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Showing posts with label Department of State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Department of State. Show all posts
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
purposes:
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Sunday that there is “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus originated and leaked from the Wuhan Institute of virology, with more intelligence document leaks further pointing to a Chinese cover up.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Pompeo stressed that the US investigation is turning up significant findings that indicate the virus did not originate at a wet market, but stemmed from scientists working with virus samples in the lab.
“There’s enormous evidence that that’s where this began. We’ve said from the beginning that this was a virus that originated in Wuhan, China. We took a lot of grief for that from the outset. But I think the whole world can see now.” Pompeo stated.
“Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories. These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as a result of failures in a Chinese lab.” he continued.
“And so, while the intelligence community continues to do its work, they should continue to do that, and verify so that we are certain, I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan.” Pompeo stressed.
The Secretary squarely blamed China, saying that “The Chinese Communist Party had the opportunity to prevent all of the calamity that has befallen the world.”
“This is a classic Communist disinformation effort.” Pompeo said, noting “We’ve seen the fact that they kicked the journalists out. We saw the fact that those who were trying to report on this, medical professionals inside of China, were silenced. They shut down reporting — all the kind of things that authoritarian regimes do, the way Communist parties operate.”
“The Australians agree with that. You hear the Europeans beginning to say the same thing. I think the whole world is united in understanding that China brought this virus to the world.” Pompeo said, in a statement that may have been a reference to the leaked ‘five eyes’ intelligence report from agencies around the globe that concurs the Chinese instituted a cover up.
“We’re going to hold those responsible accountable, and we’ll do so on a timeline that is our own.” Pompeo urged.
CCP mouthpiece Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-owned Global Times later responded to Pompeo’s comments, challenging the Secretary to present the “enormous evidence” that the virus was leaked from a Chinese lab “to the world.”
“By demanding to investigate Wuhan lab, they are trying to create continuous controversy and focus, to fool the American public,” Xijin claimed.
“A Muslim State Department ex-employee is suing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the agency for allegedly refusing to let her work from home on Ramadan….The suit alleges that after Zaki made her request, she was ‘subjected to ridicule’ and ‘harassing emails’ as well as ‘eye-rolling, dirty looks, huffing and puffing when she spoke [and] being overly criticized about her work product.'”
“Reps for Pompeo declined to comment, although an August filing from his attorneys insisted that the ‘defendant had legitimate, non-discriminatory, and non-retaliatory reasons for its actions.'”
The professional minefield is that if a Muslim of a victimhood mindset suffers any negative professional experience, he or she is liable to ascribe it to “Islamophobia.” Any employer is vulnerable to this kind of suit.
“Muslim State Department ex-employee sues Pompeo for discrimination,” by Jon Levine, New York Post, February 8, 2020:
A Muslim State Department ex-employee is suing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the agency for allegedly refusing to let her work from home on Ramadan.
Azza Zaki, 62, says she asked to telecommute twice a week during the Muslim holiday in 2017, according to the federal lawsuit she filed in June in Washington, D.C., seeking $500,000.
Zaki, who worked in the department responsible for handling complaints from foreign au pairs working in the United States, said she routinely made the request during Ramadan and had not had any issue for the previous seven years.
The suit alleges that after Zaki made her request, she was “subjected to ridicule” and “harassing emails” as well as “eye-rolling, dirty looks, huffing and puffing when she spoke [and] being overly criticized about her work product.” Zaki says she was also unfairly placed on “performance improvement plan,” something her attorney said was part of an effort to ultimately fire her.
“It was humiliating. It was insulting. It was something I have never experienced,” Zaki told The Post. “They are ignorant about the religion. This is discrimination and ignorance. Nobody bothered to come talk to me and ask why is this important. Why is it that you need to be at home. I would have explained.”
She retired in 2018 less than a year after filing an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint against her supervisors, saying tension at work had become too much.
“I could not go through being sick all the time and stressed all the time. Not sleeping,” she said. “I was constantly thinking about all the problems at work and really doubting myself.”
Reps for Pompeo declined to comment, although an August filing from his attorneys insisted that the “defendant had legitimate, non-discriminatory, and non-retaliatory reasons for its actions.”…
President Trump mocked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s disastrous Benghazi debacle from 2011 in a recent tweet after deploying military forces to secure the US embassy in Iraq Tuesday.
