Trump Statistics

[Rideback]

Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post did a breakdown of how Comer misrepresents the Hunter Biden case. And of course I'd prefer to see Hunter BIden be a squeeky clean actor in this but he's not, he's also not the conduit for a larger Biden family scheme.

“The Committee has identified over 20 companies affiliated with certain Biden family members and their business associates.”

— Majority staff of the House Oversight Committee, Second Bank Records memorandum, released May 10

“We’ve identified about 20-plus shell companies that the Bidens have created to launder the money they were receiving from foreign nationals down to their personal bank account.”

— Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, interview on Fox Business, May 11

“The Committee has now identified over $20 million in payments from foreign sources to the Biden family and their business associates.”

— Majority staff of the House Oversight Committee, Third Bank Records memorandum, released Aug. 9

“The Biden family received over $20 million from our enemies around the world. What did they do to receive the money?”

ADVERTISING


— Comer, interview on Newsmax, Aug. 10

The House Oversight Committee, led by Comer, has been investigating business dealings of President Biden’s son, Hunter, and other family members — and by extension unverified allegations that the president was involved in his son’s business as well. The committee has obtained thousands of bank records, and the Republican staff has issued three memorandums summarizing some of the findings.

The memos are written in a partisan manner — ignoring or playing down contrary information — but an interesting pattern has emerged. The memos themselves have careful language that is often hedged. Then Comer and other GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), go on Twitter or speak to conservative media using hyperbolic language that goes well beyond what the memos say. Over time, the reporting on the memos in conservative media becomes untethered from the documentation in the reports.


For instance, the second staff memo never says that Hunter Biden used “shell” companies — a term often associated with shady or illegal activity, even though a shell company is a legitimate entity. Comer once described such an entity as “a fake company … they don’t make anything. They don’t produce anything. They don’t provide a good or service.” He is not wrong about many shell companies, but the memo lists real companies, with active websites and real business functions. (The third staff memo refers to just one “shell” company, which we will describe later.)

As for the $20 million in payments, Comer and other Republicans invoke this figure often. A close reading of the memos, however, finds that only about $7 million can be directly attributed to Biden family members, mostly Hunter, while the rest went to “associates,” according to the memos. Yet Comer and other lawmakers misleadingly suggest all of the money went to the Biden family or, as some label it, “the Biden crime family.” No evidence has emerged that any of these funds can be traced to Joe Biden himself.

Let’s detail the difference between the memos and the rhetoric.

‘Shell’ companies
Comer often suggests that the Biden family used these so-called shell companies to launder money; in his telling, such companies served no legitimate function. But that claim is undercut by the list of 21 companies that appear in the second staff memo.


Virtually all of the companies (many of which now are defunct) had legitimate business interests. Others had clearly identified business investments. Digging through the records, we find only three whose business purpose remains vague; one (Rosemont Seneca Global Risk Services, LLC) may not even be related to Hunter Biden, according to an email found in Hunter Biden’s laptop. The memos do not list any payments that flowed through these three companies.

Companies founded by Hunter Biden

Seneca Global Advisors was a boutique consulting firm that Hunter Biden founded in 2008 to help small and midsize companies expand into markets in the U.S. and other countries, according to a 2019 interview he gave to the New Yorker. OpenSecrets.org identifies it as “a lobbying firm that was hired by 9 clients in 2008, for a total amount of $210,000.” All of the clients are identified.
Owasco PC was essentially Hunter Biden’s law firm and did legal work. One memo acknowledges it is “a professional corporation.” The memo also lists an Owasco LLC and Skaneateles, LLC, two of the companies whose purpose remains vague. Hunter Biden named his personal LLCs, used to handle payments like payroll, after towns in New York’s Finger Lakes region, where his mother was born, according to a former business partner.
Companies in partnership with Hunter Biden

