# Hunter Biden Laptop Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 22, 2020, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587 "2020-10-22T11:17:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/384 "2020-10-29T18:02:40Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > So yes, if any of this had been born out, Joe Biden would certainly be implicated. Which is entirely the point of these false allegations. Who honestly gives a flying fuck about Hunter Biden if they can’t make any of this stick to Joe? Implicated in _what_? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/385 "2020-10-29T18:05:03Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Implicated in _what_ ? Yeah, I’m not doing this again. Go read what I wrote in the rest of the post to which Dr.Deth responded. It’s easy. Just hit the up arrows. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/386 "2020-10-29T18:05:12Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Implicated in _what_ ? Things. Stuff. _You_ know. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/387 "2020-10-29T18:06:21Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > We know what Putin’s motives are for US elections. I don’t see what his view could possibly add here, and I don’t think we ought to help him in his aims by paying those views attention. His aims are to sow discord but he’s aware that these attempts are not working anywhere near as well as they did four years ago. He also sees that Trump is nearing the end of being a useful idiot. Putin’s views that the Bidens did nothing wrong are simply acknowledging reality. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/388 "2020-10-29T18:08:30Z")
Except again: 1. The whole thing is likely fake 2. Even if not, Joes name is never mentioned 3. And none of the “shady” deals ever actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/389 "2020-10-29T18:15:40Z")
Read this again, with feeling. Past the first part you want to argue about: > [@QuickSilver](#): > > I will ask you again what I’ve asked you twice now: What information do we have, that has been independently corroborated, about the authenticity of the claims that this is a) HB’s laptop, and, b) that the information on this laptop is authentic? > > You are repeating claims yet unsubstantiated by any reliable sources. > > If any of these allegations are proven to be substantive, then yes, this is going to be highly problematic for the Bidens. I can appreciate that from a pro-Trump/anti-Dem perspective, this would be manna from heaven. But we have been down this path before with multiple investigations by bi-partisan government commissions, members of which were highly motivated to find some grain of truth to the fact that Joe Biden was somehow involved with illegal activities related to Ukraine and/or China. Barr, a well established Trump crony, has not brought the DOJ to bear on the Bidens for the very same reason that investigative bodies have not done so – there is no there there. > > Now, you can continue to “ask questions” and wring your hands in “concern”, but your insinuations will continue to look exceedingly foolish until substantive evidence is provided by trusted independent sources that implicate the Bidens as having engaged in corrupt or illegal behavior. Until then, what you’ve got, in legal terms, is _bupkis_ . > > And I say this as someone who has made the argument that Hunter Biden’s involvement with Burisma showed very poor judgement and arguably lead to exactly these kinds of insinuations. So while there appears to be no evidence that he’s done anything illegal, nor would we be talking about this if his father hadn’t decided to run for POTUS, it is now being literally Trumped up against him and more importantly, Joe Biden. Now, what are _YOU_ talking about? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/390 "2020-10-29T18:17:09Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Yeah, I’m not doing this again. Go read what I wrote in the rest of the post to which Dr.Deth responded. It’s easy. Just hit the up arrows. Oh I’ve read the thread, I still can’t figure out what the impact is of Joe possibly having been involved in a business deal in China in 2017. Was the deal inherently illegal? Was it unethical? What’s the “there” that’s suppose to be highly problematic “if true.” Was it just that Joe has previously said he wasn’t involved in Hunter’s business deals? Is that all this is – Joe might maybe have told a lie? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/391 "2020-10-29T18:27:01Z")
I can’t tell if you’re having me on. I’ll simply grant you the benefit of the doubt. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/392 "2020-10-29T18:37:12Z")
I’m not. Maybe I’m just that dumb, if I am it should be easy to put me in my place by spelling out the supposed infraction. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/393 "2020-10-29T18:45:55Z")
