Over at the far-left Politico, we learn that Team Biden is upset Barack Obama won’t defend Joe Biden’s looting of Ukraine.
The longish piece is written by CNN’s Ryan Lizza, who was fired from the New Yorker in 2017 over credible allegations of sexual misconduct, and it’s the usual-usual from this crowd: unnamed sources, friends of friends… So you have to assume most of it is either fake news or the use of selective sources that allow the writer to spread the selective message of his choice.
One thing that did ring true to me, though, is Team Biden’s obvious anger and frustration over Obama’s silence, over his refusal to defend Biden from the growing Ukraine scandal. Here’s the relevant portion:
One person who is very close to both Obama and Biden said the only time the Biden campaign has been disappointed in Obama is over Trump’s Ukraine scandal. “I don’t think anybody in the Biden world challenges Obama’s affection for Biden, or challenges his strategy of not weighing in for anybody,” this person said. ”I do think there’s frustration when Joe Biden and Hunter Biden get attacked by Republicans on the Ukrainian thing and they say, ’Obama and his administration looked the other way back when this was happening,’ and Obama doesn’t say anything. The Biden people ask, ‘Why won’t Obama say something?’”
“Why won’t Obama say something?”
Well, let me see if I can answer that question for you, but first a recap…
While serving as president, Obama put his vice president, Joe Biden, in charge of diplomatic relations with Ukraine. While Joe was in this influential position, the corrupt oligarch of a corrupt energy company called Burisma paid Joe’s son Hunter $50,000 a month — a month! — to sit on the company’s board. This, despite the fact Hunter does not know anything about energy and does not even speak the local language.
Worse still, when a local prosecutor started to looking into Burisma, Joe has openly bragged about how he used the threat of withholding U.S. aid to force Ukraine to fire the prosecutor, which they did.
And now, thanks to Adam Schiff’s failed (and then some) impeachment hearings, we know that, at the time, the Obama administration was greatly concerned about this obvious conflict of interest, so…
Why would Obama defend Joe, when what Joe and Hunter did was indefensible?
Why would Obama pour gasoline all over this fire, when Obama is likely furious at his former wingman for placing this black mark on his presidential legacy?
Obama is many things, but he is no dummy, and he knows that if Biden wins the nomination that Trump is going to not only pulverize Biden with Ukraine, he is going to spread that Ukraine stink all over the Obama administration that allowed Hunter’s looting spree to occur.
My guess is that Obama would not only like to see Joe’s presidential campaign go away, he would like to see this entire impeachment fiasco disappear.
Here’s a glimpse into Obama’s future…
If Pelosi decides to go ahead and impeach Trump (and I think she has no choice at this point if she wants to keep the Democrat base happy), then this goes to the Senate for a trial, a Senate run by Republicans who will never vote to remove Trump over a hoax. But…
Senate Republicans have made it clear that they intend to use the trial to pour a spotlight on Joe and Hunter Biden’s indefensible corruption — which will, of course, damage Obama’s legacy.
So, yeah, Obama’s not speaking up because he’s almost certainly furious with Biden over all of this, and has every right to be.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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