Rosemont Seneca Partners, founded in 2009 by Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and Christopher Heinz. The third staff memo identifies it as “central to the Bidens’ later business ventures,” confirming that it is not a shell company. Many of the other supposed shell companies are offshoots of this firm.
Rosemont Seneca Advisors in 2017 had investment projects in West Africa and a 5 percent stake in Harves Amusement Parks and ownership in Harves Sports and Entertainment, both in China. A 2011 email in Hunter Biden’s laptop suggests most of his business was done through this entity.
Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners (RSTP) still exists under a different name, Pilot Growth Equity. As we have previously reported, Rosemont Seneca Partners had a stake in RSTP, which invested in emerging technology companies. In 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that Hunter Biden had been discharged that February from the Navy Reserve after testing positive for cocaine use. Biden had not disclosed the discharge to RSTP members and so in early 2015 he was eased out of the firm, which has since rebranded itself as Pilot Growth Equity and declined to comment.
RSTP II Alpha and RSTP II Bravo were related venture capital funds that registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The investments included a genetics testing company called Counsyl, according to a 2014 Forbes article.
Rosemont Seneca Bohai, created in 2014 to invest in a Chinese fund generally known as BHR Partners, was a replacement vehicle for Rosemont Seneca Thornton, LLC, mentioned below.
RSP Holdings is described in an SEC document as the parent company of RSP Investments, which aimed to “provide private placement services, hedge fund marketing and capital introduction services.” The memo does not mention RSP Investments but has a listing for Rosemont Seneca Principal Investments, presumably the same company.
Hudson West III and Hudson West IV were involved in an energy investment deal with CEFC China Energy, a Chinese energy conglomerate. Comer has decried the deal as “a scheme to try to get China to buy liquefied natural gas,” indicating he knows these are not shall companies.
Companies with a Hunter Biden connection

Rosemont Realty LLC, founded in 1991. Hunter Biden was not on the Rosemont Realty management team but was listed as part of the board of advisers of the firm, which was managed by Devon Archer. This was a substantial company; in 2013, its website showed it owned properties in 25 states, including Comer’s home state of Kentucky. Archer was recently interviewed by the Oversight Committee and he tried to explain that a wire transfer of $3.5 million from Elena Baturina, a Russian billionaire, that interested the committee was part of a $120 million investment with Rosemont Realty that was unrelated to Hunter Biden. “Rosemont Realty was completely out of his, kind of, portfolio,” Archer said.
Lion Hall Group and JBB SR are associated with Joe Biden’s brother James Biden. Lion Hall is a consulting group, according to a Washington Post investigation, while JBB SR has been described in Ben Schreckinger’s 2021 book “The Bidens” as managing two businesses that sold medical and agricultural products. James Biden hung up the phone when the Fact Checker identified himself.
Robinson Walker LLC, founded in 2008 by John Robinson “Rob” Walker, and CEFC Infrastructure Investment, once a subsidy of a Chinese energy company, are not Biden family companies at all but are listed because they transferred funds to Biden family members. Walker, who at one point was a managing director of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, could not be reached for comment.
One named ‘shell’ company

Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC is the one company specifically named in a staff memo as a shell company. As we have reported, this entity was created in 2013 to invest in BHR Partners, the Chinese fund. But almost as soon as Rosemont Seneca Thornton was created, the partners decided to dissolve it, according to a person with access to the board minutes. Thornton Group, one of the investors, was run by Jim Bulger, who brought expertise in investing in China. But the original structure had added unexpected regulatory burdens to Thornton, and so Bulger’s lawyers advised that the group split up, this person said. Archer, in his interview, confirmed this to committee investigators, saying the creation of the LLC was “a mistake.”


We’d previously reported that Archer kept the vehicle alive for his own real estate business, without telling Hunter Biden or Bulger, according to two people knowledgeable about Archer’s activities. After a Senate report alleged that Rosemont Seneca Thornton received a $3.5 million payment from Baturina, Archer told Bulger that he had used Rosemont Seneca Thornton to transfer funds from Baturina to purchase real estate in Brooklyn, according to a participant in the conversation.


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In his congressional interview, Archer said: “I don’t know what the specifics of the wire were, but it was — quite frankly, it was not supposed to go there, but that’s where it went.” The committee staff allege that some of the $3.5 million went to fund the replacement vehicle for the Chinese investment. Archer, in his interview, said he did not know if that was the case, but he insisted that Baturina was a Rosemont Realty client not connected to Hunter Biden. The staff memo, released after the Archer interview, ignores that comment.

$20 million from foreign sources
Now let’s look at the money flow. The House Oversight Committee memos are written in a way that makes it difficult to follow the exact path, keeping the focus on the top-line numbers. We sought comment from Comer’s staff to see if our calculations were correct, but did not get a response.


