Hunter Biden engaged in ‘raw influence peddling’ on grand, global scale: Turley
Hunter Biden’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski accuses him of misleading the public; reaction and analysis from Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley.
Joe Biden and his family engaged in "legal corruption" despite claims of no wrongdoing, Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley argued Wednesday.
Hunter Biden's former business partner Tony Bobulinski spoke out on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Tuesday detailing alleged meetings with the former vice president — one of which took place on May 2, 2017, according to text messages first reported by Fox News last week.
"This was raw influence-peddling on a grand, global scale," the George Washington University professor told "Fox & Friends."
Turley said influence-peddling is a protected activity in Washington, D.C. because of laws written into law by Congress.
"By giving money to spouses and children, you avoid bribery and corruption statutes," he said. "So this is a form of legal corruption, which is why many of us objected when Joe Biden said, 'my son did nothing wrong.' Whether Hunter Biden did anything criminal is one question. There's no question that what he did was wrong."
BIDEN STAYS SILENT ON BOBULINSKI CLAIMS ABOUT FAMILY'S BUSINESS VENTURES
The professor of law said there is still no evidence the influence-peddling actually influenced the Democratic candidate nor is there evidence of a crime.
When co-host Brian Kilmeade said this would normally be an "October surprise," given the bombshell reports first reported by the New York Post and restricted by Twitter and Facebook, Turley said it isn't a scandal because the media isn't covering it and it is therefore not damaging to the Biden campaign.
"Any way you look at this, it is a major story. These are emails that appear to be authentic that detail influence-peddling by the vice president's son and his brother, but there is a complete news blackout," he said.
HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE'S TEXT MESSAGES INDICATE MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN
"From an academic side it reminds me, recently, a Stanford journalism professor called on the media to just put aside this concept of objectivity. He said objectivity has no place in journalism because it stands in the way of activism, and that's what you're seeing in this story, is they're just putting aside objectivity for the purposes of this election."
Bobulinski, a retired lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, was the CEO of SinoHawk Holdings, which he said was the partnership between the CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and the two Biden family members.
“They were sort of wining and dining me and presenting the strength of the Biden family to get me engaged and to take on the CEO role to develop SinoHawk in the U.S. and around the world in partnership with CEFC,” he said.
Bobulinski told Carlson: “I remember saying, ‘How are you guys getting away with this?’ ‘Aren't you concerned?’”
He claims that Jim Biden, Joe Biden's brother, chuckled and responded, "Plausible deniability."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In 2019, Joe Biden told reporters: "I have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their businesses. Period."
The Biden campaign declined to comment on the meeting Biden allegedly had with Bobulinski.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
More from Politics
Fox News Politics
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.