Well, here’s more proof. CNN, which pretty much always has Biden’s back, attempted to fact-check House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement launching the impeachment inquiry.

And it’s hilarious.

To start, CNN claims that McCarthy made “several unproven claims” during his announcement and then attempts to disprove them.

First, CNN attempts to debunk the claim that the Biden family and associates got $20 million through shell companies.

CNN’s response:

Facts First: This is true about Joe Biden’s family and associates, but there is no public evidence to date that the president personally received any money.

So, to clear this up, CNN doesn’t even attempt to deny that the Biden family got millions from foreign sources or to come up with an explanation for the use of the shell companies. In fact, the lack of journalistic curiosity about these shell companies is quite alarming. We’ve been pointing out that these companies had no apparent purpose but to launder foreign money before distributing it to members of the Biden family. Does having 20 shell companies to filter millions of dollars through sound like legitimate business to CNN? What were these companies selling, if not the product of Joe Biden’s influence?

The next allegation CNN attempts to dispute is that an FBI informant said the Bidens received a bribe.

CNN’s response:

Facts First: It’s true that an informant gave a tip of this nature to the FBI in 2020, and that the bureau had viewed him as a credible informant. But the underlying allegation that the Biden family was given a bribe is totally unproven; the informant was merely reporting something he said he had been told by a Ukrainian businessman.

Missing from the fact check is that the source of this claim is a longtime FBI informant who has a history of providing the FBI with reliable information.

Addressing the claim that Biden participated in calls and dinners with Hunter Biden’s business partners, CNN responds:

Facts First: McCarthy’s claim omits key context about what was – and wasn’t – reportedly discussed in the calls and dinners. A Hunter Biden associate testified that even though Joe Biden was on these calls and at these dinners, he didn’t discuss business. And Republicans have not presented any evidence that Joe Biden himself benefited financially from his appearances at the dinners or on the calls.

What this fails to mention is that Devon Archer testified that Joe Biden’s participation on the calls was critical to selling “the Biden brand.” It also doesn’t mention the fact that Joe Biden spent years denying having spoken to or having met Hunter’s business associates. In addition to the phone calls and dinners, White House logs show he met with Hunter’s business associates multiple times.

CNN then argues that the claim that the financial transactions involving Biden family members were flagged as suspicious doesn’t prove they were criminal.

Facts First: The existence of these suspicious activity reports don’t prove wrongdoing on their own.

I can’t even.

But, there’s more.

Responding to the allegation that then-Vice President Biden used his powers to help Hunter’s business, CNN comes up with this gem:

Facts First: There is no public evidence that Joe Biden abused his government powers to help his family.

Right, except for the fact that Joe Biden publicly bragged about how he used a $1 billion loan as leverage to get Viktor Shokin, the prosecutor investigating Burisma (the Ukrainian energy company that Hunter Biden had a $1 million/year board position with) fired from his job. Further, Devon Archer testified that Burisma executives asked Hunter to “call D.C.” to help with that situation.CNN falsely claims that Biden’s actions were “consistent with partisan US policy” at the time, However, a 2015 memo concluded that Ukraine had made sufficient progress in implementing anti-corruption reforms and deserved the loan, so Biden had no justifiable reason for withholding it. How much more evidence do you need?

And finally, CNN addresses the claim that Biden lied about his knowledge of his family’s business deals.

Facts First: Joe Biden’s unequivocal denials of any business-related contact with his son have been undercut over time. But so far there is no public evidence that his occasional interactions with Hunter Biden’s business partners led to him getting substantively involved in his son’s financial arrangements.

So, yeah, they’re basically admitting via clever euphemisms that Biden did, as McCarthy pointed out, lie. Good one.

CNN essentially admits all the key facts for the basis of the inquiry, but pretends the evidence doesn’t prove anything. Well, that’s what an impeachment inquiry is for. Even if we pretend this evidence isn’t “proof,” it’s objectively a solid basis for a thorough investigation.

Congrats, CNN. You just justified the impeachment inquiry… even if you didn’t realize it.

Source - PJ Media/X - Reuters