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Sen. Ron Johnson Calls for FBI to Address Alleged Biden-Burisma Meeting

Victoria State Wakes to Fewer Covid-19 Rules

Victorians have woken to more freedom this morning after COVID-19 restrictions were eased but many are unhappy the hospitality and retail industries have been left out. From Monday, Melburnians will be allowed to travel 25km from home and there will be no limit on time spent outdoors. Outdoor gatherings will also increase from five people to 10 from two households, while facilities such as skate parks, golf courses and tennis courts will reopen. Melburnians will also be able to get a haircut, see an allied health professional, renovate their home, wash their car and bid at an auction, though a number of strict safety protocols will be in place. “I have announced today what is safe but will not undermine the sacrifice, the hard work, the pain, the amazing efforts…

Sen. Ron Johnson Calls for FBI to Address Alleged Biden-Burisma Meeting

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) called for the FBI to answer questions about an alleged meeting between former Vice President Joe Biden and a senior official from Ukrainian gas firm Burisma while Biden was in office. Biden’s campaign has denied the meeting took place.

Johnson, the head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News on Sunday that there were “all kinds of meetings that didn’t show up on [Biden’s] official calendar,” adding that it “wouldn’t surprise me if this one didn’t.” He was referring to a purported meeting that was detailed by the New York Post, which cited emails that were apparently sourced from son Hunter Biden’s laptop, and that appeared to show communication between Hunter Biden and a Burisma adviser, Vadym Pozharskyi.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to D.C. and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure,” read the email between Burisma board adviser Pozharskyi and Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of the gas firm, according to the NY Post. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided the NY Post with the emails and other information.

Biden’s campaign last week told news outlets that “Joe Biden carried out official U.S. policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing,” adding that “Trump administration officials have attested to these facts under oath.” It added: “They certainly never raised that Rudy Giuliani—whose discredited conspiracy theories and alliance with figures connected to Russian intelligence have been widely reported—claimed to have such materials.”

Johnson, however, told Fox News that he is trying to understand where the NY Post’s information came from, noting that the FBI also had possession of the laptop last year.

“The FBI has a duty to inform us if they believe this was maybe Russia disinformation, they should give us a defensive briefing and tell us about that and if, for example, they also believe that what information this whistleblower gave us is fraudulent that would also be a crime and FBI should tell us that,” he said. “So we’re trying to assess out of the FBI what do they know and when did they know it, but the larger question really is, if they had this information, and these are genuine emails, and it would probably reveal all kinds of things that would have been very relevant to the impeachment case, why did they sit on it?”

Sen. Ron Johnson Calls for FBI to Address Alleged Biden-Burisma Meeting Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and sons Hunter Biden (L) and Beau Biden walk in the Inaugural Parade in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Elaborating further, Johnson said it “isn’t a standard investigation” from the FBI as it “relates to national security and if there’s criminal activity involved that could be tied to Hunter Biden or his business associates or even possibly tie it back to other members of the Biden family.”

“As some of these emails indicate that Joe Biden was fully aware of he was taking his 10 percent cut or requiring 50 percent from his family member’s salary, this needs to be known before Americans go to the polls,” he said.

Over the weekend, Johnson sent a letter to the FBI, including several questions that he wants answered.

The former vice president, meanwhile, has issued few statements after the NY Post’s reporting. When asked about them, Biden told a CBS News reporter: “I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.”

And on Monday, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said the alleged laptop isn’t a part of a Russian disinformation campaign. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told news outlets that it’s disinformation.

“It’s funny that some of the people who complain the most about intelligence being politicized are the ones politicizing the intelligence,” Ratcliffe said on Fox News. “Unfortunately, it is Adam Schiff who said the intelligence community believes the Hunter Biden laptop and emails on it are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.”

“Let me be clear: the intelligence community doesn’t believe that because there is no intelligence that supports that. And we have shared no intelligence with Adam Schiff, or any member of Congress,” he added.

The FBI hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

Focus News: Sen. Ron Johnson Calls for FBI to Address Alleged Biden-Burisma Meeting

Business Unimpressed by Andrews’ Slow-Motion Lifting of Restrictions in Victoria.

Business groups are unimpressed by Vic Premier Daniel Andrews’ slow-motion lifting of restrictions in Victoria. Andrews has been able to ease some of his state’s stiff COVID-19 restrictions after reporting just two new cases on Sunday after one on Saturday. Among the relaxation of conditions from Monday, Melburnians will be allowed to travel 25km from home, while there will be no limits on time spent away from their residence. But the state capital’s businesses must wait longer, with changes to retail, hospitality and “personal care” services scheduled for November 1. “This is an inexplicable and unacceptable delay for Victorians and small businesses,” Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said. “There is no sound reason to continue the restrictions on business, especially with case numbers clearly on a downward…