Taking on influence peddling and corruption in the nation’s capital? Sen. Elizabeth Warren does not remember her plan for that.
The 2020 Democratic primary candidate floundered this week after she was asked whether her administration would allow her vice president’s child to serve on the board of a foreign company, as the Obama administration allowed former Vice President Joe Biden’s.
“No,” Warren said immediately in response to the question Wednesday evening. The senator must have realized suddenly that her response was an implicit shot at the 2020 Democratic front-runner and his son, Hunter Biden, because she then started to backtrack, panicking and promising to look into the matter or something.
“I don’t — I don’t know. I mean, I’d have to go back and look at the details on the plan,” Warren said.
Well, that is funny. On Sept. 16, when the Warren campaign debuted her ethics plan, the senator promised explicitly to “ban lobbying for foreign entities — period” with the intention of ending the “influence peddling” that has led to so much “Washington corruption.” Seems like a big problem to forget that pledge on the campaign trail.
The reporter asked again, “Do you think there could be a problem with that?”
“I — I have to go back and look,” the senator again dodged.
FLAG: Senator Elizabeth Warren appears uncharacteristically flustered when asked if her ethics plan would allow her Vice President’s son to serve on the board of a foreign company: “No,” she said. “I don’t know. I mean I’d have to go back and look at the details.” #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/EksLlMEsew
— Nicole Sganga (@NicoleSganga) September 25, 2019
Warren’s ethics proposal states specifically: “My plan categorically bans the practice of private lobbying for foreign governments, foreign individuals, and foreign companies. No more K Street influence-peddlers looking out for the interests of China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia.”
Hunter Biden in 2014 was installed on the board of the Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma Holdings at a time when his father oversaw Ukrainian policy for the White House. As far as I understand, Biden the lesser, whose position saw him drawing a paycheck of $50,000 per month from Burisma, is not and has never been an expert in Eurasian mining (or Eurasia, or mining). Hence the obvious (and perfectly fair) allegations of sleazy, underhanded exploitation of political connections for money.
The supposedly tough-on-influence-peddling Elizabeth Warren, however, is not sure of what she thinks about the Biden situation — a bit rich considering her ethics plan specifically calls out “shady foreign lobbying activity on behalf of Ukraine.”
So many plans, she doesn’t even know what’s in them.