With those caveats in mind, here’s how the payments appear to break down.

$10 million in Chinese payments (at least $3.6 million to Bidens, mostly Hunter). The staff memos are a bit vague but discuss in particular two transactions.

The memos report a $3 million transfer in 2017 from a Shanghai-based company (State Energy HK Limited) to Robinson Walker LLC, the firm mentioned above as associated with Rob Walker, a former Clinton administration official and business associate of Hunter Biden’s. Then, over the next three months, about $1 million was transferred from Robinson Walker to “Biden family members,” including Hunter’s uncle James and widowed sister-in-law Hallie, and another $1 million to James Gilliar, another Hunter Biden business partner. (Hallie Biden could not be reached for comment.)


The memos also discuss $3 million in transfers in 2015 and 2016 from State Energy HK to the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development, a public policy think tank associated with Vuk Jeremic, a former Serbian politician and United Nations official. Jeremic had a business relationship with Hunter Biden.

Separately (and not mentioned in the staff memos), Hunter Biden said in federal court last month that he had received a total of about $2.6 million in 2017 and 2018 for the business transactions between Hudson West and CEFC, the Chinese energy company. So we will add those amounts to the total in the interest of being complete.

$6.5 million from Ukrainian energy firm Burisma ($2.6 million to Hunter Biden). The staff memo relies on Internal Revenue Service whistleblower testimony that “Burisma paid to everyone involved” $6.5 million, of which $2.6 million went to Hunter Biden and the balance to Archer.


$3.5 million from Russian billionaire (none to Biden). The staff memo suggests that $2.75 million of Baturina’s transfer went to a firm that transferred funds to Hunter Biden, but our reporting and Archer’s testimony suggests it is incorrect to assume Hunter ended up with this money. Under our accounting, this all would be considered money to an associate — Archer — since he says Baturina’s transfer was intended for a real estate transaction unconnected to Hunter.

$3 million in Romanian payments (about $1 million to Hunter Biden and at least $10,000 to Hallie Biden). The second staff memo says Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu, later convicted on bribery-related charges, sent $3 million to the firm controlled by Rob Walker. The firm then gave $1.038 million to “Biden family accounts” after that transfer, most of which went to Hunter Biden. The memo indicates that Gilliar was the recipient of the rest of the Popoviciu money

$142,300 from a Kazakh businessman (to Hunter Biden to pay for a Porsche sports car).


That works out to be about $23 million in total payments from foreign sources. Of that, nearly $7.5 million can be fairly attributed as going to “Bidens,” but virtually all of it went to Hunter Biden. No money has been traced to Joe Biden.

The Pinocchio Test
Hunter Biden’s decision to pursue business deals that at the time overlapped with his father’s policy brief as vice president was ill-advised and has caused political headaches for his father. Republicans are pursuing the case with vigor, but Comer undercuts the findings of his investigation by hyping what has been found. He claims there were more than 20 “shell companies,” but upon inspection most of the companies named had legitimate business transactions or investments. He claims the Bidens received more than $20 million from foreign sources, leaving off the caveat in the staff reports that two-thirds of the payments went to Hunter Biden’s business partners.

Comer would have more credibility if he stuck to documented facts — such as saying precisely that Hunter Biden received $7 million from foreign sources. He earns Three Pinocchios.

Three Pinocchios

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[Rideback]

Chris, you would do well to actually read the J6 DC charging papers, which include the video of the speech at the Elipse, which include his daughter and other aides desperately trying to talk him into calling off the mob. He knew the mob were his people and not Antifa - look at the testimony of aides who quoted him as saying 'let them in, these are my people', look at the tweets he made that are included. It's all there in the indictments, despite your denial based on what I will assume is opinion because you haven't read the indictments. And after you read the indictments go ahead and watch the testimony from the Rep's at the J6 hearings.

After you've reviewed the evidence take a 2nd look at your opinions on Hunter Biden and where they came from. Take a look at the innuendo without proof that is produced by the Right about Hunter BIden, Joe Biden and the family.

[PAL]

He did love those Proud Boys and they him, until they took the fall. Stand down, stand by. Or something like that. They loved that he said that. It was at one of the debates.

[Fun CH]

David, when you say at some point Trump is going to run, do you mean like OJ Simpson?

