By Mike Huckabee
April 25, 2022
|
|
|
|
Good morning! Blessings on you and your family, and from all the Huckabee staff!
Today's newsletter includes:
- Joe Biden's Bad Week
- Team Hillary tries last-ditch attorney-client privilege
- Hunter business partner visited White House 19 times
- And much more.
Sincerely,
Mike Huckabee
1. DAILY BIBLE VERSE
A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
If you have a favorite Bible Verse you want to see in one of our newsletters, please email [email protected].
2. Joe Biden's Bad Week
Just when you didn’t think Joe Biden’s blunders could get any worse, he has a week like this one. After a 2 year hiatus due to Covid, the White House Easter Egg roll was resumed and Biden officials probably wished they’d canceled this one too. While working the rope line, some pesky reporters actually asked him a real question beyond asking him about his favorite ice cream flavor. As he seemed to get lost in the question and start speaking off the cuff instead of off the script, a staffer dressed as the Easter Bunny jumped in and intervened, pulling the President away from reporters so he didn’t saying something honest and truthful.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/18/easter-bunny-stops-biden-from-answering-reporters-question/
Reports are that when Jen Psaki leaves the White House to go work for MSNBC, she will be replaced by a large cartoon figure because it’s less conspicuous for the President to be hustled away from journalists by a bigger than life Easter Bunny than by an almost human-like staffer.
Then there’s the famous “ghost handshake” Biden attempted to have after a speech in North Carolina. He finished his speech and appears to have followed a cue from his teleprompter that told him to shake hands when he finished…one little problem—his cue to shake hands was there, but there was no one there. A couple of days earlier he gave a speech about ghost guns; it appears that he thought that meant that actual ghosts were getting guns and he just wanted to pretend to shake the ghost’s hand.
https://twitter.com/FreeBeacon/status/1514691339639791629
Most of the press didn’t even try to cover for this rather pathetic moment, but the so-called “fact checker” site called Politifact tried to explain it away by calling it just a hand gesture to point at someone. The utterly discredited Politifact got laughed at more than Biden for that Whopper of a cover-up.
And then this week, after a federal judge in Florida overruled the despised and hated mask mandate for trains, planes, and buses, the President seemed to take sides with the people when he said that people could decide for themselves whether to wear the phony Fauci-fashion face diaper.
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1516480024819478530
But apparently he’s just the President…he’s not really calling the shots because hours after the President seemed to indicate that we were a free country again and that wearing a mask on a plane was be “up to the citizen,” his own Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling to Democrats can keep everyone’s faces covered up. Maybe Democrats know that if they force us all to keep wearing masks, no one will notice that they are talking out of both sides of their mouths. Frankly, there are some Democrats whose faces do look better all covered up, so maybe it’s not all bad. And yes, some people should wear a mask for medical reasons or maybe they just don’t want to brush their teeth. But shouldn’t that be our choice? Why do Democrats want to justify killing an unborn child based on the CHOICE of the mother, but want to eliminate the choice you might make not about your baby’s health, but about your own health?
And remember when President Biden said we need to punish those border patrol agents who were accused of using whips against illegal immigrants? After a thorough investigation, the agents were completely cleared of any wrong doing, but the White House refused to apologize or even admit they were wrong.
https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1516152842150723588
I know you might think I’m a bit tough on President Biden, but not nearly as tough as I could be. I don’t bungle his decisions and his declarations. I just try to make sure you see why I think our country is in trouble with him in the driver’s seat and why I encourage you to get out and vote this November!
3. Team Hillary tries last-ditch attorney-client privilege
Special Counsel John Durham has issued subpoenas for members of Hillary For America (her 2016 campaign) and the Democratic National Committee in the case against Michael Sussmann, who, as a Perkins Coie partner, represented them both.
But according to Jerry Dunleavy at the Washington Examiner, Hillary’s campaign, the DNC, Perkins Coie, and oppo research firm Fusion GPS are all fighting Durham’s efforts to compel the submission of documents –- UNREDACTED documents –- they continue to withhold.
They’re citing attorney-client privilege. As background, here’s what legal analyst Margot Cleveland wrote a few weeks ago about their refusal to turn over documents.
As Durham has pointed out, the party asserting attorney-client privilege has the burden of establishing that the communications in question are, in fact, privileged. “...Merely claiming they are is not enough.”