“The Anti-Benghazi,” the president bluntly tweeted, referring to the infamous September 11, 2012, event that left Ambassador Chris Stevens and 3 others dead after US compounds in Benghazi, Libya, were attacked by radical jihadists.
Questions swirling over the Obama administration’s explanation of how the event unfolded forced Hillary before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where a frustrated Clinton infamously uttered the phrase “What difference at this point does it make?”
Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!
“With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” she said. “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided that they’d they go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make?”
On Twitter Tuesday, Trump announced the embassy in Iraq was safe after he deployed US forces, and blamed the attacks on the embassy on Iran.
….Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!
Iraq protests: Popular Mobilisation Forces supporters surround US embassy
Angry supporters of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces have surrounded the American embassy in Iraq, angered by US attack on Sunday that killed dozens from the Kataib Hezbollah.
President Donald Trump is blaming Iran for the attack on Friday which killed a US contractor, but Iran has denied any responsibility for it.
Baghdad protesters target US embassy
The US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has been targeted by protesters angered by recent US air strikes on an Iran-backed Iraqi militia.
US forces are believed to have used tear gas to disperse the crowds, who managed to breach an outer wall of the compound.
750 Marines being sent to US Embassy in Baghdad amid protests
In December 2019, it was reported that Foote was "horrified" by Zambia’s jailing of same-sex couple Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba. After an appeal failed and the couple were sentenced to 15 years in prison, Foote asked the Zambian government to review both the case and the country's anti-homosexuality laws. Foote faced a backlash and canceled public appearances after he was threatened on social media, and was subsequently recalled after President Edgar Lungu declared him persona non grata. U.S. embassy sources said they "do not expect a replacement soon."
LUSAKA —The president of Zambia is continuing to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to decriminalize homosexual sex acts worldwide, as U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foote threatened to pull aid to the African nation after two men received lengthy prison terms. President Edgar Lungu defended the sentence by declaring that homosexuality is “unbiblical and unChristian,” and “we don’t want it.” Foote has now reportedly been recalled from the country as Lungu refuses to work with him, and a replacement is not expected anytime soon.
“We have complained officially to the American government, and we are waiting for their response because we don’t want such people in our midst,” Lungu advised on ZNBC-TV on Dec. 15. “We want him gone.”
“You cannot ask a government to make a decision at gun point, [saying that] ‘because we are giving you aid, we want you to do this.’ You can’t,” Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji also remarked.
Foote, who was appointed in 2017 by the Trump administration, recently criticized the Zambian government after two men who were caught in the act of having sexual relations “against the order of nature” were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Section 155 of the penal code in Zambia states that “[a]ny person who … has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or … permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years” to life in prison.
“We know that there could be people who are homosexual in Zambia. But we don’t want to promote it, because we frown upon it — the practice. Most of us say it’s wrong. It’s unbiblical, un-Christian and we don’t want it,” Lungu told Sky News on Dec. 2, adding that he felt the two men sentenced are “sick” and need help.
“Why should we be forced to do it … [W]e want to be seen to be smart, to be seen [as] civilized and advanced and so on,” he continued. “If there are such countries which will allow bestiality, let them do it. But not here.”
Lungu also remarked that the country would rather remain poor than have its financial aid being conditioned on such a matter.
“If that is the how you are going to bring your aid, I’m afraid that the West can leave us alone in our poverty and we will continue scrounging and struggling and see how we can get going,” he stated.
View Lungu’s remarks, in part, in the Sky News video report below.
Foote said that he was “horrified” at the severity of the sentence, and asserted that Zambians were not behaving in a Christlike manner because of the “venom and hate” that he received on social media following his remarks, which caused him to cancel a World AIDS Day event. He also expressed concern that Zambia was doing “untold damage to its international reputation by demonstrating that human rights in Zambia is not a universal guarantee.”
“I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that Christianity meant trying to live like our Lord, Jesus Christ,” Foote wrote in a statement. “I am not qualified to sermonize, but I cannot imagine Jesus would have used bestiality comparisons or referred to his fellow human beings as ‘dogs’, or ‘worse than animals’ — allusions made repeatedly by your countrymen and women about homosexuals.”
He also expressed concern that “[d]iscriminatory and homophobic laws, under the false flags of Christianity and culture, continue to kill innocent Zambians, many of whom were born with the [AIDS] virus. Your citizens are terrified of being outed as HIV-positive, because of the inaccurate and archaic associations between HIV and homosexuality.”
