Joe Biden got $40K from China funds, brother James admits in impeachment interview

  First brother James Biden confirmed during his impeachment inquiry testimony that a $40,000 check made out to former Vice President Joe Biden in 2017 used funds James received from a Chinese government-linked company — while James also revealed he received overseas income as recently as last year.

James, 74, insisted that he didn’t believe the company, CEFC China Energy, was controlled by Beijing — claiming that “I just misspoke” when telling the IRS in a 2022 interview that first son Hunter Biden, who was partnering with his uncle, had described CEFC chairman Ye Jianming as a “protégé” of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Where did you believe the source of the money that was going into [Hunter Biden’s company] Owasco, prior to being sent to you, was coming from?” an investigator asked James during the Feb. 21 interview, according to an official transcript released Friday.

“CEFC,” James conceded — following an extended back-and-forth in which the first brother’s attorney Paul Fishman tried to argue that “money’s fungible” before being reminded by a House staffer that James “did not have sufficient funds” to make the $40,000 alleged loan repayment on his own, “so it is traceable.”

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President Biden’s brother James sat for a deposition in the impeachment inquiry last week.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The interview also established that James Biden received $840,000 over four transfers between November 2022 and July 2023 from Argentinian businessman Jose Luis Manzano, which the first brother said came from selling half of his stake in Manzano’s holding of Argentinian natural gas company Metrogas.

“It was sweat equity, mainly, in dealing with him in terms of his other ventures,” James told the investigators, saying Manzano asked him to woo Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim to invest in 4G in Argentina, an attempt that was unsuccessful.

Manzano was at one point “in discussions” about working with CEFC, James also confirmed.

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The first brother revealed other international business efforts that he said were futile, saying that around the time he used a $200,000 loan from financially distressed rural hospital company Americore to repay funds from another alleged loan to Joe Biden in 2018, “I was looking for investments from Qatar, again, in infrastructure projects. They were building hotels in Miami.”

Democrats have defended the alleged loan repayments as evidence of nothing more than Joe Biden being a supportive brother and James insisted in his testimony that his brother was not corrupt.

But Republicans say the transfers, even if they were loan repayments, make clear that the president benefited from his relatives’ dealings and occurred as he repeatedly interacted with their business associates, including in the CEFC venture.

Subpoenaed bank records showed that the James Biden bank account from which the $40,000 check to Joe Biden came had a balance of just $46.88 before receiving a $50,000 infusion days beforehand, on Aug. 28, 2017.

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Emails revealed how Hunter Biden tried to cash in big on behalf of his family with the Chinese firm.

The $50,000 had come the same day from funds withdrawn from James’ entity Lion Hall Group, which had received a $150,000 wire from Owasco on Aug. 14 (having had a balance below $2,000 at the time), according to a bank record memo released by the House Oversight Committee in November.

“Remember when Joe Biden told the American people that his son didn’t make money in China?” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) asked at the time in a video posted to X. “Well, not only did he lie about his son Hunter making money in China, but it also turns out that $40,000 in laundered China money landed in Joe Biden’s bank account in the form of a personal check.”

“Even if this $40,000 check was a loan repayment from James Biden, it still shows how Joe benefited from his family cashing in on his name,” Comer added, “with money from China no less.”

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President Biden waits to deliver remarks during a visit to the southern border Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.AP

The Biden family’s relationship with CEFC was one of its most lucrative and controversial — ending in 2018 when Ye disappeared amid corruption allegations in China after making a splash in international markets with his firm, which purported to be privately held but was widely considered part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road” foreign influence initiative.

James testified that he scouted out natural gas investments for CEFC along the Gulf Coast, but that the major proposals fell through — though he and Hunter Biden still netted millions from the partnership.

The first brother said he was repaying a personal loan to Joe when James’ wife, Sara Biden, cut the $40,000 check to the future president on Sept. 3, 2017. He said there was no loan paperwork or interest.