For privilege to protect a communication, he said, it must be something “that a client conveys to his attorney for the purpose of security for an opinion on law, legal services, or assistance in a legal proceeding.” It can also cover third parties, such as legal assistants, as long as the communication is “for the purpose of obtaining legal advice from the lawyer.” But that's it.
Durham can't see the unredacted documents unless the judge has so ruled, so he has asked that they be submitted to the court for an “in camera” review. Cleveland included all the lawyerly details, but her thoughts a few weeks ago can be summarized this way: Presiding Judge Christopher Cooper would likely call for this and provide the Clinton campaign and the DNC an opportunity to argue why the communications are privileged, but that the argument would be very tough.
Even though the burden of proof is on Hillary For America and the DNC, Durham has filed an impressive argument for why these communications are not privileged. But Sussmann’s attorneys fought back Friday in another filing, saying, “The Special Counsel took the astonishing and legally inappropriate step of subpoenaing witnesses for the express purpose of having them testify to the invocation of the attorney-client privilege in front of the jury.” (I’m not a lawyer, but Isn’t that just what Cleveland said they’re supposed to do, seeing as how the burden of proof is on them?)
They’re also saying Durham “overreached” in trying to prove “prejudicial allegations he has not charged.” But Durham volleyed back, saying that the “joint venture” he’s investigating “was far from collateral for the charged crime,” meaning they were both part of the same scheme.
But now, here’s the best verbal “capture” of this moment in the Durham investigation, which Andrew C. McCarthy calls, “the moment of attorney-client privilege.” McCarthy has outdone himself in his comments on this desperate attempt by the Clinton campaign and DNC to keep their communications secret, and they are a joy to read. “...With yet another special counsel hovering,” he writes, “and apparently close to concluding that the Hillary Clinton campaign pulled off one of the great political dirty tricks of all time, it’s like we’re right back in the Nineties, wondering what the definition of ‘is’ is.”
This is an absolute must-read:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/04/durhams-investigation-is-finally-getting-interesting/
As he explains, the last laugh might be on the Clinton people, because when they argue for attorney-client privilege because Sussmann was their attorney, they’re reinforcing the very charge that Durham has made against him; namely, that he lied to the FBI when he said he was NOT acting as their attorney. This is really getting good.
John Solomon also has an update, and he, too, says their effort is likely to backfire. That’s because “the very subjects the Clinton campaign now seeks to protect –- such as its now-discredited anti-Trump research –- were widely distributed without regard to privilege for years.”
Once a privileged attorney-client communication is spread to third parties, privilege is history.
Alan Dershowitz actually supported Hillary for President in 2016 but dismisses her claims of privilege now. Kash Patel anticipates that Durham will use the crime-fraud exception, saying that “this is an attempt to block information in an ongoing fraud. You cannot use the attorney-client privilege.” Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, calls the attempt “laughable,” considering the many times false Russia collusion claims were shared with third parties. He thinks it might be a delaying tactic.
“I think they’re going to lose on that,” Biggs said. “And, you know, it’s starting to unravel for them pretty quickly. And they just don’t want the truth to come out.”
4. Hunter business partner visited White House 19 times
Last week, we brought you details of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax and financial affairs, along with the story about a letter from 16 congressional Republicans to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding a briefing on that investigation as part of fulfilling their oversight duties.
Now, the update: Miranda Devine, who broke the laptop story in the New York Post and wrote LAPTOP FROM HELL, has co-written with Jon Levine a report saying that Hunter’s closest Rosemont Seneca partner, Eric Schwerin, visited the Obama White House 19 times, according to visitor logs. On November 17, 2010, around the time Hunter took a downward slide and checked into rehab, Schwerin even had a sit-down meeting with the Vice President in the West Wing.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/23/joe-biden-met-with-hunter-biden-business-partner-at-the-white-house/
Recall that Joe Biden has repeatedly maintained that he knew nothing about his son’s business affairs. But according to Devine, the visits recorded in the logs correspond closely to “key moments in Hunter’s life when he was striking multi-million dollar deals in foreign countries, including China.”
Devine cites several striking examples of this; here’s just one: In August of 2011, the Vice President went to China for three days of top-level meetings, including with future President Xi Jinping. Just a few days later, Schweriin was in the White House for a meeting with Kellen Suber, Biden’s executive assistant.
Judging from correspondence on Hunter’s laptop, Schwerin appears to have been the Biden business associate with the most intimate access to Hunter’s personal finances.
