A conservative political action committee (PAC) will run an ad during the Democrat presidential primary debate on Tuesday criticizing Joe Biden over his son’s business dealings in China and Ukraine.
The Committee to Defend the President, which is distinguishing itself as one of the top outside spending groups of the 2020 cycle, told Breitbart News it is launching a five-figure ad buy on national television and social media highlighting the former vice president’s ethical vulnerabilities relating to his son’s business dealings in Ukraine. That ad, which is titled “Send Quid Pro Joe Into Retirement,” will air on CNN Tuesday—at the same time the network hosts the fourth Democrat primary debate.
“When his son’s company was investigated for corruption, Joe Biden used his office to crush the case,” a narrator in the ad states, before showing the former vice president bragging about pressuring the government of Ukraine to fire its prosecutor general. “It’s time to drain the swamp, send ‘Quid Pro Joe Biden’ into retirement.”
The ad comes as Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings have spilled out into the open amid an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The controversy started last month when Trump suggested the Ukrainian government look into how the younger Biden secured an appointment to the board of directors of Burisma Holdings. Hunter Biden joined the Ukrainian oil and gas giant in 2014, around the same time his father was appointed to oversee Obama administration policy in the region.
As Peter Schweizer, senior contributor at Breitbart News, detailed in his book Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends, Hunter Biden secured the position, which paid as much as $83,000 per month, despite his having no background in the energy industry or Ukraine. Hunter Biden’s lack of experience, coupled with his father’s influence over Ukraine, immediately raised questions from ethics watchdogs in both the U.S. and Europe about a conflict of interest.
Furthering the ethical cloud over the appointment is that it came during the same month that Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s founder, had his assets seized in the United Kingdom for suspicion of money laundering. Some have speculated Hunter Biden’s ascension to Burisma’s board was an attempt by Zlochevsky to curry favor with western leaders to prevent further scrutiny of his business dealings.
A brazen attempt would not be totally ill-suited for Zlochevsky. The Burisma founder is rumored to be one of eastern Europe’s top oligarchs, a position obtained while serving in the Ukrainian government under former President Viktor Yanukovych — a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was during his tenure in government as Ukraine’s minister of natural resources that Burisma received a large portion of its oil and gas licenses.
It is in the context of Burisma and Zlochevsky’s legal troubles that Joe Biden’s political influence has raised the most red flags. The former vice president has particularly drawn questions over his conduct in demanding the Ukrainian government fire its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in 2016. Biden, who has publicly bragged about the firing, reportedly threatened to withhold more than one billion dollars in U.S. aid if the Ukrainian government did not remove Shokin. He has claimed the demand came from then-President Barack Obama, who had allegedly lost faith in the prosecutor’s ability to tackle corruption.
Unofficially, though, it was known that Shokin was investigating both Burisma and Zlochevsky for public corruption. It is uncertain if the probe extended to Hunter Biden, although Shokin has recently admitted that prior to his ouster he was warned to back off the matter. Regardless of what occurred, Shokin’s successor dropped the investigation into Burisma and Zlochevsky, allowing the oligarch to return to the country after having fled in 2014.
Since Trump suggested Ukraine investigate the matter last month, the former vice president has sought to minimize his role in the entire proceeding, especially the firing of Shokin. Part of that strategy has been to pivot the conversation away from Hunter Biden and Burisma by accusing Trump of abusing his power.
That tactic, however, does not seem to be working. A new poll released this month indicates 57 percent of Americans support the Department of Justice opening an investigation into Hunter Biden’s work abroad. Nor does the situation appear likely to improve any time soon, especially with groups like the Committee to Defend the President pointing out to voters the instances in which politics and business seemed to intersect for Joe Biden and his son.