EDITOR’S NOTE, February 16, 2024: On February 15, Justice Department Counsel David Weiss indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov on two felony counts of making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record for claims made to the bureau. The charges are in relation to June 2020 FD-1023 form alleging President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden received a combined $10 million in a bribery scheme involving the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma.
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Monday was one of those mornings that makes you feel that Americans—depending on their political leanings—are living in parallel universes. While right-leaning outlets like Fox News Channel were gearing up to cover the congressional Oversight Committee hearing of former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer, MSNBC's Morning Joe was clutching their pearls over former President Trump daring to call out the possible corruption during a campaign rally.
Tuning into Fox & Friends this morning, the very first story was this Fox News Alert from anchor Ainsley Earhardt:
We begin with a Fox News alert on two major stories that we're following for you this morning. First, Hunter Biden's former business associate Devon Archer, expected to testify on Capitol Hill this morning at 10 o'clock. In that closed-door testimony, he's expected to reveal Joe Biden's alleged involvement in multiple phone calls regarding foreign business deals when he was the Vice President.
Columnist Will Cain added wondered what many Americans were:
It will be interesting to see if our suspicion is confirmed, some testimony to back up the idea that Joe Biden maybe was sitting right next to Hunter Biden when he threatened the Chinese official. Or that Joe Biden did get on the phone with Ukrainian energy officials.
Meanwhile, over on Morning Joe, the panel trashed Trump for having alleged a corrupt Biden-Ukraine connection. Host Jonathan Lemire and Politico's Sam Stein suggested that Trump didn't learn from the experience of having been impeached over similar allegations he made.
But incredibly, while dismissing Trump's assertions,they failed to even breathe the name of Devon Archer, and the testimony he was expected to offer. Lemire made a passing, innocuous-sounding mention, of Hunter Biden having "once served on the board" of Burisma. No reference to the fact that, as NBC News has reported, Hunter and his company raked in $11 million from Burisma.
And just what did that "service" on the board consist of by the drug-addled Hunter, someone utterly devoid of any expertise in relevant matters? What could Hunter possibly offer Burisma—other than his connection to the Big Guy?
Morning Joe also suppressed the news that the Biden Justice Department made a highly unusual Saturday request to the judge overseeing Archer's conviction in an unrelated case to expedite his sentencing and jailing; presumably a tactic intended to pressure Archer to curb his enthusiasm for anti-Biden testimony.
Morning Joe suppressing any mention of Devon Archer's expected testimony to a House committee today tying Joe Biden to Hunter Biden's influence-peddling deals was sponsored in part by Liberty Mutual.
Here are the transcripts, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel
Fox & Friends
7/31/23
6:00 am EDTAINSLEY EARHARDT: We begin with a Fox News alert on two major stories that we're following for you this morning. First, Hunter Biden's former business associate Devon Archer, expected to testify on Capitol Hill this morning at 10 o'clock. In that closed-door testimony, he's expected to reveal that Joe Biden's alleged involvement in multiple phone calls regarding foreign business deals when he was the Vice President.
. . .
WILL CAIN: It will be fascinating to see what gets advanced today at the House Oversight Committee with Devon Archer. Because, closed-door testimony, we expect that the transcript will be released at some point. That starts, by the way, at 10:00 am Eastern time.
It's, it's on one hand, a story that he expect some, and it'll be interesting to see if our suspicion is confirmed, some testimony to, to back up the idea that Joe Biden maybe was sitting right next to Hunter Biden when he threatened the Chinese official. Or that Joe Biden did get on the phone with Ukrainian energy officials.
EARHARDT: Speaker phone.
CAIN: It's, it's the potential for first-hand testimony that confirms many of our suspicions.
. . .
MSNBC
Morning Joe
7/31/23
6:17 am EDTJONATHAN LEMIRE: Trump had the big crowd in Iowa, and another one at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania over the weekend. And he's continuing to suggest, Trump is, that the Bidens were involved in a bribery scheme with Burisma. You'll recall, that's the Ukraine energy company where Hunter Biden once served on the board.
And, on Saturday, at that Erie, Pennsylvania rally, Trump demanded that further military aid to Ukraine be withheld until the Biden administration turns over everything related to the Biden family's business dealings.
DONALD TRUMP: Joe Biden is compromised. He's dragging us into a global conflict on behalf of the very same country, Ukraine, that apparently paid his family all of these millions of dollars.
In light of this information, the U.S. Congress should refuse to authorize a single additional payment of our depleted stockpiles. But the weapon stockpiles to Ukraine until the FBI, DoJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime family's corrupt business dealings. We have to know, and the public deserves to know.
In addition, Congress should immediately vote to block Joe Biden's recent call-up of reserve forces. We're sending our troops over to Europe to fight. We're sending ships to fuel this escalating conflict. Not a single American life should be put at risk because crooked Joe Biden has been illegally paid off. He's been paid off. This is a corrupt president.
LEMIRE: Hang on. So Donald Trump is suggesting the U.S. withhold military aid unless Ukraine turns over information about the Bidens. Doesn't that sound extraordinarily familiar? You'll recall that Trump was impeached the first time for his attempts to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election, including—wait for it—withholding aid to Ukraine in exchange for information on Joe Biden.
Sam Stein, we have traveled back in time, apparently, and we should note, first of all, one bit of fact-checking, that there are not American soldiers being sent to fight in Europe. That's not -- what Trump said there -- is not correct.
But here he is doing -- calling for exactly what got him impeached the first time. Sam, does anything matter anymore?
SAM STEIN: Jonathan, time is a flat circle. Clearly. We are in the loop here. I'm not surprised that Trump was not chastened by his first impeachment. It was a perfect phone call. This will be branded a perfect speech. And that's just how he rolls.