Evan Ryan, VP Biden’s assistant for intergovernmental affairs and his public liaison, was apparently the White House conduit for Hunter and his Rosemont Seneca colleagues. She married Tony Blinken, who is now President Biden’s Secretary of State, and she got an appointment from Joe as well, as White House Cabinet Secretary.
Devine called attention to a July 6, 2010, memo we recently discussed, with the subject line, “JRB Future Memo.” (JRB could only be “Joseph Robinette Biden.”) It was Schwerin who wrote that memo, saying to Hunter: Your Dad just called me (about his mortgage)...He could use some positive news about his future earnings potential.”
Peter Schweizer, author of “RED HANDED: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win,” along with Devine, appeared with Maria Bartiromo on FOX News Sunday to add to the update.
House investigators intend to call Hunter to testify before Congress if (when!) they retake the House this fall, he said. Meanwhile, the federal investigation in Delaware awaits responses from its subpoena in December for “all documents, emails, or communications created, provided, produced, and/or filed by [Hunter] Biden, regarding Biden’s income, expenses, assets, debts, obligations, and financial transactions, including, but not limited to, all payments made to or from Biden, whether directly or through third parties, and all personal and business expenditures by Biden.” In other words, they're following the money.
According to Devine, the investigation has broadened from tax violations to include potential money laundering and violations of lobbying laws. Devine reported that the grand jury is “making good progress,” holding interviews with Hunter’s “business partners and also his former lovers.” She said they’re asking witnesses who “the big guy” is.
Recall that “the big guy” is mentioned in an email from James Gilliar (subject line: “Expectations”) to Tony Bobulinski and others, including Hunter, that breaks down the percentages of money going to various individuals. Whoever the big guy was, the “expectation” according to this memo was that he would get 10 percent. Former business associate Tony Bobulinski said in an interview with Tucker Carlson just a few days before the 2020 election that “the big guy” was definitely Joe Biden, but that story was suppressed.
Speaking of James Gilliar, we found some excellent reporting on him from Breitbart News that might have been missed the first time around. It concerns Hunter's negotiations with Chinese energy company CEFC. (The breakdown above is for that deal.) Devine has alleged that Joe Biden attended at least one of their meetings with chairman Ye Jianming.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/01/emails-hunter-biden-is-true-sheikh-of-washington/
Obviously, what started out as a story about Hunter Biden is now about President Biden. “He’s the center of it,” Schweizer said. “He’s the planet around which the moons in the family, Hunter Biden and James Biden, revolve.” He does have a concern with the issue of statute of limitations, he said, as this grand jury was convened in 2018. COVID intervened, he explained, and they lost “about a year and a half.” He hopes we’ll hear something from them very soon. (Note: you'd think a statute of limitations might be eased if grand juries can't even convene due to an emergency.)
“I don’t know if Miranda shares this opinion,” he said, “but I think they’ve got him dead to rights on tax evasion, and I think the money laundering and other charges are equally very troublesome from Team Biden. And their nightmare scenario is that there’s a trial. They want a deal, even if Hunter goes to jail for a little bit.” A trial would highlight the role Joe Biden played in all of this, he said.
Barring a plea from Hunter, AG Garland would have to decide whether or not to go to trial. Devine pointed out that Garland has already been “burned” by the controversy over investigating parents protesting CRT in their kids’ classrooms, and suggests he might have “no appetite for ruining his reputation further by being seen to be covering up for the Biden family.” She thinks he might just “let justice take its course.” Hope she’s right.
Hunter repaid his overdue taxes in 2021, even though it took huge loan –- at least $1 million, possibly double that, according to Devine –- from a "generous benefactor" in California to do it. She said his defense is going to be that he was a drug addict and didn’t know what he was doing, but that he is now clean.
But whatever happens to Hunter personally, the Democrat establishment “appears to be turning on Joe Biden,” according to Schweizer, largely because he’s polling so dismally. “I’m sure there are certain elements now that would just as soon that he leave the stage at some point,” he said, adding that this is true even if it makes Kamala Harris President.
The Secret Service, unbelievably, has said it has NO visitation logs of those who met with Biden at his home in Delaware –- and he spends over a quarter of his time there.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/no-records-kept-of-bidens-meetings-in-delaware-report
Schweizer has cited numerous instances of off-the-books meetings between Biden personally and various Chinese officials in the White House; he knows about them through references in emails and social media posts from 2011. Curiously, the logs show only meetings with other White House officials, not with the President.
