Hunter Biden Laptop Controversy

Gern Blansten

Well played. Can't wait for Comer and Gym Jordan to flop all over themselves.

Merkin Baller

“Washington, D.C. (November 28, 2023)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, released the following statement after Chairman Comer rejected Hunter Biden’s request to testify before the Committee in a public hearing:

“Let me get this straight.  After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose?  What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it.  After the miserable failure of their impeachment hearing in September, Chairman Comer has now apparently decided to avoid all Committee hearings where the public can actually see for itself the logical, rhetorical and factual contortions they have tied themselves up in.  The evidence has shown time and again President Biden has committed no wrongdoing, much less an impeachable offense.  Chairman Comer’s insistence that Hunter Biden’s interview should happen behind closed doors proves it once again.  What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth.”  

https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-raskin-s-statement-on-chairman-comer-s-rejection-of-hunter-biden

mickeyrat

hmm. interesting little tidbit if true.  

https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1729574353476739100?t=Sb2XWsNEa8ZUGuoVxhkHAw&s=19

Merkin Baller

mickeyrat said:

hmm. interesting little tidbit if true.  

https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1729574353476739100?t=Sb2XWsNEa8ZUGuoVxhkHAw&s=19

Hold up... the FBI acknowledged the laptop exists? 

Take that, Libz

mace1229

mickeyrat said:

hmm. interesting little tidbit if true.  

https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1729574353476739100?t=Sb2XWsNEa8ZUGuoVxhkHAw&s=19

I assume this is implying the hard drive was planted after the fact?

 This poses a few questions:

First question that comes to mind is, wouldn't there be a more accurate way to determine manufacture date? Most things like that have manufacture date somewhere on it, so how reliable is that compared to a warranty period?

Second, he brought the computer n for repairs. Could they have just replaced the drive as part of the repair? If the warranty information is accurate, the timing seems to make sense, it was just a few days after he brought it in, not when it was in the hands of Rudy. I don't know what repairs he needed, but it doesn't seem unreasonable that you bring a broken compute into a repair shop and 5 days later it has a new hard drive.

Hunter has already admitted the computer is his. At least I assume suing Rudy and the shop owner for releasing his computer comes with an admission of it being his. So is this implying they (the computer guy or Rudy) just switched out the hard drive with planted "evidence"? Seems a lot easier to just upload content instead of  replacing the whole hard drive, if that's what they wanted to do. 

So it circles back to my first question, how accurate is a warranty period in determining manufacture date? Is there not any other method the confirm this? And any contents that they believe was not on the original computer? Seems like there should be.

Gern Blansten

The info is confusing...the original hard drive was damaged and the data copied to a different drive. I'm not sure if that what the guy above is referring to. But there was all kinds of bs going on with the data. What the FBI received was likely the original drive and the copy that the computer guy was able to extract. The issue is that data was added (to the additional copies kept by the computer guy) AFTER the date that the FBI received it.

In their examinations, Green and Williams found evidence that people other than Hunter Biden had accessed the drive and written files to it, both before and after the initial stories in the New York Post and long after the laptop itself had been turned over to the FBI.

The Juggler

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Gern Blansten

The Juggler said:

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Same...if you can't keep track of your goddamn laptop you just can't be POTUS

Merkin Baller

The Juggler said:

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Yeah, but bro... the lap top exists... explain THAT. 

The Juggler

Merkin Baller said:

The Juggler said:

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Yeah, but bro... the lap top exists... explain THAT. 

Definitely a smoking gun. I can see why he would be afraid to testify in a public hearing about it.....oh, no....actually, wait a minute...

Merkin Baller

The Juggler said:

Merkin Baller said:

The Juggler said:

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Yeah, but bro... the lap top exists... explain THAT. 

Definitely a smoking gun. I can see why he would be afraid to testify in a public hearing about it.....oh, no....actually, wait a minute...

Next thing you'll tell me Giuliani isn't trustworthy and that his word is no good. 

Halifax2TheMax

But have you heard about the missing hard drive warranty?

The Juggler

Merkin Baller said:

The Juggler said:

Merkin Baller said:

The Juggler said:

I'll tell you this, no matter if the hard drive was manipulated or not: I will NOT be voting for Hunter Biden next year. YOU can take that to the BANK. 

Yeah, but bro... the lap top exists... explain THAT. 

Definitely a smoking gun. I can see why he would be afraid to testify in a public hearing about it.....oh, no....actually, wait a minute...

Next thing you'll tell me Giuliani isn't trustworthy and that his word is no good. 

Oh my goodness it's all falling apart

Merkin Baller

. 

Halifax2TheMax

Q, is that you?

mickeyrat

https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-tax-charges-special-counsel-75b2aa05f247535677454ff2dfa7c71f   Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe

 

Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

Just now

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden's son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election.

The new charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — are in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018. They come after the implosion of a plea deal over the summer that would have spared him jail time.

Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” special counsel David Weiss said in a statement. The charges are centered on at least $1.4 million in taxes Hunter Biden owed during between 2016 and 2019, a period where he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. The back taxes have since been paid.

