After weeks of closed-door interviews, Democrats have yet to get testimony from anyone who can contribute anything more than hearsay testimony. The one witness who Democrats called a “star witness” against the President when they leaked info to the media, is hardly impartial.
Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) House Permanent Select Committee could only manage one remotely credible witness and he is closely connected to Schiff and Burisma Holdings gas company-making his testimony extremely problematic.
Burisma Holdings, if you remember, is the natural gas company that paid Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, upwards of $50,000 a month to “consult” on its board.
The witness, Bill Taylor, has also been linked to the infamous Steele Dossier used to falsely connect the President to Russian interference.
Considering the conflicts of interest Schiff’s star witness has it’s no wonder he has demanded secrecy in the questioning, will not allow Republican representatives to attend the hearings, and has refused to provide transcripts of the interviews.
To make matters even more suspect, according to other House members, Taylor failed to provide anything substantive when cross examined by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX).
Taylor, the acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine developed a close relationship with the Atlantic Council, a Washington D.C. think tank. The Atlantic Council is funded by and works for — you guessed it — Bursima.
In addition, Taylor, the senior Biden, and David J. Kramer, advisor to the late John McCain, are also closely connected to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) which has co-hosted events with The Atlantic Council. Taylor served as a senior advisor on the USUBC.
Kramer is famous for bringing the now debunked Steele dossier to media outlets and Obama officials. Which we now know was used by the FBI to illegally obtain FISA warrants to spy on President Trump and his campaign.
Kramer testified before Congress that he held a meeting with BuzzFeed News in which its reporters snapped pictures of the dossier while he went to the bathroom.
It is also interesting to note that one of Schiff’s staffers traveled to Ukraine to meet Ambassador Taylor just after the so-called whistleblower filed his complaint. The meeting took place AFTER the whistleblower filed his complaint and reportedly after the whistleblower contacted Schiff’s office for help.
Though the House committee banned outgoing transcripts, multiple U.S. news outlets somehow obtained Taylor’s complete opening statement before the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees. (Side note: Seems like President Trump might have been right to not trust that Schiff could keep the al-Baghdadi raid secret before it happened.)
In his opening statement, Taylor said he worked for a “small Ukrainian non-governmental organization.” He failed to mention that “small” organization supposedly formed to encourage “good governance and reform” was the USBUC whose chief supporter is Bursima.
Three months before he was appointed by the President as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, The Atlantic Council printed an op-ed co-authored by Taylor. He had previously written a 2007 piece for The Atlantic Council concerning a vote on health care reform in the Ukrainian parliament.
Taylor worked alongside Kramer for nine years when they invited former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst. Herbst serves as the director of the Eurasian Center for the Atlantic Council. The Eurasian Center is directly funded by Bursima.
CNN characterized Taylor’s testimony yesterday as “explosive” even though he admitted there was no quid pro quo as Schiff and other Democrats contend.
Most readers might throw up their hands in trying to keep with the tangled web of the Ukraine story, and it seems former Vice President Biden is counting on that.
What is obvious though is that Democrats “star witness” had long standing ties to Burisma—and didn’t want President Trump to investigate the company.
It looks like even Schiff’s best witness is part of Democrats plot to impeach the President.
