[FoxNews] IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley's former superior recommended removing him from the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, a newly released transcript reveals, despite confirming key parts of Shapley's claims that the probe was vastly limited in scope.
IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon sat for a closed-door interview with staff from the House Ways & Means Committee on Friday. Waldon was one of several people named by Shapley as having attended an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting in which then-U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss allegedly discussed limitations on the Hunter Biden investigation.
Waldon, who said he was special agent in charge between "April of 2021 through February of 2023," said he recommended that Shapley be removed from the investigation for making "unsubstantiated" claims.
"So before I left the special agent in charge position, in February, I recommended to [IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf] that Gary Shapley be removed as the [supervisory special agent] from the Hunter Biden investigation, primarily due to what I perceived to be unsubstantiated allegations about motive, intent, bias. And, again, my goal was to protect the integrity of the investigation and figure out a way forward," Waldon told GOP investigators.
#10
Don't feel sorry for him. The guy had his fun as we could all clearly see in those laptop pix and vids. Now it's time to pay the piper...er, for the crack pipe too.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/15/2023 11:48 Comments ||
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#11
Shouldn’t he be painting? That seemed to solve a lot of problems for him.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/15/2023 12:46 Comments ||
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#12
Hunter is acting like he found a turd in the collection plate.
#15
If they can prove the FARA, money=laundering and selling access to foreign powers crimes, and his Daddy pardons him, can they unwind the crimes and seize the money or does he get to keep it?
[FoxNews] Oversight Dems say Schwerin was Biden's 'bookkeeper,' but Schwerin's lawyer disputes term.
House Democrats acknowledged Wednesday that Hunter Biden’s then-business partner, Eric Schwerin, handled President Biden’s finances for the duration of his vice presidency.
A spokesperson for the Democrat minority of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability told Fox News Digital that Schwerin, the former president of Hunter’s Rosemont Seneca Advisors and a frequent visitor to the Obama-Biden White House, served as then-Vice President Biden’s "bookkeeper" from 2009 to 2017.
"Notably, Mr. Schwerin, who served as then-Vice President Biden’s bookkeeper from 2009 to 2017, explained that he was not aware of any transactions into or out of the then-Vice President’s bank account related to business conducted by any Biden family member," the spokesperson said in a statement.
The statement came after Fox News Digital inquired about a section of the White House’s lengthy memo to the media on Wednesday as it scrambles to respond to House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
The White House issued a memo that urged news outlets to ramp up scrutiny of the impeachment inquiry announced Tuesday by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said House Republicans have "uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden's conduct."
The White House memo included a 14-page fact-check of Republicans’ claims made throughout the Biden investigation with regard to the president's purported role in his son's foreign business dealings and whether the Biden family used the former vice president’s public office for personal profit.
"Republicans’ own witnesses such as Eric Schwerin, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, said President Biden was not involved in their business dealings," the White House said on page 13 of the memo.
"’In a March 2023 interview with Republican and Democratic Committee staff, Mr. Schwerin told Committee staff he was not aware of any involvement by President Biden in the financial conduct of the President’s relatives’ businesses, much less any transactions into or out of the then-Vice President’s bank account related to business conducted by any Biden family member,’" the White House continued, citing a paragraph from the Oversight Democrats’ memo in May.
A person familiar with Schwerin's role in handling then-Vice President Biden's finances told Fox News Digital that Schwerin worked on Biden's personal budget and helped coordinate with his tax preparers.
The individual also pointed to the frequency of Schwerin's communications with Biden and his top aides and said it was "inevitable" Rosemont Seneca business came up in conversations.
A House Oversight spokesperson for the Republican majority told Fox News Digital that the committee "never interviewed Schwerin" as claimed by committee Democrats and later by the White House.
"This is false," the spokesperson said. "The Committee never interviewed Schwerin. There was a meeting but it was about document production. There has never been a transcribed interview or deposition."
The committee Democrats spokesperson fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying Schwerin, who Hunter previously admitted was a "close confidant and counsel" of then-Vice President Biden, was indeed interviewed by committee staff for multiple hours on March 31, 2023, following a request from Comer.
"In written correspondence to the Committee, Mr. Schwerin’s counsel described this as a ‘non-transcribed interview,’" the statement continued. "Majority and Minority staff had equal time and switched off asking Mr. Schwerin questions about his relationship with Hunter Biden, as well as the history, structure, and activities of Hunter Biden’s business entities, to which Mr. Schwerin responded."
Schwerin’s lawyer, however, told Fox News Digital that Schwerin was not technically a "bookkeeper" to the then-VP but rather he simply assisted the then-VP with his finances.
Fox News Digital has previously reported on Schwerin’s extensive ties to the Biden family, both personal and professional, and how he was instrumental in Hunter expanding his enterprise in China.
Peter Schweizer, the president of Government Accountability Institute and an expert on Hunter's business dealings, told "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo last month that "Eric Schwerin was the money guy" in Hunter's business ventures.
