"The Other Son?" --The Other Reason Why Joe Biden decided not to Run...

(Note the Dates of Hunter's Expulsion from Navy for Cocaine use and his Joining Burisma Ltd., Ukraine's largest private gas producer--What was going on in Ukraine at that time?)

Why shouldn't Hunter Biden join the board of a gas company in Ukraine?

The son of the US vice-president has been chosen to take charge of energy firm Burisma's legal unit – a decision based purely on merit, of course

Wednesday 14 May 2014 12.03 EDT

http://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2014/may/14/hunter-biden-job-board-ukraine-biggest-gas-producer-burisma

Name: Hunter Biden.

Age: 44.

Appearance: Chip off the old block.

His names rings a bell. Is he related to someone famous? He's the son of Joe Biden, the US vice president.

What is he, sort of a wayward, ne'er-do-well playboy type?Not really. He's a graduate of Yale Law School and a former senior vice-president at MBNA America Bank.

Good for him. During the Clinton administration he worked in the US Department of Commerce. He's presently a partner in an investment firm. And counsel for a national law firm. And an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

I get it: he likes to keep busy. He has even found the time to join the board of a gas company called Burisma Holdings Ltd.

Never heard of it. Perhaps that's because it's a Ukrainian gas company; Ukraine's largest private gas producer, in fact. He's taking charge of the company's legal unit.

Isn't that a bit fishy? Why do you say that?

Because he's the vice-president's son! That's a coincidence. "This is totally based on merit," said Burisma's chairman, Alan Apter.

He doesn't sound very Ukrainian. He's American, as is the other new board member, Devon Archer.

Who? Devon Archer, who works with Hunter Biden at Rosemont Seneca partners, which is half owned by Rosemont Capital, a private equity firm founded by Archer and Christopher Heinz.

Who? Christopher Heinz … John Kerry's stepson.

I think Putin's propaganda people can take a long weekend; their work is being done for them. What do you mean?

Hasn't Joe Biden pledged to help Ukraine become more energy independent in the wake of its troubles with Russia? Well, yes.

And isn't Burisma, as a domestic producer, well positioned to profit from rising gas prices caused by the conflict? Possibly, but Hunter Biden is a salaried board member, not an investor. According to anonymous sources in the Wall Street Journal, neither Rosemont Seneca nor Rosemont Capital has made any financial investment in Burisma.

So it's not fishy at all? No one's saying that.

Do say: "Somebody needs to get involved in Ukraine's corporate governance, and it might as well be a clutch of rich, well-connected American dudes with weird first names."

Don't say: "Thanks, Dad."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2014/may/14/hunter-biden-job-board-ukraine-biggest-gas-producer-burisma

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Biden's son discharged from Navy after testing positive for cocaine

By Eric Bradner, CNN
Updated 8:23 PM ET, Fri October 17, 2014

The discharge of Biden, a 44-year-old lawyer and managing partner at an investment firm, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. He confirmed the report in a statement to CNN.

"It was the honor of my life to serve in the U.S. Navy, and I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge. I respect the Navy's decision. With the love and support of my family, I'm moving forward," he said.

Biden was commissioned as an ensign in May 2013 and assigned as a public affairs officer in a Norfolk, Virginia-based reserve unit. A month later, he tested positive for cocaine, and he was discharged in February, according to the report.

The U.S. official said the Navy never had contact with the vice president's office over the issue, and that standard procedure for failed drug tests is administrative discharge. The vice president's office didn't comment on the report.

Hunter Biden is the younger of Biden's two sons. His older brother, Beau Biden, is Delaware's attorney general and a major in the Delaware Army National Guard. He was deployed for a year in Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/16/politics/hunter-biden-discharged-from-navy/index.html


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