my hair is on fire!

Perhaps that "labyrinthine mystique" is a large part why the story lasts and journalists from both sides haven't conclusively formed a matter of record on the laptop's timeline.

Folks who peddle the story also harp on the ill conceived origins of the Steele Dossier, but you don't have the same scrutiny here by design...

 

Just curious, but if dip$hit is the GOP nominee in 2024 will you go silent again?

 

not following.

 

From my reading of what has been made public, the issue seems to be these:
1. There are emails between Hunter Biden and foreign entities in Ukraine and China, possibly other places, which indicate Hunter Biden is receiving money and favors. There is acknowledgement of access to the White House and specifically (the the time Vice President) Joe Biden from these same entities.
2. There are emails detailing large sums of money going to "the Big Guy" related to these same deals.
3. There is separate information from Hunter Biden's correspondence that he was required to provide large sums of money to Joe Biden.
4. Hunter Biden was made a board member of a large natural gas company in Ukraine that Joe Biden was connected to regulating, Hunter Biden having had no prior experience in Ukraine, natural gas, or international energy.
5. 50 people connected to the United States intelligence community put out a letter claiming that the laptop was Russian disinformation, despite the fact that at least one of two of them have subsequently admitted that the laptop appears to be genuine and that they had no information at the time or since that Russia was at all involved in the laptop.
6. The media has spread falsehoods about the laptop story, including things that were repeated in this very thread (like the guy not going to the FBI and instead going straight to Rudy Guiliani).
7. The collusion between the government and media/social media companies to cover up or attempt to discredit the laptop story in the leadup to the 2020 election.

To me, all of this seems to be a major issue of corruption at the highest levels of government and putting a thumb on the scale of an election.

 

great summary.

 

To me it's garden variety influence peddling and run-of-the-mill media narrative construction.

Am I happy about it? No. Do I expect better than this? Given the current system of governance that breeds corruption and incentivizes partisanship, of course not.

 

does this mean you believe the info on the laptop is genuine, but you discount as per the above?

 

Gonna need some help parsing this one.

This is the one item I take issue with. I haven't seen anything definitive that proves this, and tbh, it's by far the most egregious thing on the list.

Note that you have to prove motive/intent on this one, so the bar is also extraordinarily high. Them being wrong about it is a lot different than knowingly misleading the public.

 

so, it appears you accept the laptop, and its contents, as genuine.

I understand you have questions about "intent".

but the bare facts, the laptop is hunter's, the contents are as has been reported, are accurate.

 

I mean, yeah, that's always been my assumption.

Hunter basically selling what little influence he has is not a shock to me.

The liberal side of media falling all over themselves to make this story go away does not shock me.

Intelligence Orgs having their own lines of communication with Social Media companies does not shock me.

Many people in the Intelligence Community being wrong about its veracity also does not shock me.

What would shock me (at least a little) is powerful people in the IC knowingly lying to the public and/or laundering lies to the public through social media companies.

 

I don’t think any of this is correct. What are your sources?

 

Wise, who was one of the signatories, has outright said that they all knew at least a good portion of the emails had to be real, and that they had no actual information of Russian involvement. Their claims that it was or could be Russian disinformation were based on the fact that Giuliani had met with a Russian intelligence agent and was trying to dig up dirt on Hunter Biden, which completely ignored that the FBI had the original laptop and hard drive for months before Giuliani received a copy of it (so a comparison would be trivial to see if anything was added or changed). In his recent interview, he also states that the letter didn't really call it Russian disinformation, it was merely cautionary (despite the letter containing the quotes: "[o]ur view that the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue” and “It is high time that Russia stops interfering in our democracy.”).

 

Chuck Todd: “Do you have a crime that Hunter Biden committed?
Ron Johnson: “Read the Marco Polo report that details potential crimes. … like soliciting prostitution.”

Yep that requires a congressional investigation. They’ve had the hard drive for how many years now? If they had anything it would have come out by now. This is all partisan political theatre.