Republicans note the initial transfer of funds to James weeks earlier was from a law firm that worked with multiple Biden family members and business associates, which they say clouds the picture.

Joe Biden allegedly interacted with multiple CEFC business partners.

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Text messages show Tony Bobulinski is warned by business partner James Gilliar, “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face, I know u know that but they are paranoid.”

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Ye Jianming, former chairman of the Shanghai-based CEFC China Energy conglomerate.Rachman, Chad

Former Biden family business partner Rob Walker testified Jan. 26 that $3 million in funds from CEFC flowed to him in March 2017 — with about a third going to the Bidens — shortly after Joe Biden met Ye at DC’s Four Seasons hotel.

Hunter Biden testified Wednesday he could not recall the date in question.

Walker said the money dispatched just weeks after Joe Biden left office as vice president was a “thank you” for preliminary services sourcing business opportunities in a relationship that began in 2015.

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Hunter and Joe BidenAP

A May 2017 email written by Biden family associate James Gilliar penciled in the “big guy” — Joe Biden — for a 10% cut in a proposed joint venture with CEFC.

The future president was later invoked by his son in July 2017 in a threatening text message to a China-based associate warning that he was “sitting here with my father,” according to records provided to Congress by IRS case agent Joseph Ziegler — a self-identified Democrat who alleged his team was repeatedly blocked from following leads regarding President Biden.

Within 10 days of the message, $5.1 million flowed to accounts linked to Hunter and James Biden, according to information in a 2020 report by Republican-led Senate committees.

https://nypost.com/2024/03/01/us-news/joe-biden-got-40k-in-china-funds-brother-james-admits-in-bombshell-impeachment-interview/

Wall Street Turbocharges Bitcoin's Wild Rally and Rakes In Cash

 To Jamie Dimon, it's no better than a “pet rock.” To the late Charlie Munger, longtime lieutenant to Warren Buffett, it's “massively stupid.” And to US Senator Elizabeth Warren, it's a great tool if you’re a terrorist, drug dealer or fraudster.

Perhaps. But here's something else about Bitcoin: It’s not going away anytime soon. And what was once almost universal resistance to it on Wall Street is disappearing day by day.

As the cryptocurrency skyrocketed in recent weeks back to lofty levels that had shocked the old guard years earlier — first $40,000, then $50,000, then, just days later, $60,000 — it became clear to many pundits that the underlying demand from people young and old, rich and poor, is simply too robust and steady to allow Bitcoin to collapse as the cornerstone of an asset class. Not even the rapid rise in US interest rates — long seen as a potential death knell for Bitcoin — was enough to curb the enthusiasm for long.

“Doesn't matter what Jamie Dimon or Elizabeth Warren, his good buddy, said,” Michael Novogratz, the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. and one of Bitcoin’s most long-standing supporters, said in an interview. “A lot of people believe there's value here.”

This relentless demand has created an urgent dilemma for the investing industry. The legacy titans can continue to shun the famously volatile and scandal-prone asset even when it’s served in the new regulatory-friendly ETF wrapper. This is the approach that Vanguard, an uber-conservative shop, is taking. Or they can give their clients what they want, regardless of the long list of risks. Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the latest firms taking that route, giving some brokerage clients access to new Bitcoin exchange-traded funds while stopping short of allowing their advisers to recommend them.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-turbocharges-bitcoins-wild-214509313.html

Biden Wants G7 To Give Russian Central Bank Funds To Ukraine, But France Resists

 President Biden wants the G7 countries to develop a plan to eventually have Russia's frozen sovereign assets handed over Ukraine in order to support the war effort, Bloomberg has reported. Bloomberg's source have also said the US president has privately warned allies that Ukraine's collapse, and a Russian victory, would signify the international order is effectively destroyed for at least the next half-century.

"G-7 officials have been discussing options to use the $280 billion of immobilized Russian Central Bank assets, including using the money as collateral to raise debt or issuing guarantees against the frozen funds, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity," according to the report. Biden reportedly wants a firm plan proposed by the time of the Italy G7 summit in June. The US has been working behind the scenes to build consensus.