“This is a pattern,” Schweizer said. “When political figures are trying to hide who they’re meeting with...that, to me, is a hugely important avenue to show what’s really going on in this scheme.”
5. Russia-Ukraine War Update
Here’s today’s link to continually-updated Russia-Ukraine stories from Fox News:
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-zelenskyy-live
Weekend developments: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were in Kyiv for a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Afterward, Blinken said, “The strategy that we’ve put in place — massive support for Ukraine, massive pressure against Russia, solidarity with more than 30 countries engaged in these efforts — is having real results. When it comes to Russia’s war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding. Russia has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine, to take away its sovereignty, to take away its independence. That has failed.” Nevertheless, Putin shows no signs of ending his military assault on eastern Ukraine, and he reportedly aims to take control of southern Ukraine.
While it’s debatable whether Russia is actually losing, it isn’t winning the swift and overwhelming victory that Putin apparently thought it would. Why? Lawrence Person has some fascinating data and theories on that, and it’s a lesson Americans can learn some lessons from.
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=51256
Russia spends 5% of its GDP on defense and 20% of the nation’s industrial jobs are in arms manufacturing. Yet some of their missiles turned out to have a 60% failure rate, their planes are being shot down, their tanks are stuck in the mud, and their soldiers not only don’t have enough ammo, they don’t even have decent food. What’s the problem? The rotten thing that ruins everything it touches: socialism!
Instead of embracing free market capitalism and cutting deals with private companies for weapons and supplies, Russia relies on state monopolies that are staggeringly corrupt and incompetent and have no incentives to do better. Read the full article. It will make it clear why Russia’s military looks so fearsome in parades but gets its rump kicked by Ukrainian volunteers with personal small firearms. You’ll understand why the term “Potemkin village” – a phony façade created to fool onlookers into thinking things are going better than they really are – originated in Russia.
6. Finland prepares for war
Finland is also preparing for a Russian invasion if the nation joins NATO and Putin makes good on his threat to retaliate.
7. RIP Orrin Hatch
I’m sad to have to report that former Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch died Saturday at 88 at home in Salt Lake City, surrounded by family. He was one of the most respected Senators of the past century, the former President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the longest-serving Senator in Utah history, serving from 1977 to 2019.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/longtime-utah-republican-senator-orrin-hatch-dead-at-88
Sen. Hatch was described as the personification of the American Dream, a man who rose from an impoverished childhood to the US Senate, and who made it his mission to expand freedom and opportunity for others. He was renowned for his ability to reach across the aisle to get things done and for protecting religious freedom. He was a truly great man and public servant. You might not know that he was also a gifted songwriter and musician. He was a strong advocate for music and the arts, something we shared in conferences for the arts.
Tributes to Sen. Hatch are pouring in. Here are some from various political figures.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/political-world-reacts-orrin-hatch-death
All of us on the Huckabee team extend our prayers and condolences to Sen. Hatch’s wife Elaine and their six children.
8. Texas Hero
As of this writing, an intense search is still underway for the Texas National Guardsman who dived into the Rio Grande River to save some migrants who were in danger of drowning while trying to cross the border illegally. The water is muddy, deep and more treacherous than it looks. The migrants were saved, but the Guardsman who risked his life to save them has yet to be found and is believed dead.
The heroic Guardsman has now been identified as Specialist Bishop Evans, 22, an Arlington native who served in Kuwait and Iraq.
Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott honored him as a hero “who risked his life in service to Texas and America.”
That story also includes some furious reactions from both Republicans and Democrat veteran Tulsi Gabbard, roasting the Biden Administration for encouraging waves of illegal immigration that are putting both Americans and the migrants at risk. Making it even worse was a report that the two illegal migrants Specialist Evans lost his life trying to save were both involved in the illegal narcotics trade. They survived to try to get in again, and thanks to this Administration, they most likely will.
9. Bizarre Ultimatum
When I comment on legal cases, I often remind readers that I’m not a lawyer. I don’t even play one on TV, like the legal analysts on CNN and MSNBC. But I sometimes feel as if I – or just about anybody, really – must know more about the law than some very prominent lawyers in the news. Like former Trump attorney-turned-Trump attacker and convicted fraudster Michael Cohen.
As I said, I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think you get grand juries to indict former Presidents by threatening them.
Permalink: https://www.mikehuckabee.com/2022/4/morning-edition-april-25
Leave a Comment
Note: Fields marked with an * are required.