A stunning new report reveals that former Vice President Joe Biden’s last attempt at a presidential run involved an FBI investigation into his campaign’s finances.
That could have major ramifications in his 2020 campaign as he faces off against President Donald Trump in November.
And while there’s no indication that the former vice president was ever accused of any wrongdoing, the report – and the allegations raised in it – could become campaign ammunition as Trump attacks Biden with the nickname of “Corrupt Joe.”
The report from Politico finds the FBI looked into illegal fundraising by one of the top bundlers from Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign.
The Politico report reveals how Delaware beer distributor Christopher Tigani skirted campaign finance laws by having his employees donate to the Biden campaign, then reimbursing them.
He was sentenced in 2012 for $72,000 in illegal campaign contributions via “straw donors,” but the Politico report reveals he cooperated with investigators after being caught.
“I told them everything I had done,” Tigani told Politico. “I didn’t try to hide it. I didn’t think it was illegal.”
He became an FBI informant – even wearing a wire for the feds and recording phone calls to see if top members of the campaign or even Biden himself knew of the donations were illegal and allowed them anyway.
But the investigation was stymied as people in the probe seemed to realize they were being recorded. One subject said during a call “I don’t even know who else is listening on the phone,” while another ended a conversation by saying, “Hi to anyone else who is listening.”
Politico reports that Tigani was the only one to ever face federal charges in the scandal, and a Biden spokesperson said “there was no finding, or even allegation, of improper behavior by the 2008 campaign.”
And while a former assistant U.S. attorney involved in the investigation told Politico that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, the website also notes that paying back employees for political donations is a “well-worn tactic for circumventing campaign-finance laws.”
Most are never caught or prosecuted, because few people involved in these wink-wink operations ever cooperate.
But it’s exactly the kind of “swamp” behavior that swept Trump into office in 2016 – and the case could become a reminder to voters of how Washington operates.
It certainly has been an eye-opener for Tigani.
Once a loyal Biden supporter and donor, he says he’ll be voting for Trump in November — and added that the former vice president “lacks integrity for not admitting his and his campaign’s involvement in the bundled contributions.”
He added:
https://twitter.com/ChrisTigani/status/1286330403561836549
He also raised questions about Biden’s integrity in other situations.
“Do you really think: (1) He never asked his son about his business dealings in China or Ukraine? or (2) He doesn’t remember Tara Reade?” he wrote. “There are countless examples…”
And those examples could become major talking points on the campaign trail – some reminiscent of the allegations that came up during the last election.
Trump famously attacked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 as “Crooked Hillary” over her numerous scandals and the sketchy finances of the Clinton family fundraising machine.
Lately, he’s mounted a similar offensive against Biden with his “Corrupt Joe” attacks, referring to questionable activity by the former vice president as well as his family.
Son Hunter Biden, for example, earned big money in shady overseas deals while his father was vice president. In one now-infamous instance referenced by Tigani, Hunter Biden was paid $50,000 per month to be a board member of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
Biden had no experience in the industry – and the position came while his father was essentially handling the administration’s Ukraine portfolio.
These new revelations could be used by Trump and his campaign to raise even more questions about Biden’s integrity and ethics.
— Walter W. Murray is a reporter for The Horn News. He is an outspoken conservative and a survival expert, and is the author of “America’s Final Warning.”