The UK and Canada are reportedly on board, but not Germany and France. Earlier this week France firmly voiced its rejection of seizing the frozen Russian bank funds.

"We don’t think this legal basis is sufficient," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after the G7 finance ministers meeting in Brazil on Wednesday.

"This legal basis must be accepted not only by the European countries, not only by the G7 countries, but by all the member states of the world community, and I mean by all the member states of the G20. We should not add any kind of division among the G20 countries."

Opponents, including of course Russian officials themselves, have highlighted that such a act would be outright and brazen theft.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has warned in response, "We have ways to respond. We have also frozen sufficient volumes of financial assets and investments of foreign investors in our securities, all of which transfers we carry out for the owners of our securities."

Europe has to agree to any US push to freeze banks funds, since the bulk of Russia's money - about $200 billion - is being held by European banks. In such a scenario Moscow may consider the 'theft' to be tantamount to an act of war.

Still, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was undeterred when she was in Brazil this week. "It is necessary and urgent for our coalition to find a way to unlock the value of these immobilized assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction,” she had said from Sao Paulo, speaking to 20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

"I believe there is a strong international law, economic, and moral case for moving forward. This would be a decisive response to Russia’s unprecedented threat to global stability," she added.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-wants-g7-give-russian-central-bank-funds-ukraine-europe-still-resisting

Suit from survivors of Hamas Oct. 7 attack sue Binance for allegedly funding terrorists

 Survivors of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli communities, as well as the loved ones of those still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, are alleging the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange has allowed the terror group to raise funds using its platform. 

A lawsuit against Binance, filed by the National Jewish Advocacy Center in the U.S. Middle District Court of Alabama, states the crypto exchange has allowed Hamas to raise funds without any consequences, the New York Post reported. Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people, injured over 6,900 others, and kidnapped 239 people, the lawsuit states. 

"For such an attack to be successful or even contemplated, significant funding was necessary," the filing states. "Defendants’ contributions to the funding of this attack cannot be overstated."

Palestinian Hamas terrorists used a cryptocurrency firm to raise money, according to a new lawsuit. (Reuters / Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / File / Reuters Photos)

Fox News Digital has reached out to Binance. 

Between January 2018 to May 2022, Binance facilitated nearly $900 million in transactions between customers in the U.S. and Iran, a violation of U.S. sanctions. Iran is known to finance terrorist groups, such as Lebanon-based Hezzbollah. 

"Iran’s ability to provide funds to Hamas is due in no small part to its payment platforms being used as conduits for platform-based crypto and digital remittances to Hamas from terrorist sympathizers and confederates throughout the world," the lawsuit said. 

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in November over his failure to prevent money laundering on the platform and paid a $50 million fine. The crypto firm paid a whopping $4.3 billion settlement after the company was found to have violated U.S. sanctions and failed to prevent money laundering on its exchange, the New York Post reported.

Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, is being sued over transactions conducted by Hamas on its platform, according to a new lawsuit. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The crypto firm also agreed to pay over $4 billion for violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act.

"Binance became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed — now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in US history," Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time. "The message here should be clear: using new technology to break the law does not make you a disruptor, it makes you a criminal."

The crypto failed to prevent and report suspicious transactions with terrorists, federal prosecutors said. It allowed the tal-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, al-Qaeda and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to conduct such transactions, the Treasury Department said.

"Binanace turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in November. "Its willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform."

The plaintiffs are requesting unspecified damages. 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-world/lawsuit-survivors-hamas-oct-7-attack-sue-crypto-firm-binance-allegedly-funding-terror-group

Details Of 'Sabotaged' Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal In First Months Of War Revealed

 The Wall Street Journal says it has gotten its hands on a secretive document revealing the details of a failed Ukraine-Russia peace deal that was on the table within the opening months of the war. Since then there have been several reports, including from Foreign Affairs which said the UK at the time sought to sabotage the deal.

