Russian Oligarchs? What About the American Oligarchs?

 Depending upon which news source you follow, we hear a lot these days about Russian oligarchs. You know, the ones whose yachts we are seizing around the world, the ones behind Putin. These are the corrupt millionaires and billionaires who have made their fortunes in the post-Soviet era. They are some of the chief targets of the sanctions that the US and Europe are imposing against Russia in the face of this monstrous invasion of Ukraine, a country that just wants to be free and independent. I get it. I get all of it. I say, damn all of them.

But what about the American oligarchs?

I'm not talking about every rich and influential American. I am talking about the oligarchs who have made their fortunes in the world of politics and geo-political relations just as much as many of those Russian oligarchs. Do you want an example? How about the Biden family?

Here we have a sitting president in Joe Biden, who has finally reached the peak of his profession after  5 decades in Washington. Ironically, he became president while drifting into senility, a fact everyone but the mainstream press can see plainly before their eyes.

But Joe Biden's senility is not the issue here. It is his corruption and the corruption of his family.

I always knew from watching Joe Biden over the decades that he was an egotistical empty suit who never accomplished anything of significance aside from rising to the top like the proverbial turd, thanks to his seniority. Biden always thought he was the smartest guy in the room, but it turns out he isn't very bright. But it is in the last few years that we have learned of Joe Biden's corruption and how he has amassed a fortune through his political contacts and positions.

That takes us to his son, Hunter Biden, a drug-addicted "businessman" who has used his family connections to make millions of dollars in questionable dealings with questionable international partners in places like Russia, China, and Ukraine. Hunter Biden and his father are what I would call oligarchs.

Remember when Hunter accompanied his then-vice president dad to China on some kind of economic meeting and came back with a multi-million dollar business deal? Currently, Hunter Biden has been linked to multi-million dollar business deals with Chinese entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military. More specifically, Hunter arranged a deal with the Chinese energy company, CEFC, while Joe was vice president in 2016. CEFC is reportedly connected directly to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military. 

Remember when Hunter suddenly showed up on the board of directors of Burisma, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, which was under investigation by the chief prosecutor in Ukraine for corruption? He was making something in excess of $50,000 a month even though he had no experience with Ukraine and had no experience or knowledge in the field of energy. But his father was vice president. So when Joe Biden went to Ukraine, he demanded the president of the country fire the chief prosecutor or Ukraine would lose out on a big US loan. Voila! It was done. How do we know all that? Not through rumor or hearsay, but from Joe Biden himself bragging about it in a speech, which is readily available on the internet. The only thing he left out of his account was his son's role in the story. 

But Hunter, being the careless, drug-addicted con man that he is, left a laptop at a shop he had left for repair and forgot to pick it up. It has now been turned over to the custody of the FBI, which may or may not be a good thing. The laptop reportedly contains a treasure trove of Hunter dealings, emails, and references to "the Big Guy", who is almost certainly Joe Biden himself. The president's brother, Jim, apparently also an entrepreneur of sorts, is also mentioned prominently on the laptop. Rumors abound that the US Attorney's Office in Delaware is moving very quickly with a grand jury and that Hunter may be facing a tax-related indictment. Many sources are reporting this week that a grand jury witness was asked to identify "the Big Guy". I should note here that grand jury testimony is sealed and such information should not be leaking out-but apparently, it is.

So here is the question: Keep in mind Joe Biden is the president, and he runs the Justice Department through his attorney general, Merrick Garland, who at this point, seems to be willing to follow the White House program. The President also has Congress on his side through Democrat majorities in both houses. What will the US Attorney's Office in Delaware do with this case? Will it be silently closed with no indictments? Will there be a James Comey-like press conference to announce that no reasonable prosecutor would go forward with this case? I don't know, and for all I know, that may turn out to be the correct decision if the evidence is lacking. I do feel, however, that this case cries out for an independent special prosecutor not beholden to the White House. 

If Hunter Biden has engaged in corrupt business practices, the name of Joe Biden cannot be far behind. One of the messages that reportedly is on Hunter's laptop speaks of the distribution of (Chinese) payments, including "10% held by 'H' for 'the big guy". 

And where has our watchdog mainstream press been while all this is going on? Alas, there is no Woodward-Bernstein team on the case. The scandal has been mostly ignored by papers like the NY Times and Washington Post, who dismissed it all as "Russian disinformation". But just recently, both of the above papers have been forced to admit that the reports of Hunter's laptop have, indeed, been true-though hastening to add that there is no evidence tying Joe Biden to the whole mess. There is speculation that these two flagship newspapers may have learned that something is, indeed, going to come out of the Delaware investigation, and they are trying to get ahead of the story. Again, I don't know. But that is our American news media....speaking of American oligarchs.

Though not yet proven in a court of law, it appears to this writer that the Biden family is a classic example of influence peddling and taking advantage of high government office to make lucrative business deals with entities in countries like China and Russia, deals that are questionable at best and corrupt at worst and against the interests of the United States. And of course, there is always the tax issue, which is reportedly a focus of the Delaware investigation.

Talk about Russian oligarchs is fair. It is evident that they have done great damage to Russia and others. But while we are talking about oligarchs, what about the Biden family. Are they not oligarchs?