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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Hunter Biden, who is facing three federal gun charges and increasing scrutiny from Congress, is using his history of drug addiction to attack his political opponents.
The younger Biden wrote an op-ed in USA Today on Thursday, accusing his political adversaries of weaponizing his drug addiction to destroy his reputation and, by extension, his father, President Joe Biden.
“I don’t know a family that hasn’t been impacted in some way by addiction. What is distinct about my situation is that I’m the son of the president of the United States,” Hunter Biden wrote.
“My struggles and my mistakes have been fodder for a vile and sustained disinformation campaign against him, and an all-out annihilation of my reputation through high-pitched but fruitless congressional investigations and, more recently, criminal charges for possessing an unloaded gun for 11 days five years ago – charges that appear to be the first-ever of their kind brought in the history of Delaware,” Biden added.
A Congressional investigation has uncovered over $24 million earned by the Bidens and their Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, Romanian, and Kazakh business associates. In the wake of the initial impeachment inquiry hearing into his father, House Oversight Committee investigators subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s personal and business bank records in September. Chairman James Comer was in charge of the investigation.
In addition, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, IRS whistleblowers, testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and June, respectively, alleging special treatment by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials on the Hunter Biden case.
To back up the claims made by the whistleblower, the Ways and Means Committee released 700 pages of supporting evidence in September. Key individuals involved in the investigation who testified before Congress have confirmed additional details of Shapley and Ziegler’s testimony.
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“It is already a near-impossible decision for addicts to get sober, and the avalanche of negativity and assault of my personal privacy may only make it harder for those considering it,” writes Hunter Biden.https://t.co/0XSzHo0125
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 2, 2023
New information into how the FBI undermined its confidential human sources and prevented investigative activity surrounding Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine was revealed thanks to congressional oversight by the House Judiciary Committee and Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Bank records show that despite Hunter Biden’s lack of experience with Ukraine and the energy industry, Ukrainian energy firm Burisma paid him more than $80,000 per month to sit on the company’s board.
In September, the federal government indicted Hunter Biden on three gun charges related to his purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver in Delaware in 2018. At the time, he was struggling with drug addiction.
Two of the gun charges are based on alleged false statements he made about his drug addiction when he purchased the firearm, and the third charge leveled against him is for allegedly possessing the gun while he was addicted to illicit drugs, the indictment states.
The gun charges against Hunter Biden, who pleaded not guilty in October, carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, dished on their marriage in a tell-all memoir called, “If We Break.”
“Biden and Buhle were married for 24 years before filing for divorce, and naturally, there was some media interest given President Joe Biden’s prominent role in American politics. Biden and Buhle met in 1992 and tied the knot in 1993. By 2017, they were getting divorced after being separated for two years. The couple had three daughters, and in the beginning, they were madly in love. Now, Biden is married to Melissa Cohen, a South African filmmaker, and Buhle is taking back her life,” The List reported.
Buhle was questioned about Hunter Biden’s financial situation and raised eyebrows when she claimed to have never been involved in any of her or Biden’s financial dealings.
She claimed that Biden handled all of their finances and that she had no idea what was going on. She thought ignorance was bliss at the time, and she held that belief throughout their marriage.
Now, some of what Kathleen Buhle revealed is at the center of Hunter Biden being put under investigation.
“Divorce lawyers for Hunter Biden and his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle were aware of money hitting Hunter’s bank account from a Romania deal, emails show, appearing to contradict Buhle’s previous claims she had her ‘head buried in the sand’ when it came to Hunter’s finances,” it was reported.
James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Thursday that fresh bank records his panel anticipates obtaining would show that the Biden family collected as much as $30 million from foreigners.
“We have more bank records coming in, we’re going to exceed $10 million this week. And I think we’ll get up to between $20 and 30 million,” Comer said when asked by Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo about how much money the committee has been able to identify as being obtained by President Biden’s family members from overseas sources.
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“Comer has identified nine members of the Biden clan — including first son Hunter Biden, the president’s brother James Biden, his brother’s wife, Sara Biden, the widow of the president’s late son, Hallie Biden, Hunter’s current wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, and Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle — as having allegedly received foreign income,” the New York Post reported.
The panel obtained the records from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, and Cathay Bank after Comer issued subpoenas.
“We’re going to continue to follow the money,” Comer vowed. “This is going to be hard for Joe Biden to explain,” he said of the evidence of influence-peddling his committee has uncovered.
Comer provided an update late last month about the panel’s ongoing probes into the president and his family regarding alleged influence-peddling schemes, saying that GOP investigators have managed to obtain a wealth of new information involving monetary transfers from several more countries.