Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

question everything

(47,549 posts)
Sat Jan 18, 2020, 01:35 PM Jan 2020

Smerconish said that the Rs underestimate Hunter Biden

Star apparently told the Foxes that, yes, Bolton should appear and that as a "counterbalance" the Rs will want Biden. (Or something like that). Of course, we all know that Biden's testimony is not relevant but still, Smerconish added, he went to Georgetown and to Yale and he had a good appearance on ABC, I think.

So if they are going to subpoena him he should be fine.

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Smerconish said that the Rs underestimate Hunter Biden (Original Post) question everything Jan 2020 OP
Yeah I heard that too...that it will backfire on them. He's good looking, smart, articulate UniteFightBack Jan 2020 #1
Plus he didn't actually do anything wrong. comradebillyboy Jan 2020 #2
And they want to call Schiff??? I say go right ahead he will lay you out. nt UniteFightBack Jan 2020 #4
Having Devin Nunes appear would be more relevant ... IggleDuer Jan 2020 #3
Part of me would like to see Hunter Biden make them look foolish Buckeyeblue Jan 2020 #5
The long-awaited defense of Hunter Biden Gothmog Jan 2020 #6
 

UniteFightBack

(8,231 posts)
1. Yeah I heard that too...that it will backfire on them. He's good looking, smart, articulate
Sat Jan 18, 2020, 01:44 PM
Jan 2020

and his testimony has no relevance in the case.

IggleDuer

(964 posts)
3. Having Devin Nunes appear would be more relevant ...
Sat Jan 18, 2020, 01:51 PM
Jan 2020

... to finding out about the corruption in the WH. On second thought, even his cow would be more relevant.

Buckeyeblue

(5,504 posts)
5. Part of me would like to see Hunter Biden make them look foolish
Sat Jan 18, 2020, 03:03 PM
Jan 2020

But I would worry that even calling him as a witness adds credibility to what Trump did.

Gothmog

(145,718 posts)
6. The long-awaited defense of Hunter Biden
Sat Jan 18, 2020, 06:38 PM
Jan 2020

Here are some facts including that the fact that Hunter was a biglaw firm that was advising this company https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/5/1907833/-The-long-awaited-defense-of-Hunter-Biden

Following Paradigm, Biden continued working as a lobbyist for several years and was appointed to the board of Amtrak by President George W. Bush. He had also been the vice chairman of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. He then founded a private equity firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, in 2009, which later partnered with the Chinese government to form yet another equity firm, called BHR, where he held an unpaid board position. Trump likes to argue that Biden took “tons of money” from China, but again—this position was unpaid.
He ended his lobbying career and left the Amtrak board as his father became vice president, then started another consulting firm in 2008, as noted by Newsweek.

In 2008, Hunter Biden also founded Seneca Global Advisors, a consulting firm that helps companies expand into global markets. His earnings from Rosemont Seneca and Seneca Global Advisors are not publicly available.

Biden then joined the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which features superstar lawyer David Boies as its primary partner and chairman. While at Boies Schiller, Biden was involved in advising Burisma, which was a client at the time being personally handled by Biden, who was advising them on corporate reform, according to Hunter Biden’s lawyer, George Mesires:

In April 2014, Hunter was asked to join the board of Burisma, the largest independent natural gas producer in Ukraine. At the time, Hunter was of counsel with Boies Schiller Flexner LLP [fn 1] (“Boies Schiller”), a major U.S. law firm, and was advising Burisma on its corporate reform initiatives, an important aspect of fueling Burisma’s international growth and diversity. Vibrant energy production, particularly natural gas, was central to Ukraine’s independence and to stemming the tide of Vladimir Putin’s attack on the principles of a democratic Europe.

To further its goals of independence, Burisma sought to adopt standards and practices traditionally employed by Western companies. At Hunter’s urging, Boies Schiller engaged Nardello & Co., a leading global investigative firm, to assess, among other things, Burisma’s corporate structure and governance practices. Burisma agreed to pay the legal expenses of Boies Schiller to support Hunter in developing corporate reform initiatives.

Because of Burisma’s stated commitment to corporate best practices, it was able to attract well-qualified board members, including the former president of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, a leading advocate of democratic principles in the region. President Kwasniewski, familiar with Hunter’s work on behalf of Burisma, recommended that Hunter join the board.

Again, this view is consistent that Biden ultimately joined by the board for Burisma Holdings to help it with its efforts regarding “corporate governance,” as noted by Wikipedia.

In the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Mykola Zlochevsky faced a money laundering investigation,[33][34] and his company Burisma Holdings, the largest natural gas producer in Ukraine,[14] assembled a "high-profile international board" in response.[35][34] Biden, then an attorney with Boies Schiller Flexner, was hired to help Burisma with corporate governance best practices, and a consulting firm in which Biden is a partner was also retained by Burisma.[36][37][38] Chris Heinz, John Kerry's stepson, opposed his partners Devon Archer and Hunter Biden joining the board in 2014 due to the reputational risk.[34] Among those who joined the board of directors in April 2014 were Biden, Archer and former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski.[39] Biden served on the board of Burisma until his term expired in April 2019,[40] receiving compensation of up to $50,000 per month in some months.[37][41]

So it appears that Biden was placed on the board of Burisma as part of its effort to “clean up” its practices after the allegations of money laundering by Zlochevsky, which had previously occurred in 2012. Biden took a pay cut to be on the board compared to what he’d earned as an investment banker, although it may have been an upgrade compared to what he likely earned at Boies Schiller. Biden had nothing to do with the investigation of Zlochevsky and was never investigated himself.

Being on the board of AMTRACK and being with the biglaw firm that was advising this company are sufficient qualifications for Hunter to be appointed on the board.
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Smerconish said that the ...