Donald Trump, his defenders in Congress, and his attorneys are stepping up their attacks on Hunter Biden in a con man version of bait and switch--attacks that no doubt will continue as long as his father, Joe Biden, is a leading Democratic candidate for president.
The bait: Hunter Biden is corrupt and possibly a criminal. Switch: Investigate him and forget about Donald Trump.
Let's be clear. Hunter Biden is no saint. He has struggled with many personal issues and challenges. But he is not under indictment and he is not on trial.
Many believe that it was unwise for him to accept a seat on the board of Burisma, a Ukranian based international natural gas holding company, because it would expose him and his father to exactly what has unfolded.
That being said, let's look at the underlying arguments for bait and switch.
It's a two-pronged attack: One, that Hunter Biden is intellectually limited and not qualified for almost anything; and two, that he is certainly not qualified to serve on the board of a gas company since he lacks experience with or knowledge about the gas industry.
I don't know Hunter Biden personally. I only know what is available about him from public records. And those records obliterate the two-prong attack on him--the setup for the bait and switch.
First, he is a graduate of Yale Law School--no small intellectual achievement. In other words, contrary to the innuendos, he's no dope.
In terms of work experience, after Yale, he was employed at MBNA, a large bank consortium (later acquired by Bank of America in 2006), where he became senior vice president in 1998--not likely a gratuitous appointment when billions of dollars are at stake.
After leaving that position he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Commerce Department, where he served from 1998-2001. The Commerce Department has employees in all 50 states and 86 foreign countries. Among its functions: "the Department oversees ocean and coastal navigation helps negotiate bilateral trade agreements, and enforces laws that ensure a level playing field for American businesses and workers."
After his stint in the Commerce Department, he returned to MBNA as a consultant on issues related to his work at the Commerce Department, according to a New York Times story.
While family and political connections may have played a role in his acquiring these positions, there is little doubt that he had the education and skills for the jobs. It's reasonable to conclude from his resume that he has considerable knowledge about commerce, finance, law, and management.
In 2008, Hunter Biden founded a consulting firm, Seneca Global Advisors, followed in 2009 by his co-founding the private-equity firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, which established connections to businesses and executives in China and Russia.
These connections per se are not unusual in the global economy. A plethora of American corporations and consulting firms have connections with business leaders and companies all over the globe.
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