[Just The News] State, DOJ officials reported to FBI concerns Ukraine gas firm made bribe to local prosecutors while under corruption investigation.
Just eight months after Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter joined the board of Burisma Holdings, U.S. officials in Kiev developed evidence that the Ukrainian gas company may have paid a $7 million bribe to the local prosecutors investigating the firm for corruption, according to interviews and State Department memos.
State officials believed the alleged bribe was paid between May and December 2014 and got confirmation from one prosecutor. They argued the bribe amounted to a "gross miscarriage of justice that undermined months of US assistance" to fight corruption in Ukraine, contemporaneous memos show.
The concerns were eventually reported to the FBI, although it is not clear whether the allegations were ever investigated more fully, according to current and former U.S. and Ukrainian government officials.
The anecdote, buried in five-year-old diplomatic files, provides a fresh illustration of the awkward, uncomfortable conflict of interest State officials perceived as they tried to fight pervasive corruption in Ukraine under Joe Biden's leadership while the vice president's son collected large payments as a board member for an energy firm widely viewed as corrupt.
The concerns first came to a head in January 2015, the memos show, about eight months after Hunter Biden was named to Burisma's board and after two major corruption investigations ‐ one in Ukraine and the other in Britain ‐ were opened against the gas firm.
George Kent, then a State Department official newly sent to the U.S. embassy in Kiev to lead anti-corruption efforts, was concerned the bribery allegations surrounding Prosecutor General Vitaly Yarema were credible enough that he sought a meeting with one of Yarema's deputies to demand action, according to State Department memos.
His concern was triggered when Yarema took action over the Christmas 2014 holidays to undercut both the British and Ukraine investigations of Burisma and its founder Mykola Zlochevsky, and the U.S. embassy received word a $7 million bribe had changed hands, State memos show.
The Feb. 3, 2015 meeting involved Kent, one of Yarema's top deputies, Anatoliy Danylenko, as well as the DOJ's liaison in Ukraine, Jeffrey Cole, memos show. It was arranged by Andrii Telizhenko, an English-speaking mid-level Ukrainian government official long trusted by the Obama administration in Kiev and Washington to facilitate contacts between the two countries.
"No problem, works for us. I'll get you the names soonest. Likely George and Jeff Cole. Will confirm later," U.S. embassy official Gregory W. Pfleger wrote Telizhenko in a lengthy Jan. 31, 2015 email chain that arranged the location, date and attendees for the meeting for three days later.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/14/2020 10:27 ||
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#1
How awkward it would have been if the Hunter had been arrested by Ukrainian authorities.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/14/2020 12:48 Comments ||
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[The Hill] A crowd at President Trump's rally Sunday evening chanted "lock him up" after the president accused his predecessor, former President Obama, of being caught "spying" on the 2016 Trump campaign.
During the event in Henderson, Nev., Trump told attendees that the former president "got caught spying on my campaign," referring to longstanding accusations from him and his allies that the investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia in 2016 was orchestrated by the Obama administration in an attempt to sink his candidacy, a claim for which there is no evidence.
In response, many attendees began chanting "lock him up!", a riff on the "lock her up" chant the president encouraged during his 2016 run against Hillary Clinton (D), during which he alleged that his opponent had committed crimes by operating a private email server as secretary of state.
#1
I could get into the idea and the guy is more than deserving. And who knows, there might be an October surprise. However, count me among the a Doubting Thomases--maybe just a reflection of a dreary Monday morning.
[Breitbart] Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a controversial bill into law Friday that will give judges greater discretion to decide whether adults who commit sodomy with minors should be placed on California’s sex offender registry.
The bill, which passed the Democrat-led legislature last week, created a firestorm as proponents said its main purpose was to end discrimination against LGBT adults who have oral and anal sex with minors who claim to be consenting to the sexual activity.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D), who introduced the legislation, said in a statement on social media the new law would put an end to "blatant discrimination against young LGBT people engaged in consensual activity."
"It’s appalling that in 2020, California continues to discriminate against LGBTQ people, by mandating that LGBTQ young people be placed on the sex offender registry in situations where straight people aren’t required to be placed on the registry," Wiener said.
