I think it can fairly be said that the public phase of Adam Schiff’s impeachment “inquiry” didn’t quite go as Democrats had hoped. Aside from being a snoozefest of epic proportions, bereft of dramatic outbursts and smoking guns, it also made very clear—at least to those willing to sit through it—that the case against the President relies almost exclusively on the opinions of career bureaucrats about conversations to which they weren’t even a party, rather than on any kind of hard evidence. If anything summed up the disaster that Democrats are slowly beginning to realize they face, it’s Illinois Representative Mike Quigley’s hilarious spin, “[C]ountless people have been convicted on hearsay. Hearsay can be much better evidence than direct.”

Never stop, little dreamer.

Still, a few interesting moments punctuated the boredom—not the least of which occurred when the State Department’s own George Kent had this to say about Hunter Biden’s various entanglements with Burisma, the Ukrainian oil and gas company that paid Biden eighty grand a month because his daddy happened to be Vice President of the United States:

Maybe a small victory for Republicans: GEORGE KENT testifies that Ukrainian prosecutors “should” investigate the oligarch owner of BURISMA for possibly paying a bribe to kill an investigation. — Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) November 13, 2019



One can only imagine Joe Biden at home, screaming at Adam Schiff through the television set, before his personal valet Monty rushes in with a soothing glass of chocolate Bosco. “You’re killing me, Schifty!” he moans, taking a tentative sip. “Barack’s really gonna be miffed when he sees this!”

Which circles us back to the question: With the Bidens seemingly up to their eyeballs in Ukrainian graft, why would Schiff attempt an impeachment that involves—of all things—Ukraine? Didn’t he know that effort would shine a spotlight precisely where Democrats don’t want it to go? For all his obvious flaws, Joe Biden is still the Democrat candidate for 2020 best poised to take on Donald Trump. Is Schiff really so stupid as to not realize the trouble this could stir up?

Well, in spite of appearances, I can’t believe that he’s that big of a moron—and neither is Nancy Pelosi, who can still pull the plug on this thing whenever she wants. So why are they continuing down this very, very dangerous road?

Because the corruption in Ukraine goes much deeper:

BOMBSHELL: Leaked documents from the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office indicate complex money transfers from foreign sources into the control of a “slush fund” owned and operated by Devon Archer, John Kerry Senior, John Kerry Junior, Heinz Jr, and Hunter Biden. — Michael Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) November 14, 2019



Hat tip to Stacey Lennox, fellow NOQ Report contributor, for the tweet—and be sure to read all of Michael Coudrey’s thread. It details, with documentary evidence, the tens of millions of dollars funneled from Burisma into the coffers of well-connected stateside elites—which included interests connected to the man who served as Secretary of State at the time, one John F. Kerry. In short, several top Obama administration officials had their fingers in the Ukrainian pie.

Now consider that Ukraine has been a major focus of Attorney General Bill Barr’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia collusion hoax. Also consider that Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham have spent a lot of time in Kiev interviewing Ukrainian officials as part of that investigation. And now, finally consider that the Department of Justice has recently shifted that investigation over to a criminal probe.

Is it any wonder that Democrats are freaking out?

Seen in this light, the rush to impeachment can only be viewed as a panic move on their part. By attempting to cast Donald Trump as the corrupt actor in the Ukraine saga, they’re truing to divert attention from themselves—and then set up the spin, when the results of the Barr-Durham probe become public, that Trump is trying to cover up his own corruption by going after Biden, Kerry and other Obama administration figures. It’s a tried and true Democrat tactic: accuse the other side of doing what they themselves are guilty of, with the mainstream media acting as crisis management.

Batten down the hatches, because it’s gonna get ugly.