“My job as U.S. ambassador is to promote the interests, values, and ideals of the United States,” Foote explained at one point. “Zambia is one of the largest per-capita recipients of U.S. assistance in the world, at $500 million each year. In these countries where we contribute resources, this includes partnering in areas of mutual interest, and holding the recipient government accountable for its responsibilities under this partnership.”
According to Reuters, the Zambian government consequently sent a letter to U.S. officials, taking issue with his words and stating that the ambassador is “no longer tenable.”
The U.S. subsequently decided to remove Foote from the country as Lungu does not want to work with him.
“Since Lungu says he does not want to work with Foote, there was no point of him remaining. Also don’t forget that there are security issues so Washington wants their man back,” an unnamed State Department representative told Reuters. “The U.S. cannot be paying a salary to someone who cannot work because the hosts don’t want him.”
The AFP also reports that the representative advised, “We do not expect a replacement soon.” However, the U.S. desires “an open and frank relationship of mutual respect, commensurate with the generous aid provided to the Zambian people by the United States.”
“The United States firmly opposes abuses against LGBTI persons. Governments have an obligation to ensure that all people can freely enjoy the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms to which they are entitled,” they said.
THE CAMPAIGN TO DECRIMINALIZE HOMOSEXUALITY WORLDWIDE
Click to enlarge.
As previously reported, the Trump administration launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality earlier this year, a move that Trump himself confirmed on social media in giving a nod to Pride Month.
“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation,” he wrote.
“My administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!” Trump urged.
In February, NBC News reported that “[t]he U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality — mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.”
According to Fox News, countries on the list include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, Kenya, Senegal, Cameroon Antigua, Barbuda, Syria and Yemen. The outlet notes that 33 African countries recognized by the U.N. consider homosexual sex acts a crime. Punishments vary from nation to nation, from jail time to the death penalty.
“I want these countries to be called out! I want these countries to feel the pressure! This list should be read here every day,” Grenell said.
Others on the panel included Robert Destro, the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Stuart Milk, the executive director of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew to Milk; and Johnnie Moore, commissioner for the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom and former senior vice president for communications at Liberty University.
“We need religious leaders to stand up and say, ‘This is not only a bad law that needs to be changed, but it is in defiance of the human dignity of an individual,’” Moore said, according to Fox News.
Screenshot of press release. Click to enlarge.
The press release surrounding the event also pointed to the exhortation of President Trump in September at the U.N. General Assembly:
“As we defend American values, we affirm the right of all people to live in dignity. For this reason, my administration is working with other nations to stop criminalizing of homosexuality, and we stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people who live in countries that punish, jail, or execute individuals based upon sexual orientation.”
As previously reported, in 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sodomy nationwide in the case of Lawrence v. Texas, which involved two men that had been charged with “deviate sexual intercourse” after they were caught engaging in a sexual act while police were investigating a complaint of a weapons disturbance.
“The case does involve two adults who, with full and mutual consent from each other, engaged in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle. The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan nominee. “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government.”
The majority of the concurrence was Republican, joined by two Democrats: David Souter, nominated to the bench by then-President George H.W. Bush; John Paul Stevens, nominated to the bench by then-President Gerald Ford; Sandra Day O’Connor, nominated to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan; Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nominated to the bench by then-President Bill Clinton; and Steven Breyer, also nominated by Clinton.
ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL EDITORIAL
However, as previously reported, the Zambia Daily Mail published an editorial in July applauding Lungu’s refusal to cave to pressure from various western nations, noting that Zambia is a Christian country that seeks to be governed by biblical principles.
“In recent years, many developing countries have come under pressure from some sections of the Western world to embrace homosexuality in exchange for financial help. Those countries with the financial muscle use that to lure developing countries through hefty donations,” the piece read.
“For Zambia, which is a Christian nation as enshrined in the Constitution, embracing homosexuality is an affront to the declaration. Through the declaration as a Christian nation, Zambia chose to be governed by biblical principles,” it stated.
“The Bible is very clear about homosexuality; it is an abomination and is detestable before the eyes of God. It is a rebellion against God. God created human beings as male and female to get married and multiply and raise families.”
The outlet said that to disobey God is to provoke His wrath.
