That didn't take long. Bloomberg: Biden's son a lobbyist. for Amtrak, Biden uses Amtrak.

[bushmeister0]

Now all of a sudden Bloomberg gets inquisitive.

"Hunter Biden, 38, described as a lawyer in the biography of his father distributed yesterday by the Obama campaign, lobbied for clients that paid his firm at least $380,000 in the first six months of this year, federal records show . . .

Hunter Biden's work for Oldaker, Biden & Belair on behalf of biotech clients Achaogen, Inc., of South San Francisco and Pulmatrix, Inc., of Lexington, Massachusetts, illustrates the quandary posed when legislators have lobbyists within the family. (uh huh, like Cindy McCain and Hensley & Co.)

Hunter Biden also sits on the board of Amtrak, the passenger railroad whose federal subsidies McCain has often criticized. Joe Biden rides home to Wilmington on Amtrak trains every night after work in the Senate. (You know what that means!)

Anthrax Contract

Before Hunter Biden was listed in disclosures as working on the Achaogen account, the company announced in October 2006 that it had received a $24.7 million Pentagon contract to work on anthrax-threat mitigation, according to a press release on the company's Web site.

Achaogen paid Biden's firm $20,000 in the final quarter of 2006, according to filings.

By coincidence, the senator's office in Wilmington had an anthrax scare in October 2006 when an aide opened a letter that had a mysterious powder in it. Authorities later determined it wasn't anthrax."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080824/pl_bloomberg/a6qrvqdtzkv4

"By coincidence" . . . wink, wink.

Maybe, Biden was behind the Anthrax attacks? Probably not but it's always good to throw everything up there and see what sticks!

[enough]

1. I don't think the McCain camp wants to get too far into candidates' CHILDREN's bios.

That bank deal in Arizona doesn't look too good for the younger McCain.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Eh, McCain's son mysteriously stepped down suddenly from a Nevada

bank's board, where he was an auditor--right about the time the bank went badly into the red and was in risk of failure.

[Eurobabe]

3. OMFG, that is just AWFUL Lobbying for public transportation!!!!

Horrible person that Hunter Biden.

:eyes: :eyes:

[malaise]

13. Shout it on the rooftops n/t

[mzmolly]

4. IIRC, he's taken the Amtrak for 30 years?

Apparently Biden knew his son was going to lobby for Amtrak one day, back when his child was in grade school. :sarcasm:

[seemslikeadream]

5. Is that the son who is going to Iraq soon?

[gblady]

6. the other son, I believe...

I think it's Beau that is going to Iraq,
the one who is Delaware AG.

[bushmeister0]

8. No, that's Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III.

I wonder if Hunter also lobbies for the airline he'll be flying over on?

[gateley]

9. No - his other son, Beau, is the one being deployed.

I think Hunter is the younger of the two.

[jwirr]

7. Since I support Amtrak that is not an issue for me. I seriously doubt

that it will be for most people. Especially since there has been full disclosure.

[bushmeister0]

11. yeah, but this sort of thing is designed to make people think

'they're all the same. They all do it' etc.

Like there's any similarity between lobbying for Amtrak and Cindy McCain and her beer empire and his whole bevy of lobbyists at the top levels of gramp's campaign who are on the payrolls of foreign countries.

[ColbertWatcher]

14. " 'they're all the same. They all do it' etc. "

Good point, thank you for posting and welcome to DU!

[seafan]

10. McCain HATES Amtrak. He really doesn't want to open this door.

McCain HATES Amtrak, yet an Amtrak "track foreman" gives him $28,500. Who is this person?

[SmokingJacket]

16. Anyone who hates passenger trains is inhuman.

Like I needed any more proof!

[XemaSab]

12. Big AMTRAK! Oh noes!

:scared:

[notesdev]

15. Part and parcel of the DC culture

While being a lobbyist for Amtrak is about as benign a lobbying job as you can get, the fact remains that it is unethical for the blood relatives of high government officeholders to be lobbying the government for money. You'd have to be a fool to believe that there's any other reason that so many of these relations to officeholders have these jobs other than nepotism, and a de facto bribe to the officeholders through their relatives.

Unfortunately that's how DC does business. It's who you know, and the country can be damned as long as the insiders get theirs. And it's a good example of why the government is completely dysfunctional, serves only a select few in abdication of its reason for existence, and is leading us to ruin.

[Stop Cornyn]

17. In the primary, Biden took the highest percentage of his funding from lobbyists.

[Stop Cornyn]

18. You will hear endlessly how "Biden never profited from his tenure in the Senate;" you will seldom

hear how his family members have profited from Biden's Senatorial career.

I'm disgusted with Obama's VP choice, but I'll hold my nose and vote for him.

[bushmeister0]

19. I don't think Biden is all that bad.

Obama could have done worse I supose.

What worries me is how long it'll take for him to say something stupid like "You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent," again.

It's going to happen, it's just a matter of time. Biden can't shut up.

[Stop Cornyn]

22. Someone like Bayh would have been marginally worse ideologically, but at least Bayh would have made

Obama more viable in Indiana; likewise, I'm no Hillary fan, but at least she brought a constituency to the table. Biden is an egomaniacal gaffe machine much beholden to the consumer debt industry and brings NO demographic group or region to the table.

I'm heartbroken, but there is still not doubt that I'll vote for Obama no matter how disappointed I am.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. Ben Stevens is under investigation for corruption.

(Ted's kid follows in his footsteps!)

Every time the GOP want to bring up "Amtrak-gate", we can bring up Ted Stevens, or Admiral McCombover's kid (like #2 did).

Ooh, I know, what about Pappy Bush's kid, Neil and how he got so much government money with his Ignite! Learning crap, or his involvement in the Silverado Savings & Loan scandal.

Gee, I wonder if there is another prominent political figure also running for president who was involved in a banking scandal at some point in his recent past?

So much for the GOP's "attack the children" tactic.

Nonetheless, I read in another DU thread (can't remember where it is) that Joe Biden (the one who is the pick for VP) has a net worth less than $500,000.

Try as I might, I cannot reconcile what the GOP are hoping shouting "Washington lobbyist" will do with that tiny number.

If Joe Biden (the one who is the pick for VP) was in the pocket of lobbyists, he could probably buy another house or two.

Or seven.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Yah - because Amtrak's influence on the government is just SOOO huge!

:rofl:

[bushmeister0]

23. Oh, you have no idea!

New campaign slogan:

Obama/Biden 08: They'll make the trains run on time!