"Hunter Biden Business Associate Flips From Prison, Releases Emails Detailing China Influence-Peddling Operation" Zerohedge

"Emails from a former business associate of Hunter Biden's inner-circle who's serving time in prison for a 2016 investment scheme reveal that Hunter and his colleagues used their access to the Obama administration to peddle influence to potential Chinese clients and investors - including securing a private, off-the-books meeting with the former Vice President."

"Cooney believes he was the "fall guy" for an investment scheme in which Hunter and business associate Devon Archer avoided responsibility. He reached out to Schweizer after the journalist published Secret Empires in 2018. Archer was initially spared jail and handed a second trial, however a federal appeals court reinstated Archer's fraud conviction in the case last week.

Cooney provided Schweizer with written authorization, his email account name, and password to his Gmail account to retrieve these emails. He authorized, in writing, the publication of these emails— notable because it is the first time a close associate has publicly confirmed Hunter’s trading on his father’s influence. -Breitbart

More revelations:

In a November 5, 2011 email, one of Archer's business contacts suggested helping to arrange White House meetings for a group of Chinese executives and government officials who would make "potentially outstanding new clients." The group, the China Entrepreneur Club (CEC) included CCP loyalists, Chinese billionaires and at least one "respected diplomat" from Beijing. According to the report, CEC - established in 2006, has been referred to as "a second foreign ministry" for China's communist regime. The gross income of CEC members is estimated to be equivalent to roughly 4% of China's GDP, according to the email.

"I know it is political season and people are hesitant but a group like this does not come along every day," said intermediary Mohamed A. Khashoggi on behalf of the CEC to a Biden / Archer associate. "A tour of the white house and a meeting with a member of the chief of staff’s office and John Kerry would be great," reads the email."  Zerohedge

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These e-mails are separate from the cache of e-mails being published by the NY Post.  pl

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hunter-biden-business-associate-flips-prison-releases-emails-detailing-china-influence

Comments

[Chuck Light]

I have an observation and a couple of questions. Unless there is other evidence in the zerohedge article, the only reference to Hunter Biden in the first email included in the article appears to be the phrase "I also need to speak w u and Hunter Monday. Tks G". Apparently from Gary Fears. Is there any other documentary evidence? This reference could be about a tee time in the coming week. None of the other emails appear to involve Hunter Biden directly in anything.

My first question: Who is Mohamed Khashoggi? There is no reference on the internet to a Mohamed A. Khashoggi that I can find easily. Unless, that is, he is an actor turned producer turned businessman:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1081594/

My second question. If there is no reference in the White House visitor logs to a visit between the Chinese group and Vice President Biden, why is the default assumption that a meeting took place, but that it was kept secret? Why wouldn't the default assumption be that there was no meeting that day between the Vice President and the Chinese group?

[NancyK]

Granted Biden's son is a complete loser however his son is not running for president, Biden is. I will not hold it against the father because the son turned out poorly. Biden seems to love his son, that is his issue and has nothing to do with my voting for him.

[turcopolier]

NancyK

IMO Biden is a criminal who has conspired and acted with his son to accept massive bribes from foreign companies and governments. The evidence is being posted on SST. Have you read it? If you say that the same is true of Trump, I would ask for the evidence. Does that matter to you?

[BillWade]

Nancy, will you admit that your candidate Biden is mentally declining?

[Eliot]

Nancy,

Not to be redundant, but Joe Biden was using his son as a cutout, in a corrupt scheme to sell policy changes, for bribes. That’s why Biden senior was taking half off his sons earnings.

- Eliot

[turcopolier]

Eliot

Joe says his own father demanded the same thing. Something out of "The Playboy of the Western world."

[AK]

Chuck Light,

"If there is no reference in the White House visitor logs to a visit between the Chinese group and Vice President Biden, why is the default assumption that a meeting took place, but that it was kept secret? Why wouldn't the default assumption be that there was no meeting that day between the Vice President and the Chinese group?

With whom did they meet then? Did the Chinese just want a tour with a docent and to snap a bunch of selfies next to the Resolute Desk? Would H. Biden and his cronies go to all those lengths to get the Chinese a grin and grab with some random Assistant Undersecretary of East Asian Affairs for Agriculture and Mining? I doubt the Chinese would have found such a junket worthwhile, and I'm sure the payoff for the Biden crew would've rested heavily on getting the Chinese access as high up the food chain as possible. If you were the Chinese, would you have accepted a meeting with the Undersecretary as sufficient benefit for paying the Biden boys for their services? Doubtful.

Let's say for the sake of argument that they did only meet with someone lower on the chain than Joe. HRC perhaps? Or maybe it was indeed an undersecretary. Nevertheless, the mere fact that these people got access to the White House through Hunter Biden demonstrates that he was selling his influence to the Chinese. His influence is based entirely on his father's position, nothing more. And even then, if you think his father didn't retroactively benefit from these deals in some way, well... I own a bridge in Brooklyn that's currently for sale. I'll let it go for real cheap...

