Posted on 01/18/2020 1:31:07 PM PST by karpov
Political figures have long used their families to route power and benefits for their own self-enrichment. In my new book, Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by Americas Progressive Elite, one particular politician Joe Biden emerges as the king of the sweetheart deal, with no less than five family members benefiting from his largesse, favorable access and powerful position for commercial gain. In Bidens case, these deals include foreign partners and, in some cases, even U.S. taxpayer dollars.
The Biden familys apparent self-enrichment involves no less than five family members: Joes son Hunter, son-in-law Howard, brothers James and Frank, and sister Valerie.
When this subject came up in 2019, Biden declared, I never talked with my son or my brother or anyone else even distant family about their business interests. Period.
As we will see, this is far from the case
Joe Bidens younger brother, James, has been an integral part of the family political machine from the earliest days when he served as finance chair of Joes 1972 Senate campaign, and the two have remained quite close. After Joe joined the U.S. Senate, he would bring his brother James along on congressional delegation trips to places like Ireland, Rome and Africa.
When Joe became vice president, James was a welcomed guest at the White House, securing invitations to such important functions as a state dinner in 2011 and the visit of Pope Francis in 2015. Sometimes, James White House visits dovetailed with his overseas business dealings, and his commercial opportunities flourished during his brothers tenure as vice president.
Consider the case of HillStone International, a subsidiary of the huge construction management firm, Hill International. The president of HillStone International was Kevin Justice, who grew up in Delaware and was a longtime Biden family friend.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
And yet Trump gets impeached for a totally legal phone call.
One set of rules for thee and another set of rules for me : sayeth the elites and elected
Grifters ....all of them.
Payola by proxy.
Id love to see the statistics on family of powerful politicians on boards of foreign companies vs those of non-political families (excluding banker families like the Rothschilds).
CONgress. Making millionaires out of dumbasses for decades.
It’s ALL tax dollars. America sends millions or billions to the nation and someone on that side sends a cut to whomever.
Guilty, to the gallows!
This pic is the epitome of then-VP Joe Biden's corruption. Shows exactly what he thinks of taxpaying Americans.
We exist only to serve him and his greedy family's endless get-rich-quick schemes.
REALITY CHECK: This was an official tax-paid govt trip to China. But look who then-VP Biden brought with him.
That's Hunter and daughter Finnegan ---- on a family outing paid for by taxpayers.
The moronic grand-daughter waves at Chinese dignitaries like it was old home week.......like she's some sort of diplomat.
Hunter cashed in bigtime, even had a Chinese suckup hand-deliver a diamond to his hotel room.....
......just to make sure corrupt Hunter "was bought good."
The corrupt trio did all the touristy things available in China.......sucking off the backs of US taxpayers 24/7.
And nothing major will change until we the people decide to change it.
Why is the Second Amendment under such heavy attack in Virginia no less?
Frank Bidens long history of using his family name to secure contracts in Florida
NY Post ^ | 1/17/20 | Yaron Steinbuch
FR Posted on 1/18/2020, 4:12:37 AM by Libloather
Long before Hunter Biden capitalized on his fathers last name to land a gig with a Ukrainian company, the then-vice presidents younger brother touted his family connections to promote his business, according to a report.
When Joe Biden became veep, his brother Frank Biden used his DC ties to help secure a series of contracts from Florida officials for a fledgling charter school venture he was asked to lead, ABC News reported. As a result, he earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company over a five-year period, according to the report.
In media interviews at the time, Frank Biden described his last name as a tremendous asset because of the familys record of taking care of people who need help.
He bragged that it brought him automatic acceptance as he sought government approvals for the for-profit Mavericks in Education, which was focused on educating at-risk teens.
Joe is my hero. My older brother is the best man I know, Frank said during a 2016 promotional interview, according to ABC News, adding, Barack aint bad either, trust me.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Just another day in Public Serve Us.
Revealed: Joe Biden twice used his position as senator to intervene to boost son Hunter’s lobbying
Joe Biden lobbied Department of Justice Congress and Homeland Security for Hunter’s lobbying clients
BY Alana Goodman, Washington Examiner| October 24, 2019 07:37 PM
Joe Biden privately contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice when he was a senior and influential U.S. senator to discuss issues that his son Hunters firm was being paid to lobby on, according to government records.
On at least two occasions, Biden contacted federal departments to discuss issues related to Hunters firms lobbying clients, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
Bidens behind-the-scenes outreach illustrates how his Senate work overlapped with his sons business interests. Biden has faced scrutiny for taking actions that were perceived to benefit his sons work, including calling for the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor and backing policies that helped the Delaware-based credit card industry while Hunter was working for MBNA, which is headquartered in the state.
Government records show that Biden, who has always insisted he knows nothing about his son’s business activities, helped Hunter’s work with strategic and highly specific interventions that could have benefited his son to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.
