jimnyc
06-03-2021, 05:55 PM
Oh please, just call it what it really is - Blue Star Strategies = Hunter Biden
And so long as they're investigating, why not investigate ALL of it? Including the other countries he made money from - including China.
And also don't forget to fully investigate money going to 'the big guy' - and the big guy receiving cuts - also some from a China energy firm deal. Wonder if they'll do so? :rolleyes:
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Dem lobbying firm under federal investigation for Burisma work
The Department of Justice is looking at whether Blue Star Strategies illegally lobbied on behalf of a Ukrainian company that counted Hunter Biden as a board member.
The Justice Department is investigating the work of a consulting firm linked to the president’s son for potential illegal lobbying, four people familiar with the probe told POLITICO.
The firm, Blue Star Strategies, took on as a client the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while Hunter Biden served on its board. Republican operatives’ efforts to investigate Burisma and the alleged corruption that surrounded the firm were at the heart of the first Trump impeachment.
The probe comes as the Justice Department ramps up its scrutiny of foreign governments’ efforts to influence U.S. politics through covert lobbying operations. Much of that enforcement work has focused on Republicans linked to former President Donald Trump, including an active probe of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The existence of the investigation into Blue Star, meanwhile, shows that DOJ’s torqued-up enforcement efforts may also create legal jeopardy for firms and operatives aligned with the Democratic Party.
The Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office is involved in the probe, and is coordinating with lawyers in the National Security Division at DOJ’s Washington headquarters, the sources said. The Delaware office is also investigating Hunter Biden for potential tax violations.
The existence of the federal probe into Blue Star Strategies has not been previously reported. There has been grand jury activity in connection to the probe, two of the people said.
One focus of the investigation is whether the firm failed to comply with disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that requires Americans to disclose lobbying and public affairs work for foreign officials and political parties. There is no indication that Hunter Biden is a target of the investigation into Blue Star. Karen Tramontano, one of Blue Star's co-founders, testified that Hunter Biden did not direct any of the firm’s work for Burisma.
Blue Star did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department National Security Division declined to comment, while a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware said that they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. Hunter Biden and a lawyer for him did not respond to requests for comment.
Blue Star Strategies is a Washington lobbying and public affairs firm that also has offices in Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris and Vienna. Its co-founders, Tramontano and Sally Painter, are well-connected longtime Washington operatives and alums of the Clinton administration. Their connections extend beyond high-profile politics; on Oct. 24, 2019, one of the firm’s co-founders posted a photo on Facebook showing her standing arm-in-arm with pop star Nick Jonas and movie star Priyanka Chopra.
Blue Star Strategies has worked on a host of major endeavors, including the effort to secure permanent normal trade relations between the U.S. and China, according to their website. Filings with the Justice Department show that in recent years, the firm has worked for clients in Azerbaijan and Bangladesh, and an affiliate of a Latvian bank accused of money laundering by the U.S. Treasury Department.
But it is the firm’s work for Burisma Holdings, an energy company based in Ukraine facing allegations of corruption, that has subjected Blue Star to government scrutiny. Blue Star did not disclose its work for Burisma in any federal lobbying databases. Such disclosures would have revealed when the firm started working for Burisma and when it concluded its work.
Rest - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/03/blue-star-burisma-justice-department-investigation-491681
And so long as they're investigating, why not investigate ALL of it? Including the other countries he made money from - including China.
And also don't forget to fully investigate money going to 'the big guy' - and the big guy receiving cuts - also some from a China energy firm deal. Wonder if they'll do so? :rolleyes:
---
Dem lobbying firm under federal investigation for Burisma work
The Department of Justice is looking at whether Blue Star Strategies illegally lobbied on behalf of a Ukrainian company that counted Hunter Biden as a board member.
The Justice Department is investigating the work of a consulting firm linked to the president’s son for potential illegal lobbying, four people familiar with the probe told POLITICO.
The firm, Blue Star Strategies, took on as a client the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while Hunter Biden served on its board. Republican operatives’ efforts to investigate Burisma and the alleged corruption that surrounded the firm were at the heart of the first Trump impeachment.
The probe comes as the Justice Department ramps up its scrutiny of foreign governments’ efforts to influence U.S. politics through covert lobbying operations. Much of that enforcement work has focused on Republicans linked to former President Donald Trump, including an active probe of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. The existence of the investigation into Blue Star, meanwhile, shows that DOJ’s torqued-up enforcement efforts may also create legal jeopardy for firms and operatives aligned with the Democratic Party.
The Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office is involved in the probe, and is coordinating with lawyers in the National Security Division at DOJ’s Washington headquarters, the sources said. The Delaware office is also investigating Hunter Biden for potential tax violations.
The existence of the federal probe into Blue Star Strategies has not been previously reported. There has been grand jury activity in connection to the probe, two of the people said.
One focus of the investigation is whether the firm failed to comply with disclosure requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that requires Americans to disclose lobbying and public affairs work for foreign officials and political parties. There is no indication that Hunter Biden is a target of the investigation into Blue Star. Karen Tramontano, one of Blue Star's co-founders, testified that Hunter Biden did not direct any of the firm’s work for Burisma.
Blue Star did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department National Security Division declined to comment, while a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware said that they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. Hunter Biden and a lawyer for him did not respond to requests for comment.
Blue Star Strategies is a Washington lobbying and public affairs firm that also has offices in Brussels, Buenos Aires, Paris and Vienna. Its co-founders, Tramontano and Sally Painter, are well-connected longtime Washington operatives and alums of the Clinton administration. Their connections extend beyond high-profile politics; on Oct. 24, 2019, one of the firm’s co-founders posted a photo on Facebook showing her standing arm-in-arm with pop star Nick Jonas and movie star Priyanka Chopra.
Blue Star Strategies has worked on a host of major endeavors, including the effort to secure permanent normal trade relations between the U.S. and China, according to their website. Filings with the Justice Department show that in recent years, the firm has worked for clients in Azerbaijan and Bangladesh, and an affiliate of a Latvian bank accused of money laundering by the U.S. Treasury Department.
But it is the firm’s work for Burisma Holdings, an energy company based in Ukraine facing allegations of corruption, that has subjected Blue Star to government scrutiny. Blue Star did not disclose its work for Burisma in any federal lobbying databases. Such disclosures would have revealed when the firm started working for Burisma and when it concluded its work.
Rest - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/03/blue-star-burisma-justice-department-investigation-491681