The draft peace treaty was drawn up by negotiators from both sides in April 2022, and reveals the thinking and objectives of Moscow at the time. The 17-page document has never been made public, with the WSJ for the first time on Friday divulging key sections and points.

Dated April 15, 2022, the document is said to lay out an agreement that turns Ukraine into a "permanently neutral state that doesn’t participate in military blocs". It further stipulated that Ukraine must not build up its military using Western support and that Crimea must remain under Russian control.

Back when negotiations were taking place during the opening six weeks of the war, via AP

The WSJ analysis admits that there were some deep concessions on the table from the Ukraine side, and further underscores many of these things would likely remain in place in any future deal where Ukraine would no doubt be inflicted with even more compromises given its forces are currently being rolled back by superior Russian military might.

"The draft treaty states that Ukraine, while being allowed to pursue European Union membership, wouldn’t be allowed to join military alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization," according to the report. "No foreign weapons would be allowed on Ukrainian soil."

And importantly, "Ukraine’s military would be pared down to a specific size." The proposed deal even sought to impose permanent limitations on the Ukraine armed forces' troop numbers: "Russia sought to limit everything from the number of troops and tanks to the maximum firing range of Ukrainian missiles."

Another key point dealt with the role of the Russian language in Ukrainian society. Some two-thirds of the country at least knows Russian, while much of the eastern portion that includes the Donbas speaks Russian as their first language. The document reportedly sought to ensure the Russian language had an equal status in Ukrainian government ministries and in courts. The Zelensky government has since the war's start sought to aggressively limit and even stamp out Russian in the public sphere.

According to more context of the draft deal from the WSJ:

The future of the area of eastern Ukraine covertly invaded and occupied by Russia in 2014, wasn’t included in the draft, leaving it up to Putin and Zelensky to complete in face-to-face talks. That meeting never took place.

The treaty was to be guaranteed by foreign powers, which are listed on the document as including the U.S., U.K, China, France and Russia. Those countries would be given the responsibility to defend Ukraine’s neutrality if the treaty were violated. But while the treaty held, guarantors would be required to “terminate international treaties and agreements incompatible with the permanent neutrality of Ukraine” including any promises of bilateral military aid. The international security guarantees wouldn’t apply to Crimea and Sevastopol.

Negotiations stopped completely by June of that year, and there were widespread reports months after indicating that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged Zelensky not to make a deal with Moscow.

Meanwhile, entering the third year of this horrific and tragic conflict which has taken countless lives:

Hundreds of billions in arms and funding have since been poured into Kiev and its war effort, and tragically likely hundreds of thousands have died. So much death and destruction could have been averted if an early deal had been reached and held, and backed by external powers.

The WSJ gives specifics on troop limitations from the 17-page document in the following: 

The draft treaty with Ukraine included banning foreign weapons, “including missile weapons of any type, armed forces and formations.” Moscow wanted Ukraine’s armed forces capped at 85,000 troops, 342 tanks and 519 artillery pieces. Ukrainian negotiators wanted 250,000 troops, 800 tanks and 1,900 artillery pieces, according to the document. Russia wanted to have the range of Ukrainian missiles capped at 40 kilometers (about 25 miles). 

But Ukraine is now likely in for more severe restrictions on any future Ukrainian state and military, should there ever be a negotiation for the end of the war reached (assuming Moscow and NATO don't stumble into direct war by then).

Bloomberg on Thursday issued a report predicting total collapse of the Ukrainian front lines by summer, as the headline suggests (Ukraine Sees Risk of Russia Breaking Through Defenses by Summer): "Ukrainian officials are concerned that Russian advances could gain significant momentum by the summer unless their allies can increase the supply of ammunition, according to a person familiar with their analysis," the report said. Will peace settlement talks begin at that point, or will the West intervene even more forcefully? 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/details-failed-russia-ukraine-peace-deal-first-months-war-revealed