Category: Opinion

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware is taking a hard look into Hunter Biden’s “tax affairs” in an investigation that began back in 2018.

The president-elect’s son said,” I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs. I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”

According to a source, Hunter Biden could be the subject or target of the grand jury investigation. The source said that being a “subject” means you “don’t know for sure” if someone committed a crime and a “target” is a person with a “high probability” of having committed a crime. They added that Joe Biden is not currently a subject of any grand jury investigation.

The source also said that this investigation was partly predicated by Suspicious Activity Reports in regards to suspicious overseas transactions from “China and other foreign nations.”

A Treasury Department official would not comment on the investigation but said that SARs are only filed by financial institutions “if there is something out of the ordinary about a particular transaction.”

The official pointed out that just because a SARs is filed doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a criminal act or violation of regulations but merely flags that a transaction is “out of the ordinary” for the customer.

However, the official noted that a SAR could be part of a money laundering or tax investigation.

Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the FDA state and local health departments and providers will need more funding from the government to get the vaccinations out to the public.

This update came after the members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to approve the COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 years and older. ACIP member and pediatrician at the University of California Los Angeles, Dr. Peter Szilagyi said there is a big need for “substantially increased government funding to actually implement the recommendation.”

“I know we’re going to have very tough and sad times ahead because of the surge and a limited vaccine supply,” said Szilagyi, “but I am really hopeful that this is the beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Dr. Beth Bell, an ACIP member and a clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington, emphasized Szilagyi’s comments, saying it wouldn’t be unfair to compare how much funding the federal government contributed for the vaccine’s development to how little was provided for distributing the shots.

Bell said, “I think that the imbalance between that kind of money and the funding that has been provided for the vaccination programs and for implementation is really shocking and needs to be corrected because we are not going to be able to protect the American public if we don’t have a way to deliver the vaccines to them.”

Normally, when a new family moves into the White House it gets a good cleaning in the five hours it takes allotted for the turnover. But this year has not been normal what with a global pandemic and all the extra precautions being taken all over the country.

So on January 20th, the White House will get an extra deep, exhaustive cleaning. It’s just one of the many changes expected when President-elect Joe Biden takes over. Even before he was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election his campaign painstakingly modeled public health guidelines starting with mask-wearing and social distancing.

While there are not any “firm plans” in place for the cleaning, the General Services Administration will be doing a “thorough disinfecting and cleansing” of every surface in the massive 55,000 square foot mansion.

To put that into perspective a football field is just over 57,000 square feet. Not only that but there are nearly 1000 doorknobs, 35 toilets, and 15 offices spread across 6 levels each one with its own desk all of which need to be sanitized before the Biden family can step foot inside.

Rugs, if kept, will also be deep cleaned. The executive residence will be cleaned and sprayed “in the same manner as the West Wing and the rest of the White House has been since Covid regulations and guidelines were implemented months ago.”

Press staff has already witnessed some early cleaning, which involves workers in full hazmat-looking suits spraying cleaner in frequently used areas such as the briefing room.

Those who work in the building welcome the presence of cleaners who have become frequent guests. Last month, after two COVID-19 outbreaks in the White House GSA called in a company to regularly “mist” cleaner throughout the interior.

A man in Florida is being charged with disorderly conduct after police say he walked through a Best Buy intentionally coughing, sneezing, and spitting all while not wearing a mask.

According to police records, Alton Ashby, 51, went into the electronics store in Vero Beach without wearing the required mask to enter and approached the Geek Squad desk for assistance.

Several employees repeatedly asked Ashby to put on a mask but he refused to comply. One employee even provided him with a disposable mask when he did put on but quickly removed it.

The associate behind the counter told Ashby they would no longer be able to serve him unless he were to wear the mask.

At that point, employees say they witnessed Ashby “cough and spit” on the Geek Squad counter and continue to “walk around the connected department to do the same thing.”

As he was leaving the store, employees told police that Ashby grabbed a bottle of soda from the cooler at the front of the store “which he sprayed everywhere as he was walking out.”

Police later caught up with Ashby during a traffic stop.

At first, Ashby claimed that nothing untoward had happened at the store but he was angry with the service he received.

However, the cop did some investigating at the store and returned to arrest Ashby. He then admitted that he has been “going through a lot this year” and got carried away.

Employees say that because of the incident customers left the store and they had to clean and sanitize multiple areas of the store, most importantly the Geek Squad counter.

An advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration just voted 17-4 to endorse the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, giving FDA leaders the green light to authorize emergency mass distribution. This couldn’t come at a better time as there is an ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases all over the country.

The committee was entrusted with voting on the following question: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine outweigh its risk for use in individuals 16 years of age and older?”

There were several committee members who did not agree with the aspect of approving the vaccine for use in children due to limited evidence. Others argue that 16- and 17-year-olds would not be first in line to receive the vaccine, which would allow more time for research into the potential effects on this age group.