Schwerin, who visited the Obama White House and then-Vice President Biden’s residence at least 36 times between 2009 and 2016, was also a founding partner and managing director of Hunter's now-dissolved firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. He was working with Hunter's firms when he was appointed in early 2015 by then-President Obama to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, an independent U.S. government agency.
Hunter’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, who was married to the president’s son from 1993 to 2017, revealed in a memoir in June 2022 that Schwerin "managed almost every aspect of our financial life."
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Firming her stance...as mentioned yesterday
[FoxNews] Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her "Fight For Our Freedoms" college tour by declaring that equity of outcome is what American society needs.
Lots of fun, no doubt, but college students don’t bother to vote.
During the kickoff of her tour through American colleges, Vice President Kamala Harris advocated a vision for American society that would provide "equitable outcomes."
Harris began her "Fight For Our Freedoms College Tour" at Hampton University on Thursday. The White House posted a press release about the series of events, declaring it seeks to "mobilize young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights," particularly causes like "critical fights for reproductive freedom, commonsense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and teaching America’s full story."
During the event, Harris was asked about how she will address environmental justice, particularly when "vulnerable minority populations" are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards.
She responded by noting that "everybody is impacted by the climate crisis but not everyone is impacted equally" and claimed that the "attack right now on diversity, equity, and inclusion" is seeking to avoid discussions about the issue by contesting the premise of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion itself.
#5
From Kunstler today - highly relevant:\\..."Somebody ought to be whispering in “Joe Biden’s” ear that his services are no longer required, the performance is over, and it’s time to exit, stage right. But that, of course, leaves the Blob and the DNC with Kamala Harris, the cackling empty pants-suit, now fully evolved into an historic political joke. It’s not like they can even pretend to run her for president in 2024.
Nor is there any realistic way to shove her offstage for a replacement. The appointed veep switcheroo gambit — shoehorning Gavin Newsom in there and then elevating him as Kamala quits — looks un-sellable. He’s turned California into a Hieronymus Bosch hellscape of flash-mob thievery, car-jacking, medical lunacy, and wildfire mismanagement. The videos of California mayhem play on social media 24/7. He’d never get confirmed by Congress. And who else is there on the DNC bench? Pete Buttigieg? (I’m sure….) Hillary? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha…! They could stuff Barack Obama back in — the Constitution only prohibits a third elected term, not an appointment. Wouldn’t that be a nation-ending prank? (At least he could stop pretending to not already be secretly acting president.)"
#6
Any pre-election swaps have to go through the House for approval. If McCarthy runs through someone we don’t like, we can take it out on his minions on Election Day.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/15/2023 21:00 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] 'You can’t do this with zero dollars': Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says state needs more money to clear roadside homeless camps.
An initiative to remove homeless camps from roadways needs more money to continue next year, according to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, after burning through $143 million in a little over a year.
"You can’t do this with zero dollars," Inslee, a Democrat, told KOMO News. "We’ll need the legislature in January to step up to increase funding so we can continue the progress we’re making."
Inslee's statewide Rights-of-Way Safety Initiative began in June 2022 with the goal of removing homeless camps from state property near roads and offering housing to the people living in the camps.
On Friday, Inslee toured a tiny home village in Olympia funded by the initiative that will soon provide shelter to 50 people who previously lived in an encampment along I-5, KOMO reported. The governor said during the tour that the safety initiative is out of money and, come January, camps will remain on state lands if the legislature does not allocate more funds.
"We’re very proud of the work state agencies have done in our right of way initiative working alongside local officials and service providers," a spokesperson for the governor told Fox News in an email. "We will take as much funding as we can get to continue this work."
Washington has spent more than $143 million on sweeping camps, funding housing and other costs from the initiative so far, according to Washington State Department of Commerce data.
About 1,300 people were swept from roadside camps as of July 31, with roughly 430 of those rejecting help getting into temporary or permanent shelter. That means it took $165,000 per person to clear the camps and house 870 people.
The department says 126 people have successfully exited the program into permanent housing like a rented apartment or are living with a family member.
The Commerce Department did not respond to Fox News' questions about the data, but told independent journalist Brandi Kruse funding "includes capital allocations, which should be amortized over at least 30 years when looking at costs."
Washington has the fourth-largest homeless population in the country (25,211), exceeded only by California, New York and Florida, according to 2022 Housing and Urban Development estimates. About half of Washington's homeless are believed to be unsheltered and many are stuck in a pattern of chronic homelessness.
The governor's office said the safety initiative has helped keep neighborhoods safe and get nearly 1,000 people "access to housing and services they need to escape the cycle of homelessness."
"This represents a fraction of the problem though, and much more state investment is needed to continue this work that benefits our communities in so many ways," a spokesperson wrote.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] White House National Security Council's John Kirby avoids answering question about Biden's 'lies' over 9/11, witnessing Pittsburgh bridge collapse and the death of his grandpa.
