Two By Turley: Dems Prepare Biden Scandal "Swat Force"

This is the second of two Turley articles that I’ll feature. The commonality here is that in both cases we should expect the “DoJ” to either actively obstruct a transparent pursuit of justice or to turn a blind eye to obstruction of that process. Nor should we expect the MSM to call the Biden Swat Force out—to the contrary, as Turley notes, they are putting out the word of warning to witnesses: testify at your own risk.

Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley

For Republicans (and particularly the targeted witnesses), it must look like the gathering of the Legion of (Democratic) Doom. Some of the most controversial political operatives are involved in the all-hands-on-deck effort to protect the Bidens...

jonathanturley.orgThe Legion of Democratic Doom? Biden Operatives Plan “Swat Force” on Hunter Biden ScandalBelow is my column in the New York Post on the very public plan to target potential witnesses — and even media — in the Biden influence peddling scandal. It is rare to see such a…

Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley

...For key witnesses like Tony Bobulinski, the message is about as subtle as a two-by-four to the head. The Washington Post laid out the plan to declare open season on those who might try to substantiate the Biden family’s influence peddling.

Below is my column in the New York Post on the very public plan to target potential witnesses — and even media — in the Biden influence peddling scandal. It is rare to see such a scorched Earth campaign intentionally made public. When Hillary Clinton’s campaign funded the Steele dossier, it hid its role and even denied the funding when asked by reporters. This was clearly an effort to not only reveal the plan but to specifically declare the potential targets, including key witnesses, against the Bidens.

…

What’s most interesting about the piece is why The Washington Post was given such access and such a detailed account. Generally, political operatives lay out scorched-earth campaigns in secret. But someone wanted this campaign to be public before the House can call any witnesses.

For key witnesses like Bobulinski, the message is about as subtle as a two-by-four to the head. The Washington Post is viewed as one of the most pro-Biden newspapers in the country and only recently admitted the Hunter Biden laptop was authentic after pushing the false Russian-disinformation claim. Now the paper is detailing a plan that could create an open season on those who might try to substantiate the Biden family’s influence peddling.

Notably, the article stresses this effort is “operating separately from the White House. [David] Brock said his organization also remains independent of Hunter Biden and his team and is following its own strategy.”

The separation is important to deflect any allegations of witness intimidation. …

...

Moreover, Morris himself (Hunter Biden’s friend, agent and lawyer) could be called as a witness and face questions over his own role in the scandal and its suppression in the media. That makes orchestrating an aggressive public campaign more problematic if it targets or intimidates other witnesses.

This is, of course, well known to these sophisticated political operatives, which makes the effort to publicize this campaign all the more concerning. House Democrats have blocked efforts to investigate any Biden influence peddling. They will have to take ownership of that refusal if the investigation now establishes a massive and corrupt operation.

But the new campaign is designed to give plausible deniability and comfortable distance from planned attacks on witnesses and commentators. Hunter Biden may have collected millions in selling access and influence, but anyone investigating or accusing the Bidens is now fully warned: Proceed at your own peril.

This is a fairly lengthy article. For example, Turley discusses the main players—Brock and Morris—and their connection in some detail. He also, naturally, gets into the whole issue of witness intimidation in more detail than the excerpt above might suggest.