# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/121 "2020-10-24T02:57:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > As i pointed out and offered links to prove Hunter did indeed have special skills. Hunter Biden was a expert in the very type of law they needed help with. I’m sorry, facts that aren’t repeated endlessly on RW media aren’t real. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/122 "2020-10-24T03:03:27Z")
So what? Do you know who is not mentioned once in your entire cite? Joe Biden. If anything, it just proves that Joe Biden wasn’t involved at all. Both Hunter Biden and Jim Biden are adults. Joe Biden has absolutely no control over what they decide to do for a living. All he can do is not allow himself to be influenced by their business interests. And when he (and the rest of the Western world) moved to fire the prosecutor that was protecting the owner of Burisma, he proved that point. This whole stunt has no more validity than the whole “Obama wasn’t born in the USA” stunt. It’s part smear job and part intimidation campaign… “If you dare to oppose me I’ll destroy your family”. It’s kind of like the time he had National Enquirer reporters out harassing Mika Brzenski’s children because they refused to be pressured into changing their reporting. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/123 "2020-10-24T03:09:06Z")
Here’s a fair and comprehensive rundown of the Ukraine/Burisma/Shokin thing, with links. In short, there’s plenty of evidence to support the official story of the US, UK, EU, and IMF, and pretty much nothing aside from rumor and innuendo to support the Trump/Giuliani/Shokin story. And, of course, Trump tried do pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation of the Bidens, which got him impeached. Ukraine didn’t cooperate. > **[A Timeline of the Trump-Ukraine Scandal](https://www.lawfareblog.com/timeline-trump-ukraine-scandal)** > > As of Sept. 24, the House of Representatives has formally launched impeachment proceedings against President Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/124 "2020-10-24T03:16:57Z")
It shouldn’t be hard at all for Biden to say, “Even if my son did something wrong, here’s why you should still vote for me (list reason, reason, and reason)” and sell his case convincingly to the voters that way. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/125 "2020-10-24T03:21:05Z")
Because you dont deny crap like this, that only plays into their hands. The only criminal in this whole thing is trump. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/126 "2020-10-24T03:28:13Z")
Why would he do that? There’s nothing here. It would have been like Obama saying “even if I was born in Kenya, I’d still be a natural born citizen”. Just gives the bullshit oxygen. Evidence free conspiracy theories are best ignored. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/127 "2020-10-24T04:26:12Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > At the very least, allowing his family to run around earning millions by trading on his name and access to power shows very bad judgement on Joe Biden’s part. For Biden it’s bad judgement. For Trump it’s a business model. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/128 "2020-10-24T05:11:29Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > At the very least, allowing his family to run around earning millions by trading on his name and access to power shows very bad judgement on Joe Biden’s part. BS. Everyone else does it. Names are currency. It is odd that trump, who is guilty of everything here he accuses them of- and more- would choose this hill to die on. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/129 "2020-10-24T05:52:57Z")
I’m not sure how Joe Biden is supposed to _not_ allow his son to do these things. What was he supposed to do, call up Burisma and tell them them to fire his kid? Then he actually would be entangled in it! ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/130 "2020-10-24T06:58:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > One that has given a written statement to the FBI and is willing to testify under oath. Serious question: is this the standard you require for something to be completely true? ---
**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 24, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/131 "2020-10-24T10:48:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > At the very least, allowing his family to run around earning millions by trading on his name and access to power shows very bad judgement on Joe Biden’s part. Like Trump being furious that retailers were dropping Ivanka’s line of clothing because it was made in sweat shops? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/132 "2020-10-24T11:12:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And what special experience do **Mitch’s wife** and **trump’s son** have that qualified them for their cushy jobs? - Those are their only qualifications. ---
**Author:** ![agzem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@agzem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agzem)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/133 "2020-10-24T11:43:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And what special experience do Mitch’s wife and trump’s son have that qualified them for their cushy jobs? Elaine Chao had an extensive resume well before she married Mitch. She also comes from a filthy rich family so she doesn’t need a cushy job. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/134 "2020-10-24T12:24:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > At the very least, allowing his family to run around earning millions by trading on **his name** and access to power shows very bad judgement on Joe Biden’s part. Bolding mine. It’s **their** name too. What I do with my name is none of my parents’ business. There is no “allow” or “judgement” on their part. ---
**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 24, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/135 "2020-10-24T13:47:19Z")
I’m not convinced that Joe Biden acted inappropriately with respect to any influence he exerted in removing the corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor. Nor do I think there is any financial connection to be made to Joe with respect to any business deals that Hunter Biden had going on in China. The laptop thing seems highly contrived as well. It beggars belief that Hunter Biden would hand over a laptop with sensitive information to some local repair shop and then forget about it. It’s not even clear to me that it’s his laptop, let alone the chain of possession of