# The Hunter Biden Investigation {thread started in 2019}, Hunter Pardoned on December 1, 2024
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [September 28, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964 "2019-09-28T19:54:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 75
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1484 "2024-06-12T20:19:24Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> There’s essentially no chance that Hunter Biden was being paid for the value of his work output.
Like trumps kids? Look, Hunter was a real lawyer who had served on quite a few companies and boards. It is not uncommon to hire someone who yes- can do the job- but whose names makes the company look better.
Yes, Hunter did not pay the taxes he owed, He now has. And where he spent the money is not relevant.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1485 "2024-06-12T20:19:31Z")
He was getting paid for being a Biden. I don’t think this is a mystery for anyone. So far, all that’s been proven is that Hunter was skilled at using his name to make money. There’s no evidence that Joe was involved in any way whatsoever.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1486 "2024-06-12T20:22:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> So far, all that’s been proven is that Hunter was skilled at using his name to make money.
Breaking News! Child of a politician banks on parent’s name! The world is stunned!
Or as CCR put it:
_It ain’t me, it ain’t me_
_I ain’t no senator’s son, son_
_It ain’t me, it ain’t me_
_I ain’t no furtunate one, no_
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1487 "2024-06-12T20:27:15Z")
> [@bobot](#):
>
> Wasn’t there supposed to be a bunch of Ukranian political influence, millions of dollars in illegal contributions, and big guy something or other?
Man, remember when those two goons were arrested at the airport as they were fleeing the country? [What a scene!](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/us/politics/lev-parnas-igor-fruman-arrested-giuliani.html) And that entire Presidential impeachment stuff, where POTUS threatens an ally to falsify evidence against his political opponent? Fantastic writing.
I just don’t understand how the writers came up with _this_ ending. “Guilty of checking the wrong box”, wow, how dramatic. I don’t know about you, but I nearly _snoozed_ during the last 15 minutes. And it was confusing - the President literally tried to fake an election, but it was his opponent’s son who was charged at the end?
Started so strong, and then evaporated more than any film in recent memory. Just a terrible waste of celluloid and bits.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1488 "2024-06-12T20:36:44Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> He was getting paid for being a Biden.
Yes, but also he was qualified.
How much did trumps kids get paid- and they were not qualified?
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1489 "2024-06-12T21:29:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> And where he spent the money is not relevant.
Relevant to his guilt, or relevant to the tabloids? Trump’s trial for falsification of business records didn’t require any details of what happened between him and Stormy Daniels. It only required evidence that paying for her silence was not a legitimate legal expense. I read zero about legal expense accounting but more than I wanted too about what happened between them in Trump’s hotel room.
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### Author:  [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1490 "2024-06-12T21:42:14Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> > for the tax years 2016 through 2019.
What “Ukrainian political influence” could the Bidens have been exerting during the first half of Trump’s presidency?
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1491 "2024-06-12T21:47:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Yes, but also he was qualified.
For what? Hunter Biden was manifestly unqualified for the corporate governance advisement he supposedly supplied to Burisma in Ukraine, but that was pre-2017. The allegation I posted above implies that HB was continuing to earn millions from 2017 to 2019. What output was he supplying to earn those millions and what made him qualified to produce that output?
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1492 "2024-06-12T21:48:19Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> Hunter Biden was manifestly unqualified for the corporate governance advisement he supposedly supplied to Burisma in Ukraine, but that was pre-2017.
And you base this on…?
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1493 "2024-06-12T21:49:44Z")
He was being a Biden, and thus lending a patina of legitimacy and power to the company. Like it or not, that can be worth a lot of money.
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1494 "2024-06-12T21:51:32Z")
> [@Horatius](#):
>
> What “Ukrainian political influence” could the Bidens have been exerting during the first half of Trump’s presidency?