#8
Joe has consistently lied for many years. He has never been a good liar based on his frequency in getting caught. In the last four years or so, all his skills have eroded including his ability to coherently tell a whopper. It is hard to keep a story straight when you are so disoriented that you need a cue card to tell you to sit down.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/15/2023 12:07 Comments ||
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#9
Thank goodness Joe still has the mainstream media to cover for him!
Posted by: Tom ||
09/15/2023 12:20 Comments ||
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#10
That's the DNC media, lock, stock, and barrel.
#14
Uh...there's no mystery here. He has dementia. Dementia is a one-way slide down. It doesn't get better, only worse. Another four years? Even the pedophile-loving media can't cover for that. They're already working overtime making Biden look good.
Posted by: Jairong Scourge of the Gepids2435 ||
09/15/2023 16:54 Comments ||
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Softening his stance...as mentioned yesterday
[FoxNews] California's state-funded travel ban included 26 predominantly red states
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a bill that effectively ends a state-funded travel ban to red states.
Senate Bill 447, also known as the BRIDGE Project, repeals a 2016 law that restricted state agencies from requiring employees to travel to any state that enacted a law that California deemed discriminatory against the LGBTQ+ community.
Since its implementation in 2017, more than half of U.S. states – predominantly conservative learning – were added to the list.
Governor Newsom said its repeal "helps California’s message of acceptance, equality and hope reach the places where it is most needed."
Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, who introduced SB 447, said the repeal sends a message to the rest of the nation that California embraces "one another, not in spite of our differences, but because of them."
"And we are ready to reach across the aisle, and across state lines, to help open hearts and minds, and support our LGBTQ+ youth and communities who are feeling so alone," he said.
Newsom, who has been discussed as a possible presidential candidate should President Biden opt out of running for re-election, has been criticized for traveling to Republican states that his administration put on the state-funded travel ban list.
The Democratic governor traveled to Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi in April to boost Democrat gubernatorial candidates with his new political action committee (PAC), Campaign for Democracy. The travel was not officially funded by the state but was criticized as violating the spirit of his own law.
Newsom was also criticized for vacationing in Montana last summer, though his office said it was to visit his in-laws and was not at the taxpayers’ expense.
#2
I really had wondered, with UCLA joining the Big Ten and Cal joining the ACC, just how their teams would be able to travel to all those icky Midwestern and Southern states.
Now I guess the question is moot.
Posted by: Tom ||
09/15/2023 12:21 Comments ||
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#3
The ban would have made campaigning a logistical nightmare.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/15/2023 12:50 Comments ||
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[FoxNews] More than 6,000 migrant families are in emergency shelters across the state.
Massachusetts National Guard members were officially deployed as "rapid response teams" Wednesday to assist with the state's bursting migrant shelters, as pressure mounts for President Biden to address the crisis in the state.
The move to deploy 250 members comes as Democrat Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency several weeks ago because of the strain on the shelter system.
"Massachusetts is in a state of emergency, and we need all hands-on deck to meet this moment and ensure families have access to safe shelter and basic services," Healy said in a statement.
Currently, more than 6,000 migrant families are in emergency shelters across the state. Massachusetts is a right to shelter state, and must provide emergency housing to families in need.
National Guard members were sent Wednesday to 40 hotels and motels that don't have service providers. Healey said they'll coordinate access to meals, medical care and transportation.
"The plan that we have in place today with the deployment of the National Guard, which happened just last month, will put National Guard staff, soldiers, in locations as part of a response to our non-service providers, essentially creating rapid response teams in places that we don’t have the ground service contractors or case management services happening on a regular basis," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Tuesday.
According to WFXT Boston 25 News, Driscoll told the Local Government Advisory Commission that between 20 and 35 families seek shelter each day in Massachusetts, occasionally swelling as high as 55 families, which "creates an immediate need to try and find spaces."
"All of our typical emergency shelter sites were filled a month ago," Driscoll told Boston 25 News. "That means we’re filling in trying to find locations."
The state has scrambled to find housing, opening Joint Base Cape Cod as a temporary shelter in June. The base quickly expanded to house and support up to 60 migrant families, but Driscoll said that it "filled up within two days."
The immigration crisis has prompted blue state Democrats like Healey to lean on the president to do more about the crisis for months.
Healey first declared a state of emergency in August, calling for more funding and help from the federal government.
"Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need," she wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
She also blamed "a confusing tangle of immigration laws, an inability for migrants to obtain work authorization from the federal government, an increase in the number of people coming to Massachusetts, and the lack of an affordable housing supply in our state."
Healey called for Mayorkas to press Congress and use executive action to remove barriers for work permits for migrants, "address our outdated and punitive immigration laws" and to provide additional financial assistance to the state.
Following Massachusetts' cries for assistance, Boston received a $1.9 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help migrants with shelter and transportation.
Healey's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
#1
Can a member of the NG quit, like a civilian job, or is it like a regular active duty enlistment? I’d be hard pressed to be called away from my real job to support this crap show.
#11
The governor can talk to Joe but there will not be an emergency declaration. It is impossible to declare an emergency when the border is under control.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/15/2023 11:59 Comments ||
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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.
