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A Fox News host asking a House Republican if he has any evidence President Joe Biden benefitted from his son Hunter’s business contracts got the brush off and was forced to remind the congressman “everybody” has seen a video he claimed no one is talking about.
That video is of then-Vice President Joe Biden talking about how he followed official U.S. foreign policy that was also supported by European nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), requiring the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Viktor Shokin, to be relieved of his duties over his record of not prosecuting corruption.
Republicans have turned the video’s implication on its head, wrongly insisting it is evidence of corruption and bribery of the now -President, and using it in their efforts to change public opinion and attack Biden.
“Shokin’s inaction prompted international calls for his ouster and ultimately resulted in his removal by Ukraine’s parliament,” USA Today reported in 2019. “Without pressure from Joe Biden, European diplomats, the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations, Shokin would not have been fired, said Daria Kaleniuk, co-founder and executive director of the Anti Corruption Action Centre in Kiev.”
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“At one point, Biden withheld $1 billion in aid to Ukraine to pressure the government to remove Shokin from the Prosecutor General’s Office,” the paper adds. “Burisma Holdings was not under scrutiny at the time Joe Biden called for Shokin’s ouster, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, an independent agency set up in 2014 that has worked closely with the FBI.”
U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that President Joe Biden “could be compromised.”
“Have you seen evidence,” MacCallum asked Smith, “that shows a link to money from these contracts that Hunter Biden had, that that money helped to support the lifestyle of President Biden? Have you seen that connection?”
Instead of answering the question, Congressman Smith said, “You know one thing people’s not talking about, what we have seen is his video statement in Ukraine, saying that they needed to remove the federal prosecutor that was investigating the Burismo which is the company that his son was sitting on the board getting paid over two million dollars to be sitting on it, and he brags about the gentleman being fired –” Smith said, wrongly naming Burisma.
Before he could finish MacCallum interjected, saying, “Yeah, everybody has seen that one,” referring to the video.
“That right there is enough in itself to say, something is not right,” Smith concluded.
“Alright, we will see where this goes. Representative Smith, thank you,” MacCallum said.
Former Lincoln Project executive director Fred Wellman called Smith’s remarks, “Complete bullshit.”
“Dozens of countries were pushing to get the deeply corrupt Shokin fired and the Republicans are now using him as a witness. That’s before we talk about all of that happened before he was President. These clowns have nothing.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
Fox News’ Martha MacCallum: “Have you seen evidence that shows a Link to money from these contracts that Hunter Biden had, that that money helped to support the lifestyle of President Biden?”
Rep. Jason Smith: [pivots to Biden taking credit for Shokin getting fired] pic.twitter.com/usKInURTPG
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 13, 2023
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