 

There are multiple articles about it. How about CBS News, the NY TImes, the NY Post, the WSJ? Just a blanket denial of widely reported information that has been confirmed by primary sources (Hunter acquaintance Tony Bobulinski, for example, appears in the emails, confirms their authenticity, and says "the Big Guy" is Joe Biden.)? What are your sources that any of those points are wrong? Your video has Chuck Todd scoffing at the idea that potential crimes should be investigated. Some acts might also not be criminal, but still be wrong.

You don't have to care about any of this. The MAGA people don't have to care about Kushner getting millions to manage Saudi billions after influence peddling there. I don't think these are good things. I don't want my government involved in those dealings, and I don't think it should matter what letter is in parentheses next to the name of the person involved.

 

Yes Hunter Biden was putting forward that he could curry influence. That he was claiming he had access isn't the same as having access. What is the evidence that Hunter Biden actually did provide access to the WH to those etities?

"Big Guy" isn't determined who that is.

Evidence for this? There is a rental statement regarding Joe Biden's beach house that Hunter Biden paid $50K a month. That could be a mistake. Is there actually a financial trail?

Joe Biden wasn't regulating Burisma. There was a previous Ukrainian prosecuter that had been investigating Burisma that was removed after Joe Biden had presented the Ukrainian government with evidence that he was corrupt. Many other countries along with several Republican Senators agreed with that assesment and also pushed for removal fo that prosecutor.

Yes that was an overreaction.

Yes the media was sloppy that doesn't in and of itself prove anything more.

This is in general but I find it interesting the lengths that many will go to claim there was no "collusion" regarding the Trump campaign and Russia yet will throw it out in a situation like this. Asking social media companies to block posts isn't collusion. If that was the case then anytime someone asking Clutch to ban a poster that would be collusion.

There certainly is a lot of smoke here and I would support a special counsel investigation into this but so far nothing seems definitive that there is a major issue of corruption. The most that can be definitively said is that Hunter Biden was capitalizing on his name to get positions and earn money that he wasn't qualifed to do.

 

Just to follow up on my previous post. From what I recall Tony Bobulinski statements are questionable. That said is there any further money trail regarding how such payments lead to Joe Biden?

So you're admitting this is just driven by political bias. Interesting how you've spent so much more time going after Hunter Biden than Jared Kushner.

 

So far, I haven't seen anything as PROOF, but if HB did anything illegal, he should go to jail. I don't care if your dad is the prez, you should be prosecuted. HB was drug addict for quite a while so who knows what type of shenanigans he got himself into, I am sure there are quite a few things he would like to take back during that part of his life, but at the end of the day you have to atone for your actions. That goes for ANYONE D or R

 

pretty sure taking drugs the way he was taking drugs is illegal

 

The emails from the other parties thanking him for the access is pretty strong evidence that he was did provide the access. The fact that he was receiving the money is also pretty strong evidence.

We have someone who has flat out said it is Joe Biden. If you ignore all evidence though, it could be anybody I suppose. Maybe it was Trump.

The statements of Hunter Biden himself. A statement by a party is admissible evidence.

I am sure you would have no problem with Trump removing a prosecutor that was investigating a company that put Ivanka on their board if several Democrats said that prosecutor was corrupt.

Oh, it was just an overreaction. Nothing to see here folks. 50 members of the intelligence community ran cover for a presidential candidate by burying an apparently true story as foreign interference in our democracy, but it was just an overreaction, don't worry about it.

Yep, the intel guys overreacted and the media just dun goofed. No one was intentionally trying to protect team blue and harm team red. It was all just misunderstandings and coincidences.

If the Rockets were asking Clutch to ban a poster for exposing true information about Rafael Stone, then yes it would be collusion between the Rockets and Clutch.

I am glad you have such high standards of proof. I am sure they will be the same no matter what individual or group is in question.