the thing. Until an official FBI report is issues, I remain very skeptical about all the reports about its contents, etc. Handwaving away notwithstanding, here are the things that I find to be problematic: - Burisma (and China) had motive to engage the son of an American VP in financially beneficial deals because it has been shown that foreign actors actively work to gain favor or gather kompromat on high profile American targets. - It is no coincidence that the Bidens were picked as targets (among many others, no doubt) - Hunter Biden was clearly open to those kinds of overtures - Joe Biden did not discourage it despite clear reasons for abundance of caution with respect to political optics; I believe he did so to help his son out of a sense of fatherly love and the blind spots that come with the desire to help a beloved son with a troubled past - If as argued, HB was a qualified and competent attorney, I’m sure he had no lack of opportunities available to him nationally; yet he sought out financial opportunities with suspect actors in foreign nations that could and would clearly be seen as problematic (even if completely on the up and up) with respect to his father’s senior political role. This shows poor judgement, imo. So while there is no clear evidence of illegal activity by the Bidens, the optics are not good and we rightly criticize such optics of financial impropriety when it comes to the Trump administration. Arguably, the Trumps have done much worse and I certainly hope there will be serious consequences for any wrong doing found. However, we ought not pretend that just because ‘their’ side is much worse, therefore we have the moral high ground to ignore or excuse suspicious behavior of those on ‘our’ side. Whatever laws were or were not broken by the Bidens, this looks bad and it’s disingenuous to pretend like they are not subject to critical analysis. Doing so should not immediately draw suspicion one’s political motives or convictions. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/136 "2020-10-24T13:54:33Z")
I am amused by the belief that conservative columnists would be risking their employment by smearing Democrats with the flimsiest of evidence. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/137 "2020-10-24T14:13:59Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > - Joe Biden did not discourage it despite clear reasons for abundance of caution with respect to political optics; I believe he did so to help his son out of a sense of fatherly love and the blind spots that come with the desire to help a beloved son with a troubled past We don’t actually know anything about this. Maybe Joe said “it’s a bad idea”, we just have no idea. > [@](#): > > - If as argued, HB was a qualified and competent attorney, I’m sure he had no lack of opportunities available to him nationally; yet he sought out financial opportunities with suspect actors in foreign nations that could and would clearly be seen as problematic (even if completely on the up and up) with respect to his father’s senior political role. This shows poor judgement, imo. Poor judgement by Hunter, perhaps… but who cares about that? Why is that relevant? ---
**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 24, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/138 "2020-10-24T14:20:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > We don’t actually know anything about this. Maybe Joe said “it’s a bad idea”, we just have no idea. Maybe he did. We don’t know. But I’ve expressed why I think he might not have been quite so inclined to do so. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Poor judgement by Hunter, perhaps… but who cares about that? Why is that relevant? For the same reason that we criticize the Trump miscreants for their financial dealings while their dad occupies the highest office in the land. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/139 "2020-10-24T14:25:25Z")
Maybe they should comb the USA for any bad deeds done by anyone named Biden and smear Joe with that, even if they aren’t related to Joe and he’s never met them. Because, optics. The whole thing is ridiculous. I sort of get it that most of the US has no idea what high-level business machinations look like, but I do. What I see is the kind of candid strategizing that might be somewhat embarrassing if it became public, but nothing illegal or immoral or even particularly irregular. People work on commission. People seek out the help of other people to help them close deals and pay them. People have disagreements over the dispensation of the profits from a business deal. Business partners often disagree over what image to project and it’s not common for one partner to think that the other partner is damaging the brand. Now, if HUNTER BIDEN were running for office, these emails might provide some insight as to his temperament and ethics. But, in light of the fact that Joe Biden will not be hiring his children to help him figure out how to be a President, they are completely and totally irrelevant. PS. I’m not sure where you go the impression that Joe was being too gentle with his son, because the impression I had during that time was that Hunter was the black sheep and they were virtually estranged. ---
**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 24, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587/140 "2020-10-24T14:37:27Z")
This has nothing to do with discrediting Hunter Biden. This is politics and it’s hardly unusual for political adversaries to dredge up the past of their opponent. Also, I’m not sure if you’ve ever held a position with the Federal government and faced the series of questions, rules and regulations with respect to your background. I’m a consultant and I can tell you that their inquiries and regulations can be pretty intrusive. I can only imagine what it’s like for those with high levels of security clearance. But perhaps that’s only for employees and rules are more relaxed for elected officials and their families. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > PS. I’m not sure where you go the impression that Joe was being too gentle with his son, because the impression I had during that time was that Hunter was the black sheep and they were virtually estranged. Estranged but traveling together on AF2? Look, perhaps their relations were strained. There are things we don’t know. But I get the sense that Joe Biden is a good man who loves his son. I can see him looking the other way on some things to maintain or repair strained relations. I know I would if I were he. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-laptop-question/923587.md?page=8)