Ukraine is a bottomless pit, as the US Republicans, who have now regained some power in Washington, complain. Now they are also announcing investigations into US President Biden.
In the reports of Russian USA correspondents one learns much more about what is happening politically in the USA than on German television. That was the case again this Sunday when the report of the Russian USA correspondent was shown in the weekly news review of Russian television. I translated the report.
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US inspectors don't know where 90 percent of the weapons handed over to Ukraine are
Ukraine, as a project of the Biden family, seems to be shaping US political life more and more. They only talk about Ukraine. The New York Times acknowledges the reality: “Ukraine's monthly budget deficit is $5 billion and the government has been forced to turn to the West and the International Monetary Fund for emergency assistance. Prime Minister Denis Shmygal recently stated that Ukraine will need $42 billion in aid in 2023 given the expected revenue-spending gap. President Zelensky added another 17 billion to rebuild damaged or destroyed power plants and homes.”
Under these circumstances, Europe has slowed down financial aid to Ukraine. The US Republicans do not want the US to take care of Ukraine alone and certainly not in such an uncontrolled manner: “President Joe Biden has asked Congress for more than $37 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine. According to previous reports, Congress was working on a $50 billion stimulus package for the remaining two years of the "lame duck" presidency ahead of the next presidential election. Congress has already allocated approximately $66 billion for military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The Conservative coalition says the $50 billion in aid to Ukraine totals a staggering $116 billion.”
The amount is indeed staggering. $116 billion is more than the annual defense budget of any country in the world except the United States. It is clear that there are a lot of questions in the US, also against the background of domestic political problems. How sharp are they? This is reported by our USA correspondent.
With crutches, limping on prostheses, soldiers of the Ukrainian army, recognizable by their yellow and blue badges, stride through the corridors of the US Congress. As Congresswoman Merjorie Taylor Green explains in a video, her job is to pressure US lawmakers to get more money from American taxpayers for Selensky. “This is a different state, Ukraine is not a member of NATO, someone should tell it that in this war it needs peace talks. Our taxpayers shouldn't be funding this. $11.8 billion will go directly to Ukraine's budget. Is Ukraine the 51st state in the USA? What position does Selensky hold in the US government? That's outrageous!” says Green.
The Republican congresswoman is outraged because the Democratic president is demanding more money for Ukraine. The $56 billion allocated so far has already been spent, and the White House has asked Congress for an additional $37 billion.
“We shouldn't send them a dime until we've done an audit. We need an inspector general to oversee how American money is spent in Ukraine. We need it now! We really need to find out what a win in Ukraine is, what is it? Do you want Crimea back?! American taxpayers want to know!” says Congressman Thomas Massey.
The Washington Post learned that US inspectors were only able to check 10 percent of the weapons handed over to Ukraine. It is unclear to the senders where the other 90 percent are. However, this does not mean that new deliveries will be cancelled. The White House has announced another $400 million package for Kyiv. It contains hundreds of armored vehicles, rockets and protective gear for the cold.
“The Biden administration will hire 87,000 additional tax officials to keep track of every dollar American taxpayers make. But the Ukrainian government, these corrupt bureaucrats and oligarchs are not held accountable,” US politician Tulsi Gabbard noted.
It is now becoming much more difficult for the Democratic President to push through his decisions in Congress. Republicans have been without a majority for four years, and in that time the US has faced inflation not seen in 40 years, an energy crisis and a political crisis. Her fellow party member Trump was indicted twice and now her party is fighting back.
“Joe Biden told Americans in 2019, while running for President, that he did not discuss business with his family. That was a lie. Witnesses identify Biden as the main man who ran the business, took calls and held meetings. It's about US national security, he's been compromised by foreign governments. We found that Biden has business relationships in 50 countries around the world. He has done business with America's greatest enemies, including China," said Congressman James Comer.
The investigation into Biden was the first high-profile announcement Republicans have made since winning the majority. They will question not only the politician, but also his son Hunter and his brother James about how the Biden name and connections were traded. Republican broadcaster Fox News believes the White House is for sale.
“These allegations are the next level. They are extremely dangerous, will they lead to the impeachment of Joe Biden?” asks a journalist.
