The Big Hunter Biden "not one red cent" lie

We're hearing a lot about while Hunter Biden did walk away from China with a $1.5 billion dollar investment deal with a Chinese Communist government controlled entity he hasn't actually made any money from the deal.

Here's what ABC News had to say about Hunter's deal:

"This video shows Chinese diplomats greeting Vice President Biden as he arrives in Beijing in December of 2013. Right by his side? His son Hunter. Less than two weeks later, Hunter’s firm had new business, creating an investment fund in China, involving the government controlled Bank of China, with reports they hopes to raise $1.5 billion. Hunter still plays a role in the fund. His lawyer says his stake is worth about half a million dollars."

Before continuing it would be useful for you to ponder how you think the media would cover this if in stead of this being VP Biden and his son it was President Trump and his son.  CNN would probably open a new network to attack Trump 24/7 365 over this.

Note two things; even the #FakeNews media says that the timing is clearly problematic and Hunter did have an opportunity to make some money.

When ABC interviewed Hunter yesterday here's the relevant part:

ROBACH: The president has repeatedly said you have received $1.5 billion, despite no experience and for no apparent reason. Obviously fact checkers have said that that is not true.

HUNTER: This literally has no basis in fact in any way.

ROBACH: Have you received any money from that business dealing?

HUNTER: No.

ROBACH: At all?

HUNTER: Not one cent.

ROBACH: Definitely not 1.5 billion.

HUNTER: It’s crazy. They feel as though they have the license to go out and say whatever they want.

Note the key point; Hunter is saying he hasn't received anything.  That's like saying that a corporate executive hasn't gotten a single red cent even though he's been given millions in stock options because he hasn't yet exercised any of those options.

ABC already reported that Hunter has a 1/2 a million dollar stake in the fund. Which means if the fund is successful that stake will grow, just as the value of an executives stock options grow over time.

Even the amazingly biased FactCheck.org has spotted a problem with Hunter's claim. The Fact Check  site has this:

"[Hunter’s lawyer George] Mesires told the New York Times that while Hunter Biden now has a 10% stake in BHR, which he acquired through a company he created named Skaneateles LLC, “there have been no distributions to the shareholders since Hunter has been an equity owner.”

But that doesn’t mean Biden won’t eventually make millions from the deal. Steven Kaplan, who conducts research on issues in private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, corporate governance and corporate finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, told us that a private equity fund with $2 billion under management will typically generate fees over its life of hundreds of millions of dollars.

“It is difficult to imagine, if not incomprehensible, that a 10% stake in those economics is worth only $420K,” Kaplan told us via email. “The distinction they appear to be making is they capitalized the management company with $4.2 M even if the fund manages $2 B. The value of that management company is likely far in excess of $4.2 M if they are managing $2 B.”

Kaplan pointed to two large publicly traded private equity firms for reference, both of which have a market value of about 10% of the assets under their management. Using that as a rough guide, that would put the value of Hunter Biden’s share closer to $20 million, he said."

It's also interesting that Robach didn't push Hunter on this.  How biased does one have to be to think that Hunter was part of a $1.5B investment fund on a pro-bono basis?

But it's essential to the big lie about Trump viciously attacking the pure as the driven snow Joe Biden that any appearance of impropriety be hidden.