“God demonstrated His seriousness to His commands governing human sexuality when He rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah because of their involvement in homosexual activities (Genesis 19:24-25),” it outlined. “Whether proponents of homosexuality are aware or not, such acts attract the wrath of God.”
It also stated that God’s design was for children to be brought up by both a mother and father, and to deprive a child of that opportunity only brings confusion.
“The proponents are subtly packaging homosexuality as a sexual orientation and right. In whatever way it is branded, homosexuality is an abomination and has no place in Zambia,” the editorial concluded.
As previously reported, The Bible teaches in Genesis 19 that the city of Sodom was full of various wickedness, including homosexuality. It states that as the men of Sodom saw angels enter into Lot’s home, “both old and young” surrounded the house and called out, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
“I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly,” Lot replied.
The angels then “smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness” so that they could not enter, and advised Lot, “[W]e will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.”
In the New Testament, Jude, the earthly brother of Jesus, pointed to the sorrowful fate of Sodom, writing, “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
In Romans 1:26-27, the apostle Paul described homosexuality as being “against nature,” “unseemly” and against “the natural use of the woman,” but declared with hope in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research
purposes:
The United States expelled two Chinese Embassy officials after they drove onto Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek and Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach, home to Navy SEALs. The incident occurred in September, but news of it was just released in a report in the New York Times on December 15. The report, which cited anonymous officials, did not specify which area of the joint base the Chinese officials drove onto.
Navy Region Mid-Atlantic in Norfolk, which is in charge of security at Navy installations in Virginia, referred questions concerning the incident to the State Department. “We take the security of all our installations very seriously. We don’t have any information to provide about the alleged incident,” the command said in a statement.
The Times reported that the Chinese officials and their wives drove up to a checkpoint to enter the base. A guard told them to go through the gate and turn around to exit, after noting tht they were not authorized to be there. Instead of turning around, the group continued further onto the base, evading military personnel who were pursuing them. The vehicle finally stopped after fire trucks blocked its path.
U.S. officials told the Times that Chinese diplomats have been exploring and appearing unannounced at research and government facilities.
In response to the Times report, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry in Beijing called on the United States to reverse its decision. “The U.S. accusations against Chinese personnel severely disregard reality,” said Geng Shunag, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, according to Reuters. Shuang called the accusations “completely contrary to the facts.”
“We strongly urge the U.S. to correct its mistake, cancel the relevant decision and protect Chinese personnel’s proper rights according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”
Chinese officials said the diplomats did not understand the guard’s instructions.
The Times report noted that U.S. officials believe at least one of the Chinese officials was an intelligence officer who was working under a diplomatic guise, which is a common practice for “diplomats” from communist nations.
The New American’s foreign correspondent, Alex Newman, wrote a report back in 2010 entitled “Chinese Spying in the United States.” The article noted that the FBI had arrested dozens of Chinese citizens on U.S. soil in recent years for involvement in espionage operations on behalf of the communist regime, and pointed to various reports showing that there were close to 500 similar investigations ongoing.
Newman cited French journalist Roger Faligot, who has written dozens of espionage-related books, including The Chinese Secret Services From Mao tothe Olympic Games. Faligot claims there are some two million Chinese spies working with the communist state’s security apparatus. The regime has countless agencies engaged in intelligence gathering, including the Ministry of State Security; various military intelligence agencies; multiple industrial, political, and economic espionage departments; and more.
Newman noted: “Hiding behind ‘diplomatic immunity’ and using blackmail, bribery, special privileges, strategic ‘business’ partnerships, cyber attacks, and a wide array of other methods, China’s spies have been extremely successful in their efforts.”
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
A new report on the Biden-Burisma influence-peddling scheme shows just why Democrats want to impeach President Trump for his phone call to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, during which Trump asked his fellow head of state to probe the corruption scandal.
John Solomon revealed yesterday that Hunter Biden and his pals at Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian gas company that employed him, met with State Department officials in 2015 and 2016. One of those meetings occurred a month before Biden’s father and the Obama administration’s point man on Ukraine, Vice President Joe Biden, pressured the country to fire its top prosecutor, who was investigating Burisma.
Thus, a new probe of the company might well provide corroborating evidence that the vice president — the Democrats’ top candidate for president in 2020 — did indeed move against that prosecutor to protect his son.
