Can we be fair, I wonder, in showing the past experience, in business, government, and on boards, of Hunter Biden, son of Joe?
Did he have recognized background before he was named to the board of a Ukraine gas company? Seems so. In 2006, George W. Bush selected him to join the Amtrak board of directors, and the Amtrak Reform Board. He was confirmed by the (GOP controlled) Senate, by voice vote.
Here’s some bio info, collected over past years:
May 18, 2006
President Bush nominates three to Amtrak Board
CLEVELAND, May 18 – President Bush nominated three individuals to the Amtrak Reform Board, including Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta to five year terms. Also nominated are R. Hunter Biden, of Delaware, and Donna R. McLean, of the District of Columbia.
[Hunter Biden]
was a Presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Commerce [during Bill Clinton’s term], where he served as the Executive Director for e-Commerce Policy Coordination under Secretaries Daley and Mineta. While with the Administration he also participated in a number of international business development and policy missions to Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Biden served on the Board of Directors of Amtrak from 2006 until Feb. 2009; he was vice-chair of the board from 2007-2009. According to AP, Hunter Biden attended 43 meetings as a board director for Amtrak; he was paid $32,850 for his service during that period, from cash-strapped Amtrak.
Before Hunter Biden was approved by the Senate without opposition, he appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee, for a confirmation hearing for the Amtrak board appointment. His confirmation appearance hearing is here:
Sen. Tom Carper’s statement in support of Biden includes:
He's ended up being Senior Vice President at MBNA one of the largest financial institutions in the country. He served as Executive Director of Economy Policy Coordination at the U.S. Department of Commerce. About 5 years ago he went off and formed a law firm here in Washington, D.C., and now they represent over 100 clients including a bunch of non-profit organizations and educational institutions.
Biden’s own statement about Amtrak’s mission, included:
in the 21st Century a robust, cost efficient national passenger rail system is a necessity, and ... you can not look at the energy and environmental issues facing our country today without looking at intercity rail and Amtrak as a part of the solution
From his own biographical statement to the Commerce committee -
As a Senior Vice President at MBNA America, I worked in several executive management roles, including managing an investigative unit of the consumer fraud division and management of all external and internal “Y2K” communications. As Executive Director of E-Commerce Policy Coordination at the U.S. Department of Commerce, I was responsible for managing and coordinating the communication and implementation of Department and Executive Office E-Commerce policy initiatives within the Office of The Secretary.
Finally. since founding a law firm 5 years ago, I, along with one other partner, have built a firm that now has fifteen employees, 10 partners. and represent over 100 clients.
Additionally:
Here’s bio info from a speaker’s forum for a 2016 Energy Security Forum (co-sponsored by energy firm Burisma), where he was a featured speaker —
“He serves as Counsel to Boies, Schiller, Flexner, LLP, a US national law firm based in New York. Mr. Biden is also an Adjunct Professor on Georgetown University’s Masters Program, in the School of Foreign Service. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of World Food Program USA and as a Director on the not-for-profit Board of the Center for National Policy, the Truman National Security Project and the US Global Leadership Coalition. Mr. Biden is Member of the CSIS Executive Council on Development, the Chairman’s Advisory Board for the National Democratic Institute, and the President’s Advisory Board for Catholic Charities in Washington D.C.
“From 2006 to 2009 Mr. Biden served on the Board of Directors of Amtrak, serving as Vice Chairman from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Biden was honored to serve as an Honorary Co-Chair of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee and to have served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Previously, Mr. Biden was a founding member of the law firm Oldaker, Biden and Belair, LLP, was appointed by President Clinton to serve as Executive Director of E-Commerce Policy Coordination under Secretary of Commerce William Daley and was a Senior Vice President at MBNA America Bank. He is also a Member of the Bar in the State of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
“Mr. Biden received a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
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Also, in his committee hearing, his Bio shows he was on board of directors of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition.
Hunter Biden was discharged from the Naval Reserves in 2014 for cocaine use and a failed drug test [CNN article, 2014]. He has acknowledged struggling with drug use.
I also came across a balanced editorial about the firm Burisma in the conservative Roanoke Times, located in the southwest corner of Virginia, where gas pipeline permitting is a big deal. The Roanoke Times editorial covers how Burisma needed alliances to gain some energy independence from Russian supply.
THE ROANOKE TIMES Oct 7, 2019
Editorial: How Appalachian natural
gas is connected to Ukraine (sort of)
“If you came here expecting dirt on Biden — or on Trump, for that matter — you’ve come to the wrong place. ….
“Ukraine can’t do much about being dependent on Russia for coal and uranium, but it can do something about natural gas.
“It’s begun switching from buying Russian natural gas to buying natural gas from Europe — principally Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It’s also been trying to develop its own domestic natural gas resources. In that context, the natural gas company that Hunter Biden worked for wasn’t just an energy company; it was part of the nation’s attempt to wrest itself out of Russia’s claw-like grip.
“That might explain why the company— Burisma— recruited some prominent Americans from both parties to serve on its board. Biden was one; so was Joseph Cofer Black, a former intelligence official and ambassador under George W. Bush. You can argue, of course, whether Hunter Biden was cashing in on his father’s position, but from Burisma’s viewpoint, it was simply trying to make some much-needed friends in Washington because the country lives in dread fear of Moscow. …. “
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Overall, it’s an interesting and balanced think-piece on the global gas market, explaining how the gas company — with a well-known legacy of corruption — would seek for its external directors for corporate governance the connections and alliances it needed badly, to garner support to develop separation and independence from energy sources from Russia. The hires of Hunter Biden in 2014 and Cofer Black in 2017 are not a mystery.