My Personal Side

By Craig Hastings
Could this 2020 Presidential election get any more weird than it has already been? Today has been day two of the newest scanalist e-mail discoveries of (ex) Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. If there is some truth in these emails, the implications of corruption from pay-to-play deals via executives from Ukraine oil and gas company, Burisma Holdings to Hunter Biden to Joe Biden and family are enormous. As I understand, just a portion of the emails have been provided to the American News Media groups. The New York Post broke the news of the discovery of these emails and the content within them. As to where and how these emails were discovered, and it’s too early for me to offer my opinion to this allegation, is a backstory all of its own for sure. Allegedly, the owner of a Delaware computer repair shop stated the computer was dropped off at his shop for repair and never claimed after numerous attempts to contact the owner. Reportedly, a sticker on the computer read “Beau Biden Foundation” , a foundation named after Hunter’s deceased brother.

The New York Post was able to obtain a copy of a federal subpoena solicited by the FBI in December of last year that ordered the owner of the shop to turn the computer and it’s hard drive over to the FBI. The owner of the shop had alerted the FBI of its existence prior to the subpoena action. However, before turning the computer over to the FBI the shop owner made a copy of the hard drive. The shop owner then turned this second hard drive over Mayor Giuliani’s lawyer, Robert Costello. In late September of this year Giuliani turned the hard drive or a copy of the same over to the New York Post last Sunday. The Post wasted no time investigating the contents of the hard drive. To further substantiate the owner of the content on the hard drive, allegedly there is a 12 minute video that includes Hunter smoking something suspected to be crack cocaine while engaged in some sort of sex act and other sexually explicit images were present. My first question immediately after reading this portion of the story was; who was doing the videography?!! If Hunter Biden was allegedly using illegal drugs and a woman can be seen in the video, there must have been a third person in the room or….this location had already been set up to indiscriminately video any activity that might take place in the space. Was Hunter Biden set up?! I’m suspicious. Why? Come on, what better blackmail material could someone be holding than this?!

Now remember, Hunter Biden has been implicated in huge cash payouts from Ukraine, Russia, and China. These payouts have gone unchallenged and even been investigated as “legal business transactions”. Recently Hunter Biden was reported to have received a check from the wife of an ex Russian Mayor for over a million dollars. Also, so far unchallenged as to its authenticity. I’m sure that, even though it looks bad, probably completely legal. The one question that needs to be answered for me is; how did Hunter Biden get in a position to receive all of these millions of dollars? We’ve all heard Joe Biden on live television, brag about how he got a prosecutor in Ukraine fired. The same prosecutor that was investigating criminal activity of a gas and oil company in Ukraine in which Hunter Biden held a board seat. Hunter was given a board seat on a gas and oil company in Ukraine even though Hunter knew nothing at all about gas and oil. Maybe he’s a good attorney? He even admitted in an ABC television interview that “probably” he managed a board seat along with a $50,000 per month salary for sitting on this board of directors because his last name was Biden! All legal we’re told.

During all of this news frenzy, Hunter’s father Joe Biden, when asked about the revelation of his son’s new found career in which Hunter had zero qualifications, father Joe stated he didn’t discuss his son’s business dealings even though both flew aboard Air Force 2 from the U.S. to Ukraine, on to China, and back home! And not once did Father and son discuss a business deal in which son Hunter was going to make millions of dollars! Now, “Come on man!” as Joe likes to say frequently when backed in a corner, who with any sense of “really?” would believe this cock and bull story from story teller uncle Joe?!! So what might have they talked about on the way home from Ukraine and China? If recovering drug adict Hunter landing a multi million job was a “nothing to talk about here” conversation to make on a 15 hour plane ride, then what the heck else went on that was?!!!

Me, I’m waiting to hear what the FBI have to say about being in possession of this “evidence” for nearly a year and as far as we know, sat on it. Will they also report, “Nothing to see here?” Here’s my worry. If, Hunter Biden has been set up in one or numerous compromising events and email documents have been collected by unfriendly foreign spy agencies, how would President Biden deal with this? Could a President Biden deal with this? If what the implications appear to be in these emails so far are accurate, Joe Biden and other family members have been the benefactors of millions of dollars because Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States under the Obama administration. Could it be that even though the Biden family may have reaped millions of dollars of income from foreign entities, could it be that all of the transactions were legal? Maybe not so ethical but…legal? Could this be why President Obama allegedly told Joe; “You don’t have to do this” when Joe talked about running for president? I think so. I think President Obama knew what was coming if Joe ran and probably assumed he and his own family would be called into question for not stopping the Ukraine dealings and board seat at the onset. This is going to get more ugly than it’s already been.

If Joe Biden becomes President of these United States, he and the Democrats better pray they win the majority in both the House and Senate at the same time. Because if they don’t, Lindsey Graham and company will be yelling back at them an infamous line screamed by Kurt Russel in the movie Tombstone, “You tell em’ I’m comin’ and hell’s comin’ with me, you hear?! Of course this really means big drama will be coming for another four years of our everyday lives as Americans. For all of us both here in America and nearly everywhere else in the world, November 3rd, 2020 will be the most influential day in your lives! Win or lose, trust me, it will not be the last you hear from Donald Trump and the Trump family. Can a four year president that is defeated his/her first term run again if defeated after the four years of the next newly elected president expires? Hmmmm!

(The views and opinions expressed in the submitted columns are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Journal.)