A prominent Republican has criticized a ‘damning’ photo of Vice President Biden traveling to Ukraine on Air Force Two with a Hunter associate. In order to convince prosecutors to terminate the investigation into Burisma Holdings, it was necessary to use persuasion.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik disapproved of a photo taken on December 6, 2015, featuring the former Vice President and Biden’s current special presidential coordinator, Amos Hochstein.
Hochstein reportedly maintained contact with Hunter’s connections within the Ukrainian energy business Burisma Holdings while Hunter served on its board of directors.
If their chief prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was not dismissed, Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in US funding. Three months after his December 2015 trip to Ukraine, he was dismissed.
Hochstein continues to work for the Biden administration. Consistently, he warned that Hunter’s membership on the Burisma board would give rise to claims of a conflict of interest, according to a 2020 report by the Republican-controlled Senate.
2020 emails indicate that Vadym Pozharskyi, a board advisor for Burisma, may have spoken with Hochstein.
Pozharskyi explained to Hochstein’s office how the Ukrainian tax code would impact the energy industry, in which they played a significant role.
Hochstein is shown advising Biden in the picture. Stefanik claims that this demonstrates the “Biden Administration not only knew of Hunter Biden’s corrupt foreign business dealings, but also that Joe Biden was intimately involved.”
In a statement to Fox News, Stefanik said: “This damning picture of then Vice President Joe Biden on Air Force Two en route to Ukraine talking with Amos Hochstein is just further evidence that Biden and senior officials in the Biden Administration not only knew of Hunter Biden’s corrupt foreign business dealings, but also that Joe Biden was intimately involved while Vice President.”
“At the time of this photo, Hochstein was in communication with Hunter Biden and Burisma where Hunter served on the board,” Stefanik explained.
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Current White House staffer Amos Hochstein was in communication with Hunter and Burisma while working for then-VP Joe Biden.
Below is a picture of then-VP Joe Biden being briefed by Amos Hochstein, then-Special Envoy aboard Air Force 2 on the way the way to Ukraine. This… https://t.co/978d0eZe01
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) August 10, 2023
“We also know that this photo was taken on Air Force Two ahead of Joe Biden’s now infamous meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, where Biden threatened to have aid withheld if a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma was not fired”
“All evidence points directly to Joe Biden being deeply compromised.”
“House Republicans will leave no stone unturned in our investigations into Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling scheme.”
"This damning picture of then Vice President Joe Biden on Air Force Two en route to Ukraine talking with Amos Hochstein is just further evidence that Biden and senior officials in the Biden Administration not only knew of Hunter Biden's corrupt foreign business dealings, but also…
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) August 11, 2023
The House committees are flagging this photo that shows Biden being briefed on his famous flight to Ukraine by Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s current special presidential coordinator. Hochstein was allegedly one of the contacts of Hunter and his Ukrainian clients. pic.twitter.com/hp22ah4CEn
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 10, 2023
Hochstein reportedly informed Biden and Hunter in October 2015 that Hunter’s membership on the board of Burisma enabled Russian disinformation efforts, according to a Senate Republican investigation made public in 2020.
He stated that Biden’s participation posed a threat to the U.S.’s Ukraine strategy.
Hochstein presumably informed Biden multiple times about Hunter’s work.
According to Victoria Nuland, who served as the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs in 2015, it was stated in the dialogue depicted aboard the airplane en route to Ukraine.
In the 2020 assessment, Hochstein also informed Congress the following: “We were starting to think about a trip to Ukraine, and I wanted to make sure that he was aware that there was an increase in chatter on media outlets close to Russians and corrupt oligarchs-owned media outlets about undermining his message — to try to undermine his [Vice President Biden’s] message, including Hunter Biden being on the board of Burisma.”
According to the document, Hochstein “did not go so far as to recommend that Hunter leave the board” during their November 6, 2015 coffee meeting.
After Shokin was fired, Biden bragged on television about his diplomatic skills.
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
Twitter user Travis who says he is a disabled vet posted, “SHOCKING: Here we have then Vice President Joe Biden being briefed by Amos Hochstein before his trip to Ukraine where he threatened to withhold aid. At the time, Hochstein was in coordinating talks between Hunter Biden and Burisma. This photo shows just how deep the corruption is. It’s now more clear than ever that Biden not only knew everything Hunter was doing, but was directly involved and briefed on what his duties were in the “business.” Will we ever get an impeachment?” CONTINUE READING…