If convicted, Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years in prison. The special counsel probe remains open, Weiss said.

---

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In a fiery response, defense attorney Abbe Lowell accused Weiss of “bowing to Republican pressure" in the case.

“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought," Lowell said in a statement.

The White House declined to comment on Thursday’s indictment, referring questions to the Justice Department or Hunter Biden’s personal representatives.

The charging documents filed in California, where he lives, details spending on everything from drugs and girlfriends to luxury hotels and exotic cars, “in short, everything but his taxes," prosecutor Leo Wise wrote.

The indictment comes as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, claiming he was engaged in an influence-peddling scheme with his son. The House is expected to vote next week on formally authorizing the inquiry.

No evidence has emerged so far to prove that Joe Biden, in his current or previous office, abused his role or accepted bribes, though questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business.

The criminal investigation led by Weiss has been open since 2018, and was expected to wind down with the plea deal that Hunter Biden had planned to strike with prosecutors over the summer. He would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax evasion charges and would have entered a separate agreement on the gun charge, getting two years of probation rather than jail time.

It was pilloried as a “sweetheart deal” by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who is facing criminal charges in multiple cases.

The agreement also contained immunity provisions, and defense attorneys have argued that they remain in force since that part of the agreement was signed by a prosecutor before the deal was scrapped.

Prosecutors disagree, pointing out the documents weren’t signed by a judge and are invalid.

After the deal fell apart, prosecutors filed three federal gun charges alleging that Hunter Biden had lied about his drug use to buy a gun that he kept for 11 days in 2018. Federal law bans gun possession by “habitual drug users,” though the measure is seldom seen as a stand-alone charge and has been called into question by a federal appeals court.

The defense is planning to push next week for dismissal of the “unprecedented and unconstitutional” gun charges, Lowell said.

Hunter Biden’s longstanding struggle with substance abuse had worsened during that period after the death of his brother Beau Biden in 2015, prosecutors wrote in a draft plea agreement filed in court in Delaware.

He still made “substantial income” in 2017 and 2018, including $2.6 million in business and consulting fees from a company he formed with the CEOs of a Chinese business conglomerate and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, but did not pay his taxes on a total of about $4 million in personal income during that period, prosecutors said in the scuttled Delaware plea agreement.

He did eventually file his taxes in 2020 and the back taxes were paid by a “third party” the following year, prosecutors said.

Halifax2TheMax

Hunter the Brandon crime wave indicted in CA for tax evasion, among other things. But have you heard about his laptop? Oh boy!

gimmesometruth27

Halifax2TheMax said:

Hunter the Brandon crime wave indicted in CA for tax evasion, among other things. But have you heard about his laptop? Oh boy!

now hunter biden has completely lost my vote. for real.

Gern Blansten

Hunter did well today...he's coming out swinging

mickeyrat

https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-investigation-impeachment-0226bb1041d7b5c10bc8c33e5d98b5e0   Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge

 

Hunter Biden defies Republican subpoena in visit to the Capitol, risking contempt of Congress charge

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and COLLEEN LONG

2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings, insisting outside the U.S. Capitol that he will only testify in public.

In a rare public statement, the Democratic president’s son slammed a GOP subpoena requesting closed-door testimony, saying it could be manipulated.

“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has said Republicans expect “full cooperation” with the private deposition. Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters later Wednesday that they will begin looking at contempt of Congress proceedings in response to Hunter Biden's lack of cooperation.

"He just got into more trouble today,” Comer said.

For months, Republicans have been pursuing an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie President Joe Biden to his son Hunter's business dealings. So far, they have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing.

Democrats have been united against the Republican impeachment push, saying it's “an illegitimate exercise” merely meant to distract from GOP chaos and dysfunction.

“We are at a remarkable juncture for the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. “Because this is an impeachment inquiry where no one has been able to define what criminal or constitutional offense they’re looking for.”

But questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden family’s international business, and lawmakers insist their evidence paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.

“There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen," Hunter Biden said.

Separately, Hunter Biden is facing criminal charges in two states from a special counsel overseeing a long-running investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss also filed new charges and nine new tax counts last week, alleging he schemed to avoid paying about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.

Later Wednesday, the House is expected to authorize the impeachment inquiry into the president. House Republicans are hoping a vote to formalize their investigation will help their legal standing when enforcing subpoenas to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members.

“Mr. Biden’s counsel and the White House have both argued that the reason he couldn’t come for a deposition was because there wasn’t a formal vote for an impeachment inquiry,” Jordan told reporters. “Well, that’s going to happen in a few hours.”

He added, “And when that happens, we’ll see what their excuse is then.”

The White House has chalked the whole process up as a “partisan smear campaign” that Republicans are pushing ahead with “despite the fact that members of their own party have admitted there is no evidence to support impeaching President Biden.”

“If they press onwards with this baseless fishing expedition, it only proves how divorced from reality this sham investigation is, and will come at the expense of meaningful work to actually address the issues the American people care about, like lowering costs, creating jobs, and strengthening our health care,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a recent statement.

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.