No idea. You’re quoting a CBS article, not me. I don’t know what Hunter Biden was doing from 2017 to 2019 to get paid millions. I’m speculating that news organisations will be interested in that question in the next few months, and the answers won’t be mundane.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1495 "2024-06-12T21:54:28Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> I’m speculating that news organisations will be interested in that question
Of course they will.
But I’m not seeing, yet, how that’s going to be relevant to his; six misdemeanor counts of failure to file his tax returns and pay taxes, one felony count of tax evasion and two felony counts of filing a false return cases.
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1496 "2024-06-12T21:57:58Z")
> [@Hunter Biden artwork attracts ethics scrutiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunter-biden-artwork-attracts-ethics-scrutiny/946031/26):
>
> Are we seriously doing this again? Hunter Biden: Had no experience in the energy sector Had no expertise in corporate governance Didn’t speak Ukrainian or Russian Had acquired many of his earlier jobs due to his father’s political connections Main source of experience was as a lobbyist Had issues of conflict of interest raised against him by one of his firm’s partners Had issues of conflict of interest raised against him by Joe Biden’s aides Had issues of conflict of interest raised against …
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1497 "2024-06-12T22:08:31Z")
And his specific day-to-day duties in that position were…?
Point is, you don’t really know _what_ was required of him in that role. But I’m sure flinging mud can be fun.
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1498 "2024-06-12T22:11:31Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#):
>
> > [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
> >
> > I’m speculating that news organisations will be interested in that question
>
> Of course they will.
> But I’m not seeing, yet, how that’s going to be relevant to his; six misdemeanor counts of failure to file his tax returns and pay taxes, one felony count of tax evasion and two felony counts of filing a false return cases.
In an ideal world, prosecutors would concentrate on evidence and testimony of Hunter Biden’s income for the period in question and on the taxes he paid and explain to the jury why the taxes he didn’t pay constituted a crime. In the world we live in, it’s much more interesting to hear the salacious details of where the money came from. I’m betting the prosecution’s going to be interested in the world hearing the salacious bits.
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1499 "2024-06-12T22:12:09Z")
In that case I’d bet this is going to set a new record in; _Objection, revelancy. Sustained._
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1500 "2024-06-12T22:23:08Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> Trump’s trial for falsification of business records didn’t require any details of what happened between him and Stormy Daniels.
This is wrong.
It _did_ require the details of what happened between him and Stormy Daniels, because what happened between him and Stormy Daniels was the predicate event that then required the payment of hush money.
The prosecution offered to stipulate that the affair had happened so that the details of what happened between Trump and Stormy Daniels didn’t need to be proved to the jury. _Trump declined to stipulate, claiming instead that the incident never happened_. That’s what necessitated the airing of the salacious details.
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### Author:  [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1501 "2024-06-12T22:25:34Z")
Actually I do know a bit about corporate governance. I also know that if a Ukrainian company at that time wanted to hire a UK based Russian speaking compliance officer with experience in the energy sector, there were plenty around. For lawyers in general, there are heaps of lawyers who’ve worked on deals involving Ukraine or Russia and BP, Shell, Exxon, etc. with Gazprom as the counterparty. Their were many more resources available with much better experience and much lower prices than Hunter Biden. They just lacked the Biden parentage.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1502 "2024-06-12T22:28:07Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> They just lacked the Biden parentage.
Right, so he was getting paid to be a Biden. There’s no evidence of anything else.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunter-biden-investigation-thread-started-in-2019-hunter-pardoned-on-december-1-2024/840964/1503 "2024-06-12T22:31:41Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#):
>
> Actually I do know a bit about corporate governance.
I think it’s common to have people on the board who may have little or no experience with what the company does. It seems like many corporate boards have people whose skills are related to things like the ability to attract investors or facilitate networking with well-connected people. I would agree that Biden was hired for that purpose, but it’s not like he’s the the only person added to a board just because they are well-connected or have a recognized name. Or that adding such a person to a board is a sign of corruption. If someone really objects to that practice, I would expect them to be upset at many corporations for doing exactly the same thing as the Ukrainian power company.
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