Final question: replace the name "Hunter Biden" in all this with the name "Donald Trump, Jr." What's your stance now? Same? Does your benefit of the doubt principle still hold for the last name "Trump"? You don't have to answer me, but your conscience will hopefully tell you whether you're viewing this whole affair objectively or whether you're rooting for the Bidens.

[Chuck Light]

I would say to AK, and to you, Colonel, with no offense meant or hopefully taken, that you are both entitled to your opinions. I will wait for facts to develop.

Colonel, you say the evidence of Joe Biden's criminality is "being posted on SST." Please forgive my unpardonable ignorance, but what exactly is SST? I Googled it, and looked at the first four pages of Google search results, but found nothing like what I would imagine you mean. I would at least look at it if I could find it.

[Chuck Light]

My bad. And my sincere apologies, Colonel. I just realized that SST refers to your Committee of Correspondence. And yes, I have read the material that has been posted on Sic Semper Tyrannis, and it has not changed my opinion. My apologies.

[turcopolier]

Chuck Light

My blog, O Demo activist.

[turcopolier]

Chuck Light

Nothing would change the opinions of the faithful.

[Chuck Light]

AK: In thinking some more about your final question, I have come to believe that it is entitled to a more fulsome response than I gave before. My short response is yes, I hope that I would still give the benefit of the doubt until I saw relevant and admissible evidence of a crime (used intentionally as legal terms of art).

The long answer is significantly longer, and has to do with the treatment of Al Franken by his earstwhile Democratic colleagues in the Senate, led by the triumverate of Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Mazie Hirono.

LeAnne Tweeden accused Al Franken of inappropriate sexual conduct (french kissing to be exact) and groping, on a 2006 USO trip to the Middle East, I believe. The accusation occurred on November 16, 2017.

The same day, November 16, Franken issued a brief apology. In it he said, inter alia : “I certainly don’t remember the rehearsal for the skit in the same way, but I send my sincerest apologies to Leeann.”... “As to the photo, it was clearly intended to be funny but wasn’t. I shouldn’t have done it.” Later that same day, he issued a lengthier apology, in which he called for a Senate Ethics investigation into the accusations which had been made against him.

Between the first accusation on November 16, 2017, and his resignation on December 6, 2017 (3 weeks), six other women came forward and accused Franken of inappropriate touching or kisses, all apparently before 2010, and at least one in 2003. The 2003 incident involved an army enlisted woman who accused Franken of groping her left breast (although the photo taken at the time show no such groping).

No consideration was given to conducting an ethics investigation. Franken was dirt and had to be expelled from the Senate. The cry for his resignation was strongest and loudest from the three women Senators, and most so from Harris. Harris was a prosecutor. She was California State Attorney General. She had sworn an oath to the Constitution, including the Due Process Clause of that venerable document. But despite her years in the legal profession, and her supposed understanding of due process from her years prosecuting criminals, she cast it all aside in the name of political ambition and with her other colleagues in the Democratic party tarred and feathered Senator Franken and drove him out of the Senate. Without a shred of proof. Nothing. Nada. Ningun. Zed.

Why do I say she took after him due to political ambition. This from Wikipedia on her presidential campaign: “Harris had widely been considered a "high profile" candidate for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries since 2016.”

Franken had also been considered a "high profile" candidate for the primaries. Eliminate him, and Harris and Gillibrand would have one less strong competitor to fight for funding. That simple.

But the hypocrisy later was the so called straw. When Tara Reade came forth with her accusations against Vice President Biden, accusing him of digital rape in 1993, Senator Harris, who had no problem using the brush to paint the tar on Franken, said "I believe Joe." Political expediency trumps (no pun intended) due process every time.

So today, October 17, 2020, Kamala Harris is the Democratic candidate for Vice President, and Al Franken is at home in Minnesota wondering why nobody cared enough about his Due Process rights to even allow the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations before Harris and Gillibrand and others applied the tar and feathers.

So, AK, yes. I hope I would be as skeptical of accusations against Donald Trump, Jr. as I am of those being made against Hunter Biden and his father. And I hope he would be allowed due process, and especially the production of relevant and admissible evidence before I go for the tar.

[Deap]

The Kashoggi family name is notorious in this part of California - some big scandal a few decades ago - lots of money, made a big splash in LA area - big homes, high profile social life, glamour, and then seemingly disappeared - arms merchants maybe? So is the second generation is just picking up where Pops Kashoggi left off?

[bren]

"It's a big club and you ain't in it!"

Are we at all surprised about our political "elites" prostituting themselves for self-enrichment? This is the name of the game. These crooks are bought and sold like used cars.

Let us not ignore Trump's son in law's connections to Soros, Israel, and the Saudis.....