On Feb. 28, 2007, Biden contacted DHS to express that he was concerned about the Department’s proposed chemical security regulations authorized by Section 550 of DHS Appropriations Act of 2007, according to the departments log of its contacts with members of Congress.
Section 550, which was passed in 2006 as part of the DHS appropriations bill, requires high-risk chemical plants to submit site safety plans to DHS for approval, including security credentialing and training for employees.
Eight weeks earlier, the Industrial Safety Training Council had hired Hunter Bidens firm to lobby DHS on the issue. The trade group, which represents companies that provide safety training for chemical facility employees, was mounting a heavy lobbying campaign over section 550, submitting congressional testimony about the need to expand background checks for chemical plant employees.
The Industrial Safety Training Council was seeking to expand the language in DHS legislation regarding security clearance and credentialing for chemical facility employees and employers in January 2007, according to lobbying disclosure records.
While Hunter Biden did not register as an individual lobbyist for the trade association, he was one of three senior partners in his firm at the time. The Industrial Safety Training Council paid Oldaker, Biden & Belair a total of $200,000 between early 2007 and the end of 2008.
The Biden campaign did not respond to request for comment. The National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group, said Biden should have avoided involvement with issues that his sons firm was also lobbying on because of the appearance of conflict.
Its implausible Sen. Biden did not know his sons firm was lobbying on this arcane issue, said Tom Anderson, the director of NLPCs Government Integrity Project.
Sometimes appearances are exactly what they are,” he said. This is a recurring problem weve seen on the Hill, where family members are enriched because of their relationship with a member.
Biden also sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Jan. 31, 2007 requesting a meeting with the Department of Justice to discuss expanding the federal fingerprint background check system.
I write to request your assistance in implementing an expanded background check system for our nation’s volunteer organizations, wrote Biden. If we can work together to expand the number of volunteer organizations that have access to fast, accurate, and inexpensive fingerprint background checks, we will make significant and important strides in our ongoing effort to protect kids across our country.
Biden added, I would like to convene a small meeting with key representatives from DOJ, the FBI, members of Congress and volunteer groups.
One of Hunters firms lobbying clients at the time, a coalition of state-level criminal justice advocates called SEARCH, was also lobbying the federal government for a broader fingerprint screening system at the time.
The same day as Bidens letter, SEARCH adopted a resolution calling on Congress to consider “any effort to improve the quality, completeness and accessibility of criminal history records and expand the current system to allow the return of all criminal history record information maintained by the States on the search subject through a single fingerprint check.
The group initially hired Oldaker, Biden & Belair in 2006 to lobby for federal funding for state-level criminal justice programs, paying the firm $114,000 over the next year. In early 2008, SEARCH was seeking funding to assist states in development and use of information to accelerate automation of fingerprint authentication processes and criminal justice data which are compatible with the FBIs” system, according to lobbying records.
Biden introduced a bill called the Child Protection Improvements Act on March 13, 2008, which created a national fingerprint background check system for volunteer groups that worked with children. Oldaker, Biden & Belair promptly began lobbying for the bill on behalf of their client, SEARCH, according to lobbying records. SEARCH paid the firm $93,000 in 2008, records show.
Hunter Biden founded Oldaker, Biden & Belair with William Oldaker, a former adviser to his father. During his time at the firm, he was registered to lobby for clients on issues ranging from online gambling to higher education. After Biden became a vice presidential candidate in 2008, Hunter stepped away from lobbying, and the firm was renamed Oldaker, Belair & Wittie.
ABC News reported last week that Biden was concerned conflicts with his sons lobbying work could negatively affect his presidential run in 2008.
Biden was “concerned with the impact that Hunter’s lobbying activities might have on his expected campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination,” according to court documents filed by a former business partner of Hunter Bidens in 2007, ABC News reported.
“Because my dad was vice president of the United States, there’s literally nothing, as a young man or as a full-grown adult, that my father in some way hasn’t had influence over,” Hunter told the outlet in an interview.
GOVERNMENT PARASITES--THY NAME IS BIDEN
Joe's brother James Biden and wife at Obama White House event
Looks like Obama liked his cut of the Biden deals.
Getting to attend a WH state dinner ---mean you paid BIGTIME.
TRAC Development, a South Korean firm won the master contract for Biden's Iraq work.
M/M James Biden were guests of Pres at a lavish WH state dinner honoring.....(wait for it).....
South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak. Obama rewarded all the players in this govt scheme.
================================================
Bidens Corruption Problem
Powerline ^ | Aug. 2, 2019 | John Hinderaker
FR Posted on 8/3/2019, 9:54:14 AM by libstripper
Joe Biden is being portrayed as the Democrats safest potential presidential nominee, despite his obvious flaws as a candidate. But one wonders how Bidens history of swamp corruption will play if he actually faces the scrutiny of a national run. Bidens family has gotten wealthy, like those of so many low-paid public servantsTom Daschle and Harry Reid are obvious examples. How does that happen? Politico headlines: Biden Inc. Over his decades in office, Middle-Class Joes family fortunes have closely tracked his political career.
