We should, if we want to be fair, investigate Hunter Biden’s economic dealings in Ukraine,
as well.
Does that mean we should be looking deeper into how Jared Kushner’s family got foreign
money for 666 Fifth Avenue, how Ivanka Trump got 13 trademarks from the Chinese government,
how she was able to expand her brand since the president took office?
I mean, giddy up, let’s do it.
If we want to go down the road of the politics of self-destruction, of everybody-- criminalize
all politicians on both sides of the aisle and go after their family, yes, we can do
that, but both sides are doing that.
Nobody really should excuse themselves and say, ‘Oh we’re holier than thou, Trump
is evil.’
This is Rand Paul shooting himself and his party in the foot by demanding that we look
into Hunter Biden’s conflicts of interest.
And while frankly it’s taken WAY too long for the media to came back with this OBVIOUS
rebuttal, the fact is the only thing we need to do is point to the president’s own children
who are currently reaping a windfall of profits because of their dad’s job as president.
That the right is seriously trying to decry nepotism… in the Trump era… is just a
new level of tone-deafness.
But if Republicans truly, truly want to discuss the appearance of improprieties with Hunter
Biden (who is not running for office and isn't even a campaign surrogate for his father),
then, sure, let's "both sides" this—or as Stephanie Ruhle says—
I mean, giddy up, let’s do it.
Yes, Hunter Biden did make roughly $50,000 a month at a Ukrainian energy firm.
But Joe Biden didn't call for Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin's ouster to protect Hunter’s
job; he joined the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, anti-corruption
activists in Ukraine, and the rest of the international community to dismiss him for
IGNORING corruption.
By replacing Shokin, it would INCREASE the likelihood that Hunter's energy company would
be scrutinized.
This was never about protecting Hunter Biden, it was about fighting corruption.
As for the right’s breathless attacks on Hunter's "$1.5 billion from China," Hunter
joined the board of Chinese fund BHR in 2013.
In 2014, the fund sought to raise $1.5 billion in capital.
Again, this wasn’t a $1.5 billion check into Hunter’s bank account, he was working
on behalf of a private equity company to raise capital.
Hunter did ultimately take a 10% stake in the fund-- in 2017.
Now, not only did Hunter receive ZERO compensation as a board member, not only has he received
NO return on his investment since becoming an investor, but let’s think long and hard
about who was president in 2017.
So if you’re Trump and you’re claiming Hunter used nepotism to supposedly enrich
himself in China, maybe – just maybe – you might want to make sure his dad was actually
still Vice President first.
But while we’re on the subject of nepotism, let’s – oh I don’t know – take a …quick
look at the Trump kids.
Jared and Ivanka took in $82 million in income last year, including $3.9 million that Ivanka
made from her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, which was become
a way station for foreign dignitaries looking to curry favor with the president.
Now, I’m not claiming that Ivanka has lined her pockets to the tune of millions of dollars
as the DIRECT result of her father’s emoluments clause violations… yeah, no that’s—that’s
exactly what I’m saying.
As of today, Ivanka Trump has been granted a total of 21 trademarks from the Chinese
government during Trump's term.
Now, you might remember Ivanka-branded products from when Kellyanne Conway violated federal
ethics rules by using her position to start hawking Ivanka’s clothes on air—
It’s a wonderful line, I own some of it.
I fully-- I’m gonna give a free commercial here.
Go buy it today, everybody.
You can find it online.
Or maybe you remember them from the PRESS RELEASE that the White House issued to JOURNALISTS
promoting Ivanka’s branded gold bracelet, starting at $8,800 and up to $10,800.
Or maybe you remember them from Ivanka’s RNC speech, which Ivanka herself wasted no
time turning into an advertisement to start cashing in.
Because what else would our federal government be if not just one big commercial for the
president’s daughter?
As for Jared, the Kushner's company bought 666 Fifth Avenue for $1.8 billion just prior
to the 2008 economic crash and expectedly, it became a massive financial burden on the
company.
A $1.4 billion mortgage was due in February, so Kushner appealed to Qatar for investment
help.
He got no bites.
Kushner then vocally supported a blockade on Qatar in what some saw as retaliation.
Ultimately, a firm did bail them out, and its largest investor?
Qatar.
And surprise surprise, no more vocal calls in support of any blockades.
How convenient.
As for Don Jr and Eric, they now control the Trump Organization, which they pledged would
have "no new foreign deals" while their dad is in office.
Yet – and I hope you’re sitting down for this – that hasn’t been the case.
They just sold a $33 million stake in a federally subsidized housing complex, which had to be
approved by HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
They sold $3.2 million worth of land in the Dominican Republic.
In February 2018, Don Jr traveled to India to sell more than $1 billion worth of luxury
residential units built by the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization sold a $15.8 million Trump Park Avenue penthouse (which had been
previously occupied by Jared and Ivanka) to Angela Chen, who runs a consulting firm with
ties to the Chinese government.
According to Forbes, “this price was 13 percent more than that paid for a comparable
unit a year earlier, and that it sold at a time when the building’s other units, on
average, were selling for 25 percent less.”
But who knows, maybe there were new… fixtures.
In fact, while the Trump kids galivanted around the globe to uphold their promise of totally,
definitely not pursuing foreign business deals while their father was in office, American
taxpayers covered the cost of their security.
According to NBC, taxpayers paid $97,830 for a trip to Uruguay, $53,155 for a trip to Vancouver,
and $16,738 for a trip to Dubai.
But hey, it’s TOTALLY normal for our tax dollars to cover security costs for “independent
businesspeople” right?
Even Trump’s cabinet has been siphoning money into the Trump Organization.
Mike Pence recently stayed at Trump’s Doonbeg Resort in Ireland despite it being 181 miles
away from his official meetings in Dublin.
US military personnel have been staying at Trump’s Turnberry resort in Scotland, a
resort that lost $4.5 million in 2017 and then was miraculously up $3 million in 2018
after becoming the hotel of choice when Trump took over.
Even Attorney General Bill Barr dumped $30,000 into Trump’s DC hotel for a holiday party.
The Trump family’s entire business model is to funnel money from US taxpayers to their
companies into their own pockets.
And they’re doing it on every front imaginable.
The fact is, Hunter Biden recently made the decision to step down from the board of BHR
not as an admission of guilt but because of the APPEARANCE of a conflict.
Meanwhile, the Trump kids not only don't care about appearances, they're literally reaping
a surreal windfall of profits from their dad's job as president.
So the fact that the right is ACTUALLY going to use NEPOTISM as their weapon of choice
heading into 2020, when Trump's kids are making themselves into millionaires multiple times
over, day after day, would be laughable if it wasn’t so sickening.