By now, the Trump shakedown of the Ukraine President is widely known. Trump claims he is exonerated because he believes (wrongly) that Joe Biden did something similar when, as the point-man in the Obama administration he was sent to Europe to fight corruption on behalf of USA,
the European Union, NATO and the World Bank. Biden's efforts in this regard were sanctioned and condoned as official US policy. Trump believes that Joe was "helping" his son Hunter Biden when he (Biden) did this. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. The then current Ukraine prosecutor was well known to be corrupt and had stopped a previous investigation of Burisma, the gas company Hunter was on the board of, and the anti-corruption community praised him for it.
Of course, Trump only wanted Ukraine to "announce" an investigation into Joe and Hunter to give the appearance that they had done something wrong. This, would play right into his hands that the Bidens are corrupt and not fit for office. Trump wants us to believe that Joe Biden was not the front-runner in the democratic 2020 primary race. The national polls had Biden up over 30 points against his nearest competitor. As for the race against Trump, Biden was leading by over 14 points in most polls.
Trump's scheme based itself on the idea that Hunter Biden had secured a position on the Board of Burisma back in 2014, while Joe was VP. You see, Trump believes because he is corrupt, everyone else must also be. He spread some interesting conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden. All of them are either false, or never proven. Only Hunter Biden and Burisma actually know what he received as compensation for this position. The $ 50,000 to $ 83,000 bandered about is pure conjecture that Trump has only suggested. Unfortunately, when he suggests things they get picked up by Fox news who take it as fact. Then, Trump restates it, by voice, or tweets, as if he heard it somewhere else. He didn't hear it, he said it! The only statement with any credance is that Hunter Biden sat on the lesser board of directors of Burisma from 2014-2019 for which he was paid for this, and other work through a consulting company.
Actually Hunter and Joe Biden have nothing to do with the current impeachment hearings. The impeachment concerns itself with President Trump using a White House meeting and about $ 400 million in military aid in exchange for this so-called "Announcement". This, in itself is an
impeachable offense, regardless of Hunter Biden.
Lately, in impeachment hearings, republicans take much pleasure in touting at the top of their lungs "What about Hunter Biden?" If they truly believed that there was the possibility of corruption, why were they not screaming about Alan Apter, or Joe Cofer Black. Who are these characters? Two American citizens who sit on the board of Burisma, and make at least as much, or more per month that Hunter Biden.
Joseph Cofer Black is a member of Burisma Board of Directors since 2016. Prior to that, he was a foreign policy advisor on the Mitt Romney republican presidential campaign. Yes, a republican with no more experience in oil and gas companies than Hunter Biden. Alan Apter, Chairman of Board of Directors is a psychiatrist and an investment banker. Neither of these gentlemen have any background in oil and gas. Hunter Biden, however, is an attorney. I don't believe that any member of a corporate board is more valuable than an attorney.
So, why were these two names, and others never mentioned by Trump, or any of the republicans defending him in Congress, or the Senate? The answer is obvious. These other men do not have a father running for President of the US who was (and is) the front runner for the democratic
nomination from April to August, 2019 that Trump would see as a threat to his re-election bid.