It begins: (Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
=================================
ITEM Joe Bidens younger brother James received a series of unusually generous bank loans during the 1970s, while the former vice president served on the Senate Banking Committee. Politico reported that James Biden, who has a history of murky financial dealings, was able to parlay his role as the chief fundraiser for his brothers 1972 Senate run into the startup capital required to open a nightclub. The loans were considered unusually generous given that the younger Biden was a salesman without any business experience and purportedly had a net worth of less than $10,000 at the outset of the venture in 1973. Another key component of the story, which was widely covered by local media in Delaware and Pennsylvania at the time, is that the loans appeared to draw concerns over influence peddling, as Joe Biden had just been appointed to the Senate Banking Committee. (Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com
ITEM Here's the real James Biden windfall ----- billions awarded for Iraq reconstruction.
CIRCA 2012 Crony capitalism & Joe Bidens brother
SOURCE https://nypost.com/2012/10/23/crony-capitalism-joe-bidens-brother/
By Charles Gasparino, NY POST, October 23, 2012
James Biden isnt a big name in the business of residential housing development, so what exactly qualifies him to work at a construction company and share in the winnings of a $1.5 billion project to build affordable homes in Iraq? If you said it has something to do with his last name, the one shared by his older brother Vice President Joe Biden, you wouldnt be far off. At least thats the guess of some Wall Street analysts who cover the Marlton, NJ-based company Hill International and think theyve seen yet another sordid tale of crony capitalism.
Hill has been around for decades; its main business is managing construction projects in the Middle East and here in America. Its built a good reputation over the years, as has the father-son team who run it, Irv and David Richter. But the bursting of the real-estate bubble took its toll; Hill shares are down 80 percent since 2008. Since 2011, the company has reported losses. Its Middle East business has also been stymied by the Arab Spring uprisings; in Libya alone, Hill is out $60 million in payments that its still trying to recover.
But it got some good news not long after its housing subsidiary hired James Biden as an executive vice president in late 2010. Just six months later, Hill won one of its biggest contracts ever, a $1.5 billion deal to build at least 100,000 affordable homes in Iraq. A good deal for Hill, a relative newcomer to building homes and for James Biden, who as one partner will get a good share of that $1.5 billion.
The deal is contingent on the Iraqi government providing financing, which it has yet to do, but Hill execs tell analysts the money could start flowing by the end of the year. Thats when everyone involved, James Biden included, will start collecting on tens of millions of dollars in profits.
One friend of James Bidens estimates his net worth at around $7 million, yet he seems to have a remarkable lack of concrete business experience. An attorney whos done work for him called him a serial entrepreneur, but didnt name the startups he was responsible for. Hill chief Irv Richter called Biden a good salesman and the firms Web site describes 40 years of experience dealing with principals in business, political, legal and financial circles across the nation and internationally.
(James Biden also had a relatively short and somewhat controversial run as a co-owner of a hedge-fund company with Joes son Hunter. The company, as it turns out, was marketed by companies controlled by now convicted Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford. Neither Biden was charged, but Stanford went to jail and the company is kaput.)
No, James Bidens obvious value comes from his connection to the Obama administration. Richter assures me that James ties to Joe played no part in landing the plum assignment in Iraq or any of the other government-related jobs Hill has received recently.
Really? Connect these dots: Both the Iraqi government and the Obama State Department played roles in helping Hill win the assignment, Richter concedes. And Joe Biden is President Obamas point man on Iraq a country where people expect politicians families to be taken care of.
Also key is TRAC Development, a South Korean firm that won the master contract for the Iraq work. And huh! James Biden and his wife were guests of President Obama and Michelle for last Octobers state dinner honoring the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak. All one big coincidence?
Well, Richter insists that, while Bidens name and connections might open doors when government business is on the line, that doesnt guarantee success. If he had the name Obama, he would get in the door easier, Richter joked. During this months vice-presidential debate, Joe Biden told Americans to just ignore all that stimulus money that went to administration-connected failures like Solyndra. Crony capitalism, he insisted, hardly exists with Joe Biden and Barack Obama watching the store.
Maybe thats why the veep, after making that dopey statement, was laughing so much that night.
Charles Gasparino is a Fox Business Network senior correspondent.
Biden was a VP and a senator, nothing more - and usually less. Big deal! A big mouth and what else - just a guy who fancies himself as a comedian. Has anyone ever seen him when he wasn’t trying to be funny? I think Senator Kennedy (LA) said on TV this week about someone else - “he’s as funny (or as serious) as a heart attack and two strokes”! I don’t remember the details but it was pure Kennedy and priceless!