#2
California continues to discriminate against LGBTQ people, by mandating that LGBTQ young people be placed on the sex offender registry in situations where straight people aren’t required to be placed on the registry
I don't see in the present situations where any of the underage victims are currently being placed on the offender registry, so why would the senator even say this?
Such ignorance (or duplicity). What is in the water there?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/14/2020 7:51 Comments ||
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#3
Newsom gives new meaning to the phrase "dumbing down" the law. One has to ask, who does this protect?
#1
When Trump wins Florida early on election night, the cry will go up that America is ungovernable un-bribeable. In some places that will actually be true. Unfortunately, in far too many places it will not be.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/14/2020 0:58 Comments ||
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#1
Wishing people a beautiful day doesn't make for good city management policy or stand for much. De Blasio is living in La La Land. Mayor, now please step down and let someone else straighten out the messes that you created.
Your career will not become less dead because you decided to pronounce more than half the country deplorable, Bub.
[Breitbart] Former "CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather
...he lost the big chair on CBS Evening News in 2004 when he breathlessly reported about documents showing President George W. Bush had cheated on his flying hours as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, documents easily demonstrated to be forgeries, then in 2017 it was noticed that as a young Marine he dropped out partway through boot camp, never actually becoming a Marine at all....
said the presidential election in November would show how many people were "dumb enough to believe" President Donald Trump when he says he didn’t want to spread panic in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rather said, "What this presidential election is about is whether the country’s going to move more in the direction of white supremacy or move more in the direction of a multiracial, constitutional republic based on the freedom and the democracy. That’s the proper frame, in which we now should put this election given what the president says, what he’s been doing — this long list of things. No sense going through the litany, but, you know, he knew in early February how serious the coronavirus was, but he repeatedly misled the American people. He said using an excuse and a lie, he didn’t want to spread panic."
"Well, throughout his entire presidency and particularly during this presidential re-election campaign, he’s been trying to get people panicked," he continued. "Panicked about dangerous people moving into the suburban neighborhood, panic over immigration. He’s asking us to believe that when it came to the coronavirus, he just didn’t want to spread panic. Anybody who believes this will believe that rocks grow, and we’re going to find out how many people are dumb enough to believe that. I’d like to think that most people in the country recognize it for what it is, and that is an excuse, and it’s a lie, and it’s outrageous, and it’s very dangerous."
#4
Biden's platform is literally revoking suburban control over their zoning, thus the federal government will take control and begin planting inner city thugs in the suburbs, thus destroying them. They literally are proud of this idea.
#6
So says the FORMER LSD-MSM shill caught submitting and later admitted FORGED Evidence for a Phony Political Hit piece. In order to help the Liberal Socialist Democrats in a national election, while trying to rekindle his dying career.
#9
Making up the news with the best worst of them until he got caught. He might have a spot today at CNN, MSDNC, NYTs or WAPO (if they don't go broke first); they're pretty good at shoveling out B.S. to the public. The risks are a little greater today with the lawsuits such as Nick Sandmann's.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/14/2020 7:54 Comments ||
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#11
Foolish man still believes that the MSM controls "All that you see and hear.". People don't have to believe Trump. They just have to look outside. See postings on the internet and the volumes of videos of 'peaceful protests' rioting and looting.
Sorry Dan, you lying piece of shit, your time is over.
#12
If it life was a movie then Dan "Would I Lie?" Rather would be Walter "Trust me!" Cronkite's Mini-Me™ baby clone. Both prostituted their positions as 'trusted news sources' for partisan purposes.
#21
Rather said, "What this presidential election is about is whether the country’s going to move more in the direction of white supremacy or move more in the direction of a multiracial, constitutional republic based on the freedom and the democracy.
I think Rather is unclear on which side is filled with supremecists and hate.
#23
Democrats are all spoiled, ignorant, communist, party first motherfuckers.
Fuck you, dan you stupid asshole. You are part of the reason this worthless democrat party is able to be such a fraud today. you are a fraud, they are a fraud, and everything your life stands for is now a fraud.
No democrat would ever be a democrat if they were actually human and did their homework.
You are the scum of the universe you lying jackasses.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Breitbart] Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a controversial bill into law Friday that will give judges greater discretion to decide whether adults who commit sodomy with minors should be placed on California’s sex offender registry.