With all the noise, I don't think many people heard Trump use the word "peaceful". Perhaps he really wanted it to be peaceful. We'll never know.
But we do know he sat watching the whole thing go down for awhile before telling the "protesters" to go home and that he loved them.
Peace and love, that's all he wanted.

I heard that speech and Trump was clear that he wanted a peaceful march. He also tweeted twice during that Riot simular language, but thoses tweets were taken down. Who took them down is not clear, but they are back up on his Twitter account after Musk took over.

The left wing media mostly did not mention those facts.

Keep in mind that I'm very left leaning but I really dislike the hate narrative put forth by either extreme. A minority of both sides react to each other with the same heated rhetoric and both sides ignor the facts that form their narrative.


Here's another story since you asked.

My mother stood up in an auditorium and yelled at then Maryland governor Spiro Agnew that he was a liar. She was ask to write an apology letter or else face losing her teaching position. She refused. Her brother a Republican and now Trump supporter, wrote that letter for her and she kept here job. Of Course we know how corrupt Spiro Agnew was and later forced to resign from his position as Nixon's Vice President.

I tell that story so perhaps people will understand the values that my brothers and I were raised under.

My family has no problem speaking truth to power against our self gain interests.

Fun CH.

Or

Funch as friends calls me. Look up the Urban Dictionary meaning.

Or

FU NCH.

[PAL]

David, when you say at some point Trump is going to run, do you mean like OJ Simpson?

With all the noise, I don't think many people heard Trump use the word "peaceful". Perhaps he really wanted it to be peaceful. We'll never know.
But we do know he sat watching the whole thing go down for awhile before telling the "protesters" to go home and that he loved them.
Peace and love, that's all he wanted.

[Fun CH]

I agree rideback you really have to draw a distinctions between corruption that is legal and Corruption that is a crime.(sarcasm)

At the moment, Trump is innocent of any crimes until proven in a court of law. That didn't stop a small minority of people who identify with the left from holding a public internet trial and finding Trump guilty even before any of these recent indictments occurred.

I remember one internet charge that you and the small minority promoted that Trump incited the attack on the capitol, that he was responsible for the violence. You all provided the internet "evidence" but left out the part when Trump used the word "peaceful".

Trump was not charged with that. No insurrection charges. So where is your admission that you were wrong for promoting that idea on the internet?

Why are you so concerned that Ken and right wing media is doing the same thing? Joe was aware that his son was trading on the Biden name and making a fortune off that name.

Why do you support this corruption on the left while holding court against the right? Did you forget that Biden was once a racist who publically dismissed Anita Hills testimony that lead to the appointment of Clarence Thomas?

Corruption is corruption no matter where you find it. It's just a matter of what some politicians can get away with deceiving the public and walking that fine line between what's legal and not.

"In a lengthy telephone interview on Wednesday, she declined to characterize Mr. Biden’s words to her as an apology and said she was not convinced that he has taken full responsibility for his conduct at the hearings — or for the harm he caused other victims of sexual harassment and gender violence."


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/p ... -hill.html

[mister_coffee]

Maybe I am naive, but I am pretty sure Joe Biden would care very much if Americans were being killed in job lots. Donald Trump demonstrated that he did not care, and he cared a lot more about how it would make him look bad.

As for Hunter Biden, I think he is reprehensible how he traded on the family name to make some bucks. But as far as I can tell Joe Biden wasn't in on the scam. Also as far as I can tell, the only difference between Hunter Biden and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner is the latter two made a heck of a lot more money trading on those family names while also having an office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

At some point Donald Trump is going to try to run. That will make some great TV if we ever get to see it.

[Rideback]

Ken, respectfully, the Biden family has one family member who has been charged with making a false statement to purchase a gun and then not paying his taxes in a timely manner. He paid those taxes years ago now. He is a private citizen. There has been no evidence brought to bear of any money paid to Biden from foreign entities nor has there been any evidence of corruption. Instead, the testimony before the House investigative committee as well as the testimony presented by Weiss fell apart in court.