He had to actually seek out areas where his family could profit - he didn’t wield all that much power so what on earth did anyone get for favoring members of his family? THAT we still don’t know!
How can anyone be proud of the fact that they spent their entire adult life as a politician with the exception of a couple of years practicing law and riding AMTRAK to work? The man should be ashamed to show his face taking his garbage can in from the curb!
Peter is no lefty. Taking down Biden for a Trump 40 States Nov. wipeout vs one of the two Socialists.
Missing in Action: Stimulus Sheriff Joe Biden
By Michelle Malkin - Oct 10, 2012
Copyright 2012, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Remember when President Obama bragged about Joe Bidens fiscal discipline creds in 2009? To you, hes Mr. Vice President, but around the White House, we call him the Sheriff, Obama warned government employees. Because if youre misusing taxpayer money, youll have to answer to him. Fast-forward to 2012. Call in the search teams. Since being appointed the nations stimulus spending cop, Sheriff Joe has taken a permanent donut break.
Hes AWOL on oversight. In fact, hes been bubble-wrapped, boxed and kept completely out of sight. The garrulous gaffe machine hasnt sat down for a national media interview in five months.
The Democrats trillion-dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, however, keeps piling up waste, failure, fraud and debt. Who benefited most? Big government cronies. According to Investors Business Daily, a new analysis by Ohio State economics professor Bill Dupor reported that (m)ore than three-quarters of the jobs created or saved by Pres Obamas economic stimulus in the first year were in government.
Dupor and another colleague had earlier concluded that the porkulus was a predictable jobs-killer that crowded out non-government jobs with make-work public jobs and programs. Indeed, the massive wealth redistribution scheme destroyed/forestalled roughly one million private sector jobs by siphoning tax dollars to offset state revenue shortfalls and Medicaid increases rather than boost private sector employment.
Will this Keynesian wreckage come up during Biden's debates? It should be a centerpiece of domestic policy discussion. Nowhere is the gulf between Obama/Biden rhetoric and reality on jobs wider. Remember: Obamas Ivy League eggheads behind the stimulus promised that (m)ore than 90 percent of the jobs created are likely to be in the private sector. These are the same feckless economic advisers who infamously vowed that the stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 percent and that unemployment would drop below 6 percent sometime this year. Sheriff Joe rebuked the naysayers who decried the behemoth stimulus programs waste, fraud and abuse. You know what? They were wrong, he crowed.
Sheriff Biden was radio silent about the nearly 4,000 stimulus recipients who received $24 billion in Recovery Act funds while owing more than $750 million in unpaid corporate, payroll and other taxes. (Cash for Tax Cheats, anyone?)
He had nothing to say about:
<><> $6B in Homeowners' stimulus energy credits showered on nearly 1/3 of credit-claimers who had no record of homeownership, including minors and prisoners.
<><> $530 million dumped into profligate Detroit public schools for laptops and other electronics that had little, if any, measurable academic benefits.
<><> the whopping $6.7 million cost per job under the $50 billion stimulus-funded green energy loan program
<><> politically connected Green companies are now bankrupt---they took the money then went belly-up
<><> remember? Solyndra ($535M), Abound Solar ($400M), Beacon Power ($43M), A123 ($250M) and Ener1 ($119M).
<><> $1 million stimulus to Big Bird and Sesame Street $1 million stimulus to promote healthy eating,
<><> $1 million for a theoretical 1.47 jobs ($726,000 per job created.)
<><> hundreds of stimulus millions to govt GSA junkets in Las Vegas and Hawaii,
<><> hundreds of millions to ghost congressional districts, dead people, (family and friends?)
<><> 100's of millions for infrastructures to nowhere
<><> 100's of millions for Obama propaganda---road signs stamped with the shovel-ready logo.
Of course, theres no example of unfettered stimulus squandering more fitting than the one named after Keystone Fiscal Kop Joe Biden himself. Government-funded Amtraks Wilmington, Del., station raked in $20 million in recovery money after heavy personal lobbying by the states most prominent customer and cheerleader. In return, the station (which came in $6 million over budget, according to The Washington Times) renamed its facility after Biden. Bloated costs. Crony political narcissism. Glaring conflicts of interest. Monumental waste.
This is the Obama/Biden stimulus legacy bequeathed to our children and their grandchildren. Sheriff Joe and his plundering boss need to be run out of town on a rail.
SOURCE http://dyn.realclearpolitics.com/topic/v/Vice_President_/
You’re a damned liar! I can do more pushups than you.
Unfortunately, this kind of crap goes on all of the time in local government and gubmint funded “non profit” corporations. Democrats funnel taxpayer money to their adult children and relatives. Birds have to fly and fish have to swim. Democrats have to steal taxpayer money.
flr
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