The long-awaited meeting included members of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research advisory committee, Pfizer representatives, and outside vaccine experts. After only Canada, the United Kingdom, and Bahrain the United States was the next to approve the emergency use of Phizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

Even though this would be a huge step in the effort to end the pandemic, it’s important to remember that the committee’s vote in favor of the EUA is not yet final. Now, the officials with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research will review the vote and ultimately decide if the vaccine is ready for the public.

For the past three days, California Representative Eric Swalwell has refused to give up any details about his relationship with a Chinese national with whom he had ties and who is now accused of being a spy.

It’s been reported that a woman named Christine Fang had wormed her way into the inner circle of several political figures, including Swalwell. Fang supposedly had sexual encounters with two Midwestern mayors, so it wouldn’t be implausible to say she did the same with Swalwell.

Swalwell’s office said he “will not participate” in the story for legal reasons but they did say, “Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person – whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years – to the FBI.”

When pressed about his connection with Fang, Swalwell would not discuss his relationship with her but claimed to have not shared any classified information with her and he fully cooperated with investigators who were looking into her.

Swalwell’s history shows that he and Fang have been linked since his time as a councilmember in Dublin City, California, before his election to Congress in 2012. It was during that time Fang helped organize a fundraiser for his 2014 campaign and provided at least one intern to work in his office.

In 2015 investigators gave Swalwell a defensive briefing and he cut all communication with Fang immediately after.

Several news outlets have attempted to reach out to Swalwell to give him an opportunity to tell his side of the story but so far he has refused to comment.

Anifa likes to pretend that they have a purpose, that they are doing something that really matters and will make a difference in the world. The truth is they just want to wreak havoc and cause violence while making everyone’s lives miserable.

They attack police officers and innocent people but when the shoe is on the other foot they cry for help from the very people they have hurt.

Now they have set their sights on destroying Christmas and Hanukkah.

The distinguished Metropolitan Republican Club in New York City was vandalized and it is suspected that the anti-fascist group is to blame.

Club president Ian Walsh Reilly said, “I am deeply disturbed and disgusted at this attack.”

“Republicans are in a situation where we can come together under social guidelines and hold an election night party that went off flawlessly. We were then having a celebration of religion, of Christianity and Judaism and their holidays, and that was the date they chose to attack the Met Club,” said Reilly.

“It shows such intolerance from the very people who say they are anti-fascist,” he added.

Last Thursday the club held its annual “Christmas and Hanukkah Social” declaring “Tis the Season to be of Good Cheer and gather with your fellow Republicans at the Met Club to Celebrate the Holidays Together!”

However, when members began to arrive they found the building had been defaced with anarchist graffiti and Antifa symbols with red spray paint along with the words “You’re Canceled” splayed across the two front doors.

New York City police are investigating the crime, which Reilly suspects was carried out by four individuals associated with Antifa who targeted the club for its support of President Trump and its religious holiday celebrations.

“We do openly put the words Christmas and Hanukkah in the title of the party, because we should be open and honest,” Reilly explained. “This is a celebration of two wonderful religions, and as the club is the most visible symbol of the Republican party in New York City, a city that is becoming more and more intolerant of opposing opinions, I am afraid that is going to continue.”

A mysterious illness has killed at least one person and hospitalized hundreds in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The unidentified illness was detected over the weekend in Eluru, an ancient city in India known for its hand-woven products. It’s been reported that patients have experienced symptoms ranging from extreme nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness.

A 45-year-old man experiencing symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea had to be hospitalized and died soon after.

Doctors are working to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples tested from the areas impacted have shown no signs of contamination and the chief minister’s office said there have been cases of the sickness in people not linked to the municipal water supply.

The patients are of different ages and none have tested positive for COVID-19 or other viral diseases such as dengue chikungunya, or herpes.

On Monday an expert team sent by the federal government went into the city to investigate the sudden illness.

State chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy paid a visit to a government hospital and met with patients who were ill and opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu is demanding an “impartial, full-fledged inquiry into the incident.”

The state of Andhra Pradesh is among the worst affected by COVID-19 reporting over 800,000 documented cases. The health system in this area, like much of India, has been hit hard by the virus.

Biden has been performing the delicate act of picking people who would not only be “accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party” but who also stand a snowball’s chance of getting confirmed by a Senate that will be controlled by the GOP if Democrats lose next month’s Georgia runoffs.

There are still many Cabinet positions to be filled and the president-elect is facing a high demand for more diversity but Biden has so far passed over ideologues from both sides of his party.

“They’re putting forward more weather vanes and operatives than ideologues,” said Waleed Shahid of the group Justice Democrats. “The kinds of people Obama appointed who were most ideologically hostile to the left wing of the party are not being appointed this time.”

Shahid noted several people from former President Obama’s first term who were not only moderates but also sometimes seemed to enjoy agitating the left, for example, Obama’s former top economic adviser Larry Summers and chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

It appears no warning shots have been fired at Biden from progressive senators who in the end will have a say over who gets confirmed. Some progressives still hope to see a champion appointed to one of the positions Biden will have to fill, but they will not quit fighting to keep people like Rahm Emanuel out.