[james]

@ chuck light.... do you think it makes sense for usa vp's to be telling the ukraine gov't that unless they fire a particular prosecutor, they aren't getting the 1 billion loan?? does that seem like normal behaviour to you for a vp? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXA--dj2-CY

[eakens]

There must be some sort of brain eating amoeba in the water supply or something. This man is compromised and so is his family. He’s simply unfit to be president. This has nothing to do with left or right. This is about the fitness of somebody to be president based on evidence that questionable transactions, photos, meetings, and illegal behavior have surfaced, notwithstanding whatever else may be lurking out there. And I can assure you one thing, if Hunter travelled to China, he was setup with young women and he has substance abuse problems which would indicate it is likely they have him on tape participating in reckless behavior.

This election is going to be one large clusterF when people start demanding their vote back. These revelations also explain why everybody’s been pushing to start voting as early as possible.

[Chuck Light]

CY: Actually, yes. In another thread on Biden, I posted a link to an article from the Financial Times which explains the entire situation with a great deal of clarity, and much more completely than I can. Unless, that is, you choose not to believe what you read from the Financial Times. Your choice, God (or Mother Nature, your choice) gave us both brains.

[Fred]

Chuck Light,

Al Franken was a spineless hack who won a close race against a well known and respected Republican Congressman by less than 1,000 votes, probably manufactured the same way the left plans on doing enmass now, who left when ordered to do so by Chuck Schumer.
"nobody cared enough about his Due Process rights to even allow the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations before Harris and Gillibrand and others applied the tar and feathers."

That's Democratic Senate Minority Leader Schumer - who didn't care about Al's rights, or yours, or a whole lot of NY nursing home patients who were essentially killed by medical and gubanatorial malfeases of his fellow NY Democrat, Cuomo. With a little help from DeBlasio.

[Chuck Light]

Your opinion, Fred. Sorry, I don't share it.

[james]

@ chuck light... i am just seeing now it looks like you are replying to me as CY ! that is the last part of the link i posted.. i have to be fast to figure these kinds of things out, but i noticed some errors in some of your previous posts, so will take this as an accident as well...

i looked but couldn't find the financial times article you shared previously... if you can remember the thread, or share the link again, i would appreciate it.. thanks.. james

[Chuck Light]

james: My apologies for addressing my comment to CY.

I just searched for the article from the Financial Times. I found one which is on point, but I am not sure if it is the same article or a later one. You can find reports on the Shokin firing by just typing "shokin firing" into the Google search engine, or any search engine for that matter. You will find information from all sides of the political spectrum.

Here is the link to the article I found this AM:

https://www.ft.com/content/e1454ace-e61b-11e9-9743-db5a370481bc

[james]

@ chuck... thanks chuck... i am unable to read the article for this reason - Become an FT subscriber to read:

maybe we can continue the conversation on a more recent thread.. cheers.

[Fred]

Chuck Light,

What's your opinion on why Franken resigned?

[Chuck Light]

Fred: I really don't know. He was under a lot of pressure from at least half of the Democratic caucus to do so, to in effect fall on his sword for the good of the party. That may have had something to do with it.

I can say that I don't think it had much to do with a feeling of guilt for having committed sexual harassment or assault. I never really believed Tweeden, especially since the first newspaper she spoke to, before she came forward with her accusations about a 13 year old incident, was the Orange County Register. I read an article by the Register reporter that spoke with her, and he said they were trying to find the best timing to come out with her story to the greatest effect when the story came out.

Neither do I believe that the other accusations against him (a total of six other than Tweeden) would have led to his resignation without the pressure from inside the party. The other accusations all had to do with his providing photo ops to adoring fans years before, and mostly, if not all, were "grab the waist, take a selfie" type of photos. Did he grab a boob? Maybe, maybe even probably. But he was a comedian at that time.

I think mostly he was disappointed that his own party wouldn't give him the Ethics Committee investigation he wanted, and he felt screw them.

But who knows, really. Those that think, as you do, that Franken was a "political hack," probably think (again I don't know) that he got what was coming to him. I think he was an excellent Senator, and would have made a formidable candidate for president, but for these seven accusations, made without proof.

[Fred]

Chuck,

"Those that think, as you do, ... probably think (again I don't know)..."
That's almost as bad as those who misquote people then proceed to comment from the misquotation hoping no one notices.

Franken formidable? Is that the view from California? I'll agree he was formidable in fund raising; he certainly had national name recognition and ambition beyond serving in the senate. Which should make people wonder why Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, told Franken to resign or else. "these seven accusations," There were accusations in 2008 when he ran that gained no traction.

What reason did Franken have to resign, other than loss of reputation and possibly re-election? My view, impolitely expressed perhaps, was that he didn't stand firm this time around. He was cleared out of the way by Schumer and the DNC, why? He would be far more 'formidable' than Kamala, but then he wouldn't be very amenable to the power brokers and his voting recorded is safely to the left. People far more formidable than him wanted him gone.