Bondi on Biden’s political career: ‘The people who benefited are his family members, not the American people’
'For Joe Biden, it's been the land of opportunism, not opportunity'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi went on offense in her Republican Convention address, focusing on the Biden family and the political ties she says they benefited from.
"Our party's theme tonight is ‘America — the land of opportunity,’” Bondi said. “But for Joe Biden, it's been the land of opportunism, not opportunity.”
The Democrats told the American people to look Joe Biden as the model of integrity, she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"But, when you look at his 47-year career in politics, the people who benefited are his family members, not the American people,” the Florida prosecutor continued.
She first pointed to Joe Biden’s son Hunter and his ties to Ukraine. Biden was placed on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma while his father was vice president, despite having no natural gas experience and not speaking the language.
“Yet he was paid millions to do nothing,” Bondi said. “He only had one qualification that mattered: He was the son of the man in charge of distributing U.S. aid to Ukraine.”
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Bondi noted that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Victor Shokin who was investigating that energy company, though some say Shokin was forced out for failing to investigate the nation’s politicians.
"Hunter only resigned from that board … just before his dad announced his campaign for president,” she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this year, Bondi served on the president’s legal team during the impeachment trial, which grew out of the president’s efforts to convince Ukrainian officials to investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings in the country.
Bondi also called to mind Biden and his son Hunter’s trip to China aboard Air Force 2, where Hunter Biden met with Chinese investors who 10 days later approved millions for Hunter’s firm.
"Those bankers work for the Chinese Communist Party, which oppresses their people, cheated American workers for decades, and covered up a deadly virus,” Bondi said. “To this day, Hunter controls a 10% stake in that firm.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said Joe Biden has done more than look the other way on China.
"He's said, ‘The Chinese aren't our competition.’ ‘Come on man, they're not bad folks,’” Bondi continued. “Come on, Joe. Talk to the folks in middle America who lost countless jobs to China while your son was getting rich with them.”
Bondi also pointed to another deal where a construction firm belonging to Biden’s brother James, HillStone, then a newcomer to the business of home building, secured a contract to build 100,000 homes in war-torn Iraq. Bondi noted that a company official reportedly said it helps to have “the brother of the vice president as a partner.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“These aren't isolated incidents, it's a deliberate pattern of conduct,” said Bondi. “And that's just what he did as vice president. Imagine what he'd do as president.”
She mocked one of the former vice president's slogans.
“Joe says he will build back better," she said. "Yeah, build the Bidens back better."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to his son's business dealings.
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Bondi served as Florida’s AG between 2011 and 2019, and was one of Trump’s early supporters the first time around.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the 2016 GOP convention, she famously gave a speech in which she encouraged “Lock Her Up” chants directed at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Lock her up, I love that,” Bondi said to an audience member holding a sign.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After serving as attorney general, Bondi headed the lobbying firm Ballard Partners’ regulatory compliance office. The firm, headed by Brian Ballard, has close ties to President Trump.