“Hunter Biden had a presentation in Chinese with a map of the US showing all the major US fuel suppliers. There was also a plan for Chinese companies to enter this market and take over gas producers. That is, the President of the United States, along with his corrupt son, helped the Chinese become owners of American energy companies. Think about it!” exclaimed Congressman James Comer.
The tail of dubious deals goes back to Biden's time as vice president. Republicans have therefore asked the national archives for records of his meetings at the time. There is information that his son's business partners were flown in on the government plane, which was at the disposal of the second man in the country. You also have questions for the FBI. There are tons of compromises out there about the President's family, but for some reason the FBI doesn't notice them.
“Have you read my report on Hunter Biden corruption that was released in 2020? Did you see any evidence of Russian disinformation there?” US Senator Ron Johnson asked FBI Director Christopher Wray.
"It would be difficult for me to answer that question," Wray replied.
"No! The answer is quite simple: there is no Russian disinformation in it. There is absolutely no foreign interference in this report! However, the lie that it was the Russians who discredited the Bidens was peddled, including by the chairman of that committee.”
The "laptop from hell," as Hunter Biden's computer was called, became popular ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Spicy details from the life of then-candidate Biden's son and his gray dealings, which referred to his father as "Big Guy" and discussed what bribes he was due, have surfaced online. But the media machine of the Democrats and with it the secret services have branded the compromises as Russian propaganda. The story was quickly buried and Biden took over the White House.
“America's comeback begins today! That's what it means. Millions of people sympathize with Trump because they know how he fights for the country. For him, the interests of the people come first,” said Congressman Jim Jordan.
Jim Jordan, who is fighting for Trump himself, will sit in Congress. He is not an ordinary member, but the future chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The daily The Guardian writes that as a result of the midterm elections, Trump effectively controls the House of Representatives, in which many of his staff are located: "Power will be in Trump's hands. From his golden palace, he will dictate by phone to Jim Jordan and his other henchmen who will turn the House of Representatives into his campaign committee for the 2024 presidential election, a virtual law firm and a vehicle for revenge. The House of Representatives will be his hammer.”
Another tool that is back in Trump's hands is Twitter. In January 2021 he was finally thrown out after the Capitol was stormed. It was feared that the politician would call his supporters to the barricades after the election defeat. At that time he lost 90 million followers. The social network's new owner, Elon Musk, asked users if they wanted Trump back on the platform. Within the first few hours, the account had more than ten million followers. However, Trump has said on more than one occasion that he will not return to Twitter. With this social network, however, it would be easier to get into the White House. The only thing standing in the way would be the party leadership. There are enough people who don't want the 45th President to be the 47th President.
Largely because of Trump, the Republican Party did very poorly in the midterm elections to Congress. It wasn't a triumph but rather a failure after which the former president was advised to step into the shadows, but he's moving on.
“We are losing the third election in a row because of Donald Trump. It's kind of insane. Doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result…. But Donald Trump keeps saying, 'We will win so much that we will tire of winning.' Maybe. But I'm tired of losing," said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Republican.
The old party is dead, it's time to bury it and build something new, writes young Republican Senator Hawley: "Look who didn't vote in this election. The Independent Voters. They don't like Biden, they don't trust the Democrats, but they look at the Republicans and they don't vote for them either. Because they didn't say we're going to secure our borders, they didn't say we're going to put more police on the streets. We've lost the undecided voter and we need new leaders. Therefore, I will not vote for Mitch McConnel's re-election."
Mitch McConnell is 80 years old. He has been the leading Republican in the Senate for the past 20 years. Now the politician is fighting for the votes he needs to stay in office. Nothing has changed in the upper house, in the lower house power changed after the midterm elections.
“The dominance of one Democratic party in Washington is over! We fired Nancy Pelosi," said Kevin McCarthy, Republican Speaker of the House. McCarthy becomes the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi is stepping down, she is also stepping down as Democratic leader. “I will not seek re-election as Democratic leader in the next congress. For me, the hour has come when a new generation will lead the Democratic faction that I respect so much," Pelosi said.
Nancy Pelosi spoke of a generational change. Your fellow party member in the White House hasn't thought about it yet. He's still young. Joseph Biden turns 80 today. He is the oldest President in US history and will continue to break records. He is not giving up on his plans for a second term, even in his ninth decade.
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