight Committee publicly released its “Third Bank Memorandum,” which tracked financial and related transactions involving the First Son, his then-business partner, Devon Archer, and a host of shady characters from countries rife with corruption, including Russia, Ukraine, Khazakstan and Romania.
An interesting set of countries. I wonder if Hunter tried to get “work” with the UK, France, or even Poland. At least those nations have anti-pay-to-pay laws. Perhaps they had access to “the big guy.”
It is a succinct, accessible, and well-written 19-page sordid tale worth a few minutes of your time. The First Bank Memorandum was published in March and The Second Bank Memorandum in May.
I’ve read them, so you don’t have to (but you should). If the media’s convoluted and practically non-existent media coverage - with the notable exception of CBS News’ Catherine Herridge - confuses you, allow me to convey what you should know. I’ve also distilled the best comments from my favorite legal experts, including former Assistant US Attorney Andrew C. McCarthy, now a contributor at National Review, and Dr. Turley. There are others.
Let’s start from the beginning and try to put everything in context. Few media stories do.
Who is David Weiss?
Weiss was the then-16-year career federal prosecutor recommended to the new Trump Administration in 2017 by Democratic US Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, both close proteges and allies of fellow Delawarean Joe Biden. From Delaware Online:
Carper and Coons recommended Weiss to the White House to serve as the U.S attorney.
“David Weiss is an excellent choice for U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware,” said Carper. “During his combined 16 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he has prosecuted corruption, money laundering, drug offenses, mail and wire fraud; and he spearheaded the successful effort to establish New Castle County as a high intensity drug trafficking area. He is highly respected in the law enforcement community, and I look forward to him hitting the ground running.”
“I want to congratulate David Weiss on his confirmation and appointment to be the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware,” said Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “David is a career prosecutor and dedicated public servant, longtime Delawarean, and valued member of our law enforcement community. I want to thank the White House for working with Sen. Carper and me to present an excellent nominee for U.S. attorney.”
Biden’s home-state US Senate Democratic proteges chose lapdog Weiss, and the Trump Administration had little choice but to go along, barring some disqualifying factor, since Senate confirmation is required for US Attorneys - especially from home-state Senators (see: the infamous “blue slip” process). This is similar to how other state delegations work with a White House of the opposing party.
I’ll go further. I strongly suspect Joe Biden signed off on Weiss’s nomination as US Attorney. We’ll never know.
Weiss was a little-known low-level federal prosecutor when, in October 2020, the Hunter Biden laptop issue burst into public view, courtesy of the New York Post’s Miranda Devine with assistance from Delaware computer shop owner John Paul McIsaac and former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani. The story goes that a drug and/or alcohol-addled Hunter Biden dropped three “liquid-damaged” laptops at McIsaac’s Apple repair shop. He was able to fix one of them. When Hunter ignored McIsaac’s entreaties to pick up the laptop, after 90 days, per his shop’s policy, the laptop became McIsaac’s. After what he saw on the laptop, he called the police, only to have the FBI show up with a subpoena. McIsaac gave them the laptop, but not before copying its contents and forwarding it to Guiliani. The former Mayor and federal prosecutor provided the New York Post a copy just weeks before the 2020 election.
The legacy media has taken great pains to discredit McIsaac, who has long since closed his shop, left Delaware, and published a largely-ignored book on his experiences, American Injustice. The media, including social media giants Facebook and Twitter, fell for a ruse concocted by Biden’s now Secretary of State to get 51 former Intelligence officials to discredit the New York Post story as featuring all the “hallmarks” of “classic Russian disinformation.”
That was later proven a censorious lie, and legacy media, including the New York Times and CBS, long after the 2020 election, confirmed the laptop's legitimacy and validity. Meanwhile, the Biden laptop worked its way into the office of US Attorney David Weiss.
Weiss and his office promptly slow-walked the investigation as the statute of limitations ran out on several aspects of the Biden scandal, particularly his $1 million payments from Ukrainian gas giant, Burisma. Thanks to sworn testimony before the House Oversight Committee (Devon Archer), Burisma pressured Hunter to get help from Washington to stop an official Ukrainian investigation into corruption at Burisma by one Viktor Shokin. Hunter delivered rather handsomely with an assist from the “Big Guy.”
Joe Biden used a $1 billion federal loan guarantee as leverage to get Shokin fired. He was, and the prosecution of Burisma was dropped. Hunter never registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), one of the things that he could be prosecuted over. Question: did Biden accept money in exchange for the action? Was it a bribe? The House Oversight Committee is digging into that now, but more later.
None of this is really news. Former partner Tony Bobulinski, the Navy veteran, went rather public with then-Fox News Host Tucker Carlson and others to report on the shady nature of these and other business dealings and Joe Biden’s participation in Hunter’s dealings while serving as Vice President. We’ve not heard much from Bobulinski lately.
