I suppose this represents progress in Washington. On “CNN News Central,” co-host John Berman actually asked a Democratic House member about the allegations against President Joe Biden. The response from Rep. Madeleine Dean (D., Pa.) captured the increasingly incomprehensible position of members as the evidence of corruption has mounted and implicated the President.
Dean admitted that there are legitimate questions that should be answered but stressed that she does not have any herself.
In other words, the public has a right to know, but I will not help them find out.
In the interview, Berman asked, “On the subject of what could be a pending impeachment inquiry into President Biden, what questions, if any, do you have about Joe Biden’s connection to Hunter Biden’s business dealings?”
Dean answered,
“I don’t have any at this point. But, certainly, there are questions that can be asked, and should be answered, if there was any connection. But we don’t see any evidence of that whatsoever. So, they’re making it up [out of] whole cloth.”
Berman then fairly followed up, “And where would you learn that evidence, if not for an inquiry?”
The response was an attack on the Committee and its chairman rather than answer the question:
“Well, sadly, we won’t learn it by way of our Judiciary Committee, which is now led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). He’s Chair of Judiciary. And he’s proven himself to be very weak in the hearings that we have had this Congress. He’s just not hitting the mark on any of the things he’s trying to prove. And what is so dangerous is the willingness of Mr. Jordan and others on the Republican side of the dais in Judiciary to absolutely peddle in lies. They call all of our witnesses to swear to tell the truth. And yet, they peddle lies as they ask their questions. So, we’re not going to get good information under any kind of leadership from Mr. McCarthy or Mr. Jordan.”
The exchange was telling because the room for movement is being dramatically reduced by the new evidence. Members and the media first denied the legitimacy of the story, claimed that the laptop was Russian disinformation, and then insisted that there was no evidence. Even with two IRS whistleblowers saying that the Hunter Biden plea bargain was the result of political influence and special dealing, politicians and pundits continue to cite the plea bargain as the end of the matter, a spin predicted over a year ago.
What is striking is the lack of embarrassment about admitting that there are questions that must be answered on corruption while disclaiming any obligation as a member of Congress to assist in getting those answers. Like her colleagues, Dean has avoided any substantive questions of the claims of special dealing and influence peddling with witnesses testifying before her.
There is still an element of willful blindness in these answers. Despite the detailed testimony of the whistleblowers, millions in transfers to the Biden family, and proof that the President has lied for years, Dean is still maintaining “we don’t see any evidence of that whatsoever.” She continues to demand “where’s the evidence?”
It is also striking how the members and the media praised Republicans who broke from their party to support the impeachment of Donald Trump (as many did in the Nixon impeachment). Yet, there is no pressure on Democrats to show the same independence. It has been a unified front as Democratic members have opposed every effort to investigate or to expose the evidence on influence peddling by the Bidens.
This is why Aldous Huxley maintained that “facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”