I’ll answer the _hypothetical_ if you grant me the curtesy of acknowledging that I’ve said ‘there is no there there’ and that none of the allegations made have been substantiated. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/394 "2020-10-29T18:46:05Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Oh I’ve read the thread, I still can’t figure out what the impact is of Joe possibly having been involved in a business deal in China in 2017. I’m pretty sure that after January 20, 2017 at 11:59AM Joe Biden no longer held any office under the United States. I’m also pretty sure that @Hands thinks that you are not allowed to have any business dealings with anyone (during or after government service) if your name does not include “Trump”. Even _if_ Hunter had asked Joe for advice, Joe would have not committed any crime by a) answering and b) telling people he answered it nor had Hunter committed any crime. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/395 "2020-10-29T18:48:45Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’ll answer the _hypothetical_ if you grant me the curtesy of acknowledging that I’ve said ‘there is no there there’ and that none of the allegations made have been substantiated. That’s fair, I will grant that. I’m curious about the hypothetical because I cannot for the life of me figure out what would have been wrong with Joe getting a 10% stake in whatever business deal was supposedly being cooked up. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/396 "2020-10-29T19:03:13Z")
The only way I can understand the machinations being alleged by various Trump allies and supporters being problematic for Joe Biden is as follows: - that HB’s involvement with Burisma during JB’s tenure as VP somehow smoothed the way for the Chinese investors and resulting formation of the capital venture firm, which would have been the vehicle used to funnel money to the Bidens post 2017. - the devil of that is in the details which I won’t speculate about because I am not a venture capital investment/finance professional. - if that were to have happened, then we might reasonably look at this chain of events as corruption by a government official, if not an outright illegal conduct. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/397 "2020-10-29T19:14:07Z")
Well… I appreciate the effort, I guess. That still falls short of anyone being able to articulate what the infraction supposedly is, since “somehow smoothed the way” and “details which I won’t speculate about” are both pretty big gaps to fill in connecting JB to corruption. The story might as well be, “If the laptop is legitimate, and Joe Biden is also proven to be running an underground child sex trafficking ring in the basement of a pizza parlor, then he would certainly be implicated.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/398 "2020-10-29T19:16:12Z")
I’m not a VC either, but you don’t need Joe Biden to pool illicit sums of money. In fact, he’s a bit of a liability in this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/399 "2020-10-29T19:29:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > The only way I can understand the machinations being alleged by various Trump allies and supporters being problematic for Joe Biden is as follows: > > - that HB’s involvement with Burisma during JB’s tenure as VP somehow smoothed the way for the Chinese investors and resulting formation of the capital venture firm, which would have been the vehicle used to funnel money to the Bidens post 2017. Conveniently ignoring the fact that Trump laundered money, likely rubles, through his Taj Mahal casino. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/400 "2020-10-29T19:32:14Z")
A question I cannot answer but can imagine some possible scenario for “smoothing of the way”. One involves understanding of the investment relationship that the Chinese were seeking with respect to Burisma through HB. Put another way, was the former corrupt Ukrainian official for or against Chinese investment? Was he operating under Putin’s direction to prevent foreign investment in Burisma for reasons? One might even ask whether the alleged HB business associate (so called venture “partner”) someone that was operating on behalf of Chinese foreign intelligence to compromise HB and somehow extort his father in some way? Many highly speculative rabbit holes may come to mind from various interested parties and who benefits most. None of which have been substantiated. And none of which am I putting forward as a way of accusing Joe Biden of anything. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/401 "2020-10-29T19:33:55Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Conveniently ignoring the fact that Trump laundered money, likely rubles, through his Taj Mahal casino. …And condo sales to Russian oligarchs. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/402 "2020-10-29T19:46:00Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’ll answer the _hypothetical_ if you grant me the curtesy of acknowledging that I’ve said ‘there is no there there’ and that none of the allegations made have been substantiated Then why the hell do you go on and on and on and on and on about it? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/403 "2020-10-29T19:57:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Then why the hell do you go on and on and on and on and on about it? . Don’t you see? He’s Just Asking Questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587.md?page=21)