Regardless, if your argument is that Joe BIden is a crook, therefore it doesn't matter that Trump is a crook your argument needs tangible evidence from the get go. Trump and a large number of his coharts have been indicted in multiple states with so much evidence that Trump's team says it will take them more than 2 years to review. The evidence comes from fellow Rep's, not from Democrats, it comes from surveillance tapes from Trump's own security, it comes from Trump's own lawyers, it comes from tapes of Roger Stone dictating how the faux electors scheme will work (tapes that were made by a documentary crew that he hired) it comes from memos written by John Eastman and Ken Cheesbro - Trump lawyers, that layout how the scheme will work.

So all this evidence laid out in court filings and of record by govt employees while in office as well as actions to cover up after leaving office vs rumors and innuendo about a private citizen who happens to be the President's son but where no solid evidence of anything you're charging exists.

We already saw the Durham report flop. Badly. Now Weiss is taking a shot at it, but already has demonstrated that his witness statements are highly problematic. The 'Biden did it' whataboutisms have already run out of steam. But Trump, on the other hand is in hot water up to his neck, because he broke the law multiple times and is in the process of being held accountable.

[dorankj]

I knew Jim would weigh in with his threats and facsism because no one is allowed to support what this group doesn’t like and we ignore the current occupant, his corruption and obvious family grift. What were you saying about ignorance and gullibility? Shame on who?

[just-jim]

.
The ‘footnote in history’ will be all about the stain the orange quilty one has left on this Country.

And that footnote will acknowledge that it took the participation of willing, ignorant, gullible folks who continued to ignore the evidence in front of them, and continued to support a criminal grifter with no moral center, for it to happen.

Shame on them!
.

[pasayten]

Thank you realoldtimer... Ken doesn't read very well...

[mister_coffee]

Donald Trump screwed the pooch and got a million Americans killed. How many of us do you think he'd kill if elected for another term?

[realoldtimer]

But you do respect Biden and his entire family (including grandkids) through government corruption?

Where did Ray say that, Ken?

[dorankj]

But you do respect Biden and his entire family (including grandkids) through government corruption?

[pasayten]

That's where we will always differ... I do not respect Trump... His policies, management style, or even as a man.

[dorankj]

I’ll take Trump’s policies and management of our country and (to the extent he had control) the world 10 to 1 over the corruption, poor positioning and ineptitude of Dementia Joe and his cadre of sycophants and manipulators (including the utterly ridiculous hypocrisy media!) If not for the opportunity that COVID presented to take down a incumbent President who got several million more votes than his initial election (something no incumbent president has ever lost) we’d see a second term and Joe would be a footnote in history living properly in an assisted living facility by now!

[pasayten]

Let's face it... Neither Dementia Biden nor Jailhouse Trump are good Presidential material... They are the swamp and the sewer respectively...

We need new younger blood with a vision of where this country should go...

[Jingles]

Ever notice how when Biden or a family members activities are called into question up jumps more let's get trump.
I wonder just who is the puppetmaster manipulating Dementia Joe mainly because he isn't cognitive enough to string words together to make a complete sentence

[realoldtimer]

I am shocked and disappointed that such a person is even being considered.

[mister_coffee]

Well I guess we will see how it goes.

I just have to wonder how much campaign time Trump is going to lose because he is sitting in court as a defendant next year. If the Ds really want to hurt Trump's and the Rs chances of winning the election what they'd do (if they could, which I very much doubt they have much control over it) would be to make sure that the trials are going on late in the primary season (late enough that Trump has the nomination locked up) or during the main campaign season in September and October.

Although with four criminal cases likely to go to trial in the next twelve months or so it isn't like there is going to be any good timing for Mr. Trump or the Rs.

Also the fact that the Georgia trials will be televised will be disastrous for Trump. And keep in mind that every other defendant and defense lawyer for every other defendant are going to be doing everything they can to pin the whole mess on Mr. Trump.

[dorankj]

Oh and “good grief”!

[dorankj]

Millions of dollars of foreign corruption and policy benefits, weaponizing our federal bureaucracy and protecting the politically connected and favored. Meanwhile attacking your political rival with charges and allegations that are so flimsy, third world countries laugh! No, it’s certainly ‘being done’ and millions find it abhorrent. But I’m sure your one-sided, non-context political meme on your one-sided political board will be huge!

[pasayten]

You do it ken...

[dorankj]

Now do the Biden crime syndicate! Interesting times’ indeed.

[mister_coffee]

Going to be an interesting** election year, to be sure.

**"Interesting" in the sense of the old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."