Hunter & Joe, Simplified

Plus NYC keeps sliding, Hamas prosecuted, and what else can they do to the NYPD?

Quite the year — but aren’t they all? Let’s hit a few of the year’s big stories as we start closing out 2023.

THE BIDENS: “Not A Scintilla Of Evidence That Joe Biden Was Involved”

As “scintilla” has become the left’s new default buzz term, I think it’s time to suggest the following:

To that end, let’s provide a few scintillas.

One of the problems regarding any investigation of the Bidens is the shambolic nature of their activities; Hunter, Uncle James, and Daddy Joe all had such intertwined finances, it’s tough to break off a cognizable piece.

But as we demonstrated here in yesterday’s podcast, there are pieces that can be bitten off and made comprehensible. One is the Chinese Connection.

It went like so: Patrick Ho — who Hunter himself once called “the f*cking spy chief of China,” and who was operating in the U.S. as an oil exec for the Chinese government — had numerous interactions with Hunter, involving millions of bucks.

From there, it goes like so:

• The Chinese wire $5 million to Hudson West, a Hunter company;

• Hudson West wires $400k to Owasco, another Hunter company;

• Owasco sends $150k to a James Biden firm;

• James Biden sends $40k to Joe Biden.

Now, as anyone who has ever put together a complex case knows, there’s a point where the evidence begins to harmonize. So note the following: $40k to Joe Biden is exactly 10% of the $400k Hunter’s Owasco company took in. Which synchronizes with Hunter’s statement that he was obliged to kick up 10% to “the big guy.”

Is there more? Of course (including the fact that the same “Owasco” company of Hunter’s was tithing $1,380 to Joe Biden monthly, without all these cutouts).

But let’s just stop there. That would seem like 40,000 scintillas, no?

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COUNTERTERRORISM: Is Merrick Garland Reading This Substack?

As we advocated some weeks ago here and here, the Ops Desk could not understand why a criminal case had not been opened against the leaders of Hamas. On October 7th the group killed at least 32 American citizens and kidnapped at least 12. Further, its leaders reside in a (nominal) American ally, Qatar, and the group has financial interests here in the U.S.

Recently, word came that the DOJ had indeed finally opened a case. Now comes word, via Semafor, that the federal Southern District of New York is “racing” to build a case against Hamas’s financial apparatus.

The case apparently focuses on a private equity fund controlled by Hamas — which is, when all is said and done, a designated terrorist group. The Israelis reportedly surfaced this information in 2018, but did not pursue it (?).

There is also the reporting that at least some of Hamas’s activities have been financed by crypto trading.

Your narrator can confirm that, in the counterterrorism world, Hamas was decidedly not a priority for investigators during my tenure doing that work. There was something of a dismissive attitude towards any focus on the group, as if one were taking one’s eye off of what really counted — ISIS, al Qaeda, etc.

Which is understandable. But what is also true: anyone who has ever done intel work knows that — like generals — the risk is that you’re fighting “the last war.” Meaning, you’re focusing on what has been, not on what could be. And as the old saying goes, the bullet that gets you is the one you don’t see.

Should Hamas be a major focus of U.S. counterterrorism officials now? Put it this way: yes.

Gaza is kicking up dust that hasn’t been so disturbed in years, and the follow-on effects of all this will be with us for years. And 2024 is going to feature Hamas counterterrorism cases, heavily.

Oh, and by the way? Close the damn border.

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THE DEATH OF NEW YORK: It’s not your imagination….

If you really want to know how much trouble NYC is in, watch this (click the box to follow the link):

I actually have begun to feel sorry for the Mayor (I will get crushed for that, I know). He looks shell-shocked these days. I think this FBI investigation has really shaken him; he’s generally far more adept than in that interview. Maybe he should lay off the late-nights out and get some sleep.

(Uncorroborated Rumor Department: The Mayor won’t sleep in Gracie Mansion — the Mayor’s official residence — because he believes its haunted. Having been there, I can say: the beautiful old building is haunted — but not by ghosts, by river rats off the adjacent East River).

Meanwhile, as former veteran of the Queens DA’s Office Jim Quinn fully captures in an important piece in The New York Post, six of the “seven major” crime categories are up from 2019 to today. And that does not capture the quality-of-life harassments, assaults, and shoplifting misdemeanors that literally go unpunished these days.

Here’s the graphic from Quinn’s piece (click the image for the full article).

There’s a canard floating around that “things aren’t really that bad” and that “the reporting doesn’t match the statistics.” Wrong.

As I’ve written before, I believe that robberies are actually the truest metric of street safety. But good lord — look at that Auto Theft number.

I think the word Adams was searching for above might’ve been, “apocalyptic.”

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THE ADAMS CHRONICLES: Is he spoliating?

“Spoliation” is a fancy legal term which essentially means to destroy evidence. It’s also what comes to mind as Mayor Adams’ office begins to pursue a plan to destroy millions of emails that go back four years.

Now: In light of the fact that the reported savings will only amount to about $1 million — in an administration that, as we’ve noted, has started roughly a dozen new city agencies — one has to wonder why this is suddenly a priority. According to Politico, the savings amount to 1/1000th of one percent of the city’s budget.

This would, however, “apply to certain staffers who worked for Adams when he was Brooklyn Borough president.”

Which by the way, is when the Turks’ reported courtship of Adams began — the courtship the feds are now reportedly investigating.

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RAPID-FIRE INCOMING

Mayor Adams: “All my haters become my waiters when I sit down at the table of success.” Right. As NYC circles the drain, check out this amazing interactive website of all those Adams-adjacent. Snarky and fun (and disembodied heads are always a plus. (via Hellgatenyc.com)

NYPD cops outflanked by protestors (again), with no enforcement. And then this shame: a protestor sticks a bumper sticker… on a Deputy Inspector! (I wouldn’t have believed this were there not a photo) (NY Post)

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised — NYC has caved (again) to the NYCLU. NYPD cops’ ability to police protests has recently been severely curtailed. And you were wondering why our transporation hubs are shut down every evening by the anti-Israel, anti-cop, antifa, anti-everything crowd? (Washington Post)

The City Council is about to pass a veto-proof bill requiring NYPD to document pretty much every encounter they have with the public. Sponsored by Jumaane Williams — who is lined up to take over as Mayor, should Mayor Adams be forced to step down. It is, of course, all couched around “institutional racism.” It is also profoundly detrimental to policework and profoundly stupid. (via Fox5).

Migrant crime victims get a “path to citizenship.” So now they’re faking crimes against themselves. Feels inevitable, no? (via NY Times)

NYC is officially out of room — and so the “right-to-shelter” law is finally, operationally, defunct. Cue the lawyers. (The City)

Google just made it impossible for law enforcement to use the sort of investigative technique that helped capture Bryan Kohberger — and so many others…. (Forbes)

In response to Asa Ellerup’s reported $1 million payday from a documentary on her husband, the accused Gilgo Beach killer, lawmakers in NYS are looking to update the Son-of-Sam law that prevents perps from profiting from their crimes — by including family members. It is likely unconstitutional. (Long Island Press).

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And finally….

This is a DWI, and there’s nothing funny about it. No really, don’t laugh. Don’t!

Eh, okay, laugh.

And we’ll see you next time, for our Second Annual Oppies…!

In the meantime… stay safe.

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