Perhaps we may learn why the wealthiest woman in Russia, Yelena Bakaturina, escaped the Biden sanctions list of oligarchs. But only after she wired $3.5 million to Hunter after participating in a dinner with Vice President Joe. No doubt the White House will claim “Executive Privilege,” but perhaps various oversight committees could ask questions about whether she was considered and rejected, and if so, by whom. Under oath, of course. But don’t get your hopes up.
And we soon won’t hear from Weiss, now that he’s been appointed a special counsel. If it ever comes to that, Weiss's prosecution of Hunter will still require Garland’s approval. Weiss and the Justice Department can now stonewall Congress - possibly including refusing to comply with any subpoenas for the President’s financial records - citing the “ongoing special counsel” investigation, buying time past the 2024 election. House Oversight will complain, of course, but to no avail. Forget worthless “contempt of Congress” resolutions. They’re toothless.
Weiss is little more than an apparatchik. And probably worse.
But don’t take my word for any of this. Andrew C. McCarthy:
It is Weiss who has already allowed the statute of limitations on any offenses arising out of the 2014–15 corruption — such as the Bidens’ dealings with Burisma — to lapse. Weiss well knew, when he was given the investigation in 2018, that the statute of limitations for the relevant tax counts was six years, and for other potential crimes it was five years. Because of the way Weiss has handled the investigation, any criminal offenses that occurred while Joe Biden was vice president are now time-barred. As I noted when the House Oversight Committee released its latest report on the $20 million-plus the Biden family raked in from agents of corrupt and anti-American governments, much of the conduct — and money — committee investigators have uncovered comes from transactions that took place prior to 2017.
This is, after all, the same Weiss who headed an investigation that was trashed by whistleblowers, who alleged that his investigation had been fixed from the outset.
It is the same Weiss who ran an investigation in which agents were allegedly prevented from asking about Joe Biden, obstructed in their efforts to pursue questions and compromised by tip offs to the Biden team on planned searches.
It was also the same Weiss who reportedly allowed the statute of limitations to run out on Hunter’s major tax offenses, even though he had the option to extend it.
It was the same Weiss who did not indict on major tax felonies and cut a plea deal that brushed aside a felony gun charge.
It was the same Weiss who inked a widely panned “sweetheart” deal that caused a federal judge to balk and trash a sweeping immunity grant — language that even the prosecutor admitted he had never previously seen in a plea deal.
That is why many asked Garland to “say it ain’t so.”
Charles Stimson via Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal, Heritage Foundation
“Just when you thought the Justice Department’s handling of the Hunter Biden case couldn’t appear more corrupt, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced today that he was appointing Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to be ‘special counsel’ in the Hunter Biden matter. . .”
The appointment comes the same week that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee released bank records showing family members of President Joe Biden have raked in at least $20 million from foreign individuals and entities.
One cautionary note. Democratic apologists for Biden call what Hunter did “selling access,” which most lobbyists in Washington do. That may be smell, but it’s not illegal. US Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) laughingly claimed that Hunter Biden was selling the “illusion of access.” And they continue to discredit House investigators for providing no proof of wrongdoing. But the investigators are far from done. When they’re finished with Hunter, there are brothers Frank and Jim to investigate and possibly other Biden family members.
This is a really bad family.
This may be bribery. That’s against the law, it’s clearly an impeachable offense, and the trail is warm. And the House Oversight Committee is hovering over the target. Thus, Weiss's sudden Friday afternoon appointment as a “special prosecutor” violated Justice Department regulations. A special counsel is supposed to be appointed from outside the government. Weiss not only is a special counsel, but he’s keeping his US Attorney’s job. That reeks. Apparently, There’s no enforcement of Justice Department regulations in this regard, and no punishment is forthcoming. Where’s the Inspector General?
What’s also interesting about the Third Bank Memorandum is its focus not just on the Biden family's pay-for-pay shenanigans but lapses in ethics and disclosure laws that could put America’s national security and interests up for sale. “The Committee is concerned that foreign nationals have sought access and influence by engaging in lucrative business relationships with high-profile political figures’ immediate family members, including members of the Biden family,” the Memorandum said. The Democratic response remains total silence even on that.
The young boy who asked Shoeless Joe Jackson whether or not what he heard was true is better than any Congressional Democrat has asked of Joe, Hunter, or anyone related to the Biden scandal. And instead of admitting malfeasance - if any was committed - Joe Biden has clearly lied already about his knowledge of and direct personal involvement in his son’s financial dealings. Thanks to Bobulinki, Archer, and two courageous IRS whistleblowers, we have plenty of evidence of that.
We have the quid; we await more evidence of the quo as it piles up. House investigators are on the job, even as the Biden-Garland Justice Department obstructs them.
When I was being trained as an investigative reporter in Oklahoma, one lesson stuck with me, follow the money.
When answering questions, Shoeless Joe Biden should show as much integrity as Shoeless Joe Jackson. He has yet to do so. Don’t hold your breath that he will.
You will be the ultimate judge and jury come November 2024. Choose wisely.