The latest from Solomon thoroughly refutes the willfully naive refrain from the hate-Trump media that “there is no evidence” the Bidens did anything wrong, and that Trump’s claims to the contrary have been “repeatedly discredited.”
The Meetings
Citing documents uncovered with a Freedom of Information Request, Solomon reported that Burisma tried to persuade U.S. officials to undermine Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin’s probe into the natural gas company, which hired Hunter Biden and placed him on its board despite his complete lack of knowledge about energy and Ukraine and sordid history as an out-of-control dope fiend.
In February 2016, “a U.S. representative for Burisma Holdings sought a meeting with Undersecretary of State Catherine A. Novelli to discuss ending the corruption allegations,” internal memoranda state. Three weeks before that, Ukrainian authorities had raided the home of Burisma’s founder, Mykola Zlochevsky.
But Solomon’s dive into the department’s files divulged something even better:
Hunter Biden’s name, in fact, was specifically invoked by the Burisma representative as a reason the State Department should help, according to a series of email exchanges among U.S. officials trying to arrange the meeting. The subject line for the email exchanges read simply “Burisma.”
“Per our conversation, Karen Tramontano of Blue Star Strategies requested a meeting to discuss with U/S Novelli USG remarks alleging Burisma (Ukrainian energy company) of corruption,” a Feb. 24, 2016, email between State officials read. “She noted that two high profile U.S. citizens are affiliated with the company (including Hunter Biden as a board member).
“Tramontano would like to talk with U/S Novelli about getting a better understanding of how the U.S. came to the determination that the company is corrupt,” the email added. “According to Tramontano there is no evidence of corruption.” ...
At the time, Novelli was the most senior official overseeing international energy issues for State.
The Novelli-Tramontano confab was set for March 1, 2016, the e-mails show, but records don’t show whether the two actually met, Solomon reported.
In Steps Hunter
Meetings that did occur included one between Hunter Biden and a top State Department official in 2015, Solomon reported.
On May 22, 2015, Hunter Biden emailed his father’s longtime trusted aide, Blinken, with the following message: “Have a few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossibly busy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things, Best, Hunter.”
Blinken responded the same day with an “absolutely” and added, “Look forward to seeing you.”
The records indicate the two men were scheduled to meet the afternoon of May 27, 2015.
The State Department records also indicate Hunter Biden met Blinken in person for lunch on July 22, 2015.
Another meeting was between Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer and Secretary of State John Kerry, Solomon reported. Young Biden, recall, served on Burisma’s board with Archer. Biden and Archer were partners in an investment firm, Rosemont Seneca.
Archer, Solomon reported, “secured a meeting on March 2, 2016” with Kerry, although the memos don’t state the reason for the meeting.
That meeting is important not only because it shows a direct link between Bursima’s American legmen, the Obama administration, and thus, the vice president, but also because Kerry’s stepson, Christopher Heinz, was a partner in Rosement Seneca.
But Heinz, Solomon reported, wisely bailed out of the Burisma business and ended his business relationship with Biden and Archer because of it.
The Firing
Here’s the summary timeline of Biden-Burisma by Solomons’ reckoning:
• Burima Holdings hired Biden and Archer in spring 2014, just about the time Britain began looking into Burisma for activities dating back to 2010. Money began pouring into an outfit called Rosemont Seneca Bohai in May 2014. “Hunter Biden received payments from it.”
• In the summer of 2015, Hunter Biden contacted a top State Department official.
• “In September 2015, then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt gave a speech imploring Ukrainian prosecutors to do more to bring Zlochevsky to justice.”
• By early 2016, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin “authorized a court-ordered seizure of Zlochevsky’s home and other valuables, including a luxury car. That seizure occurred on Feb. 2, 2016.”
• Also in February 2016, Burisma reps contacted the State Department to end Shokin’s probe.
• In early March, Hunter Biden’s pal Devon Archer met with Kerry.
• “Within a few weeks of Tramontano’s overture to Novelli and of Archer’s overture to Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden took a stunning action, one that has enveloped his 2020 campaign for president in controversy.”
That action is now well known. Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees if then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko didn’t fire Shokin, a move that Biden bragged about publicly.
Shokin told Solomon and ABC News, and swore in a deposition, that he was fired because he would not stop the Burisma probe. “In fact, Shokin alleges, he was making plans to interview Hunter Biden about his Burisma work and payments when he got the axe.”
