Top Biden Donors Bailed Out by Trump’s Coronavirus Relief Program
While Joe Biden has been criticizing President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, some of the presumptive Democrat nominee’s top donors have been bailed out by the administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).Funding disbursement data for the program unveiled on Monday by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin indicates that a number of individuals who have bankrolled Biden’s campaign have also benefited from PPP loans in recent months.
One of the biggest recipients has been a Delaware-based real estate developer, the Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG). The firm develops and operates commercial and residential properties, including more than 40 hotels nationwide. It has been a large contributor not only to Biden’s official campaign, but also to a super PAC formed to aid his White House ambitions.
Federal Election Commission records denote that one of the companies in BPG’s portfolio of subsidiaries, BPG Real Estate Services, LLC., donated $100,000 to Unite the Country, a pro-Biden super PAC, on December 30, 2019. The contribution came on the same day that BPG’s three principal partners, Robert and Christoper Buccini and David Pollen, each donated around $33,333 to the PAC. At the time of the donations, Unite the Country was gearing up to bolster the former vice president’s position in Iowa, ahead of the state’s first in the nation Democrat caucus.
Robert Buccini, as well as another employee of the firm, also donated to Biden’s presidential campaign, with Buccini maxing out to the campaign in two installments of $2,800 each. The last installment came on April 29 of this year, the same month that BPG received its PPP loans.
Like many companies in the real estate and hospitality industries, BPG appears to have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, through its subsidiaries, has applied and been awarded millions from the PPP fund since the outbreak began.
BPG Real Estate Services, in particular, was given a loan ranging between one and two million dollars from the program on April 3. That same day, another subsidiary, BPG Construction, LLC., was also awarded a loan ranging from one to two million dollars. A further PPP loan for between $350,000 and $1 million was awarded to BPG Office Associates, LLC., on April 8.
The real estate giant was not the only firm with ties to Biden that benefited from the Trump administration’s relief efforts.
An entertainment company based out of Santa Monica, California—Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, LLC—received between $150,000 to $350,000 in PPP funds on April 11. The company, which was founded in 2004 by philanthropist and film producer Sidney Kimmel, is a film production, finance, and distribution company. It has produced Hollywood blockbusters like 2007’s the Kite Runner and the American remake of Death at a Funeral in 2010.
Kimmel, whom Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.3 billion, is a longtime Democrat super donor. On March 16 of this year, he donated $100,000 to Unite the Country. The following day, on March 17, Kimmel donated $2,800 directly to Biden’s presidential campaign.
Unlike BPG or Kimmel Entertainment, the other firm that drew the most notice for receiving PPP funding on Monday is not only run by a Biden donor, but a top surrogate of the campaign.
South Carolina state senator Dick Harpootilan, a longtime Biden confident and lieutenant, received a loan between $150,000 to $350,000 for his law practice. Apart from donating $2,800 to Biden’s campaign and a further $100,000 to Unite the Country, Harpootilan served as the vice president’s top surrogate in South Carolina ahead of the state’s Democrat primary.
The state senator, in particular, was at the center of controversy in the leadup to the contest for seeming to imply that one of Biden’s primary rivals, environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer, had purchased the support of the leader of the state’s legislative black caucus. The issue was significant enough that Biden, himself, had to apologize for his surrogate’s perceived racial insensitivity at a Democrat presidential primary debate in February.
The revelations about BPG, Kimmel Entertainment, and Harppotilan’s law firm come as the former vice president has castigated Trump for not doing enough to mitigate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has accused Trump, both on the stump and in national campaign ads, of having “forgotten” about small businesses as the virus has ravaged the country. “Make no mistake, we’re still in a deep, deep job hole because Donald Trump has so badly bungled the response to coronavirus,” Biden said last week.
The former vice president’s campaign did not return requests for comment on this story.
Lobbying Firm Tied to Hunter Biden, Burisma Received PPP Loan
Robert De Niro’s Nobu Restaurants and Hotels Took 14 Coronavirus Relief Program Loans Worth $28 MillionA lobbying and public relations firm tied to Hunter Biden, the youngest son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and the Ukrainian natural gas conglomerate Burisma Holdings, were the beneficiaries of a coronavirus relief loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Blue Star Strategies, which at one time was hired by Burisma to help the company push back against allegations of public corruption, received a loan from the program for between $150,000 and $350,000, according to PPP funding disbursement data made public on Monday.
The revelations come as Blue Star has been subpoenaed by the Senate Homeland Security Committee as part of an ongoing probe into Biden and Burisma. Blue Star became ensnared in the investigation last year when a Freedom of Information Act request revealed representatives of the firm had invoked Biden when trying to secure a meeting with the Obama-era State Department in 2016 to discuss corruption allegations against Burisma. At the time, Biden was a member of Burima’s board of directors and has been linked by the New York Times to the company’s hiring of Blue Star.
The younger Biden joined Burisma’s board in April 2014, around the same time his father was tapped to be the Obama administration’s point man on Ukraine. Despite having no background in either eastern Europe or the energy industry, Biden was paid as much $83,000-per-month for his services.
Adding to concerns was that he joined the natural gas company at a time when it was actively courting western leaders to prevent scrutiny of its business practices. The same month as the appointment, Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s founder, had his assets frozen in the United Kingdom on suspicion of money laundering.
A Ukrainian official with ties to Zlochevsky admitted in October 2019 the only reason Biden was tapped to join Burisma’s board was to “protect” the company from foreign scrutiny.
It is in the context of Burisma and Zlochevsky’s legal troubles that Joe Biden’s influence has raised red flags. The former vice president has particularly drawn questions over his conduct in demanding the Ukrainian government fire its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in 2016. The demand for Shokin’s ouster was tied to more than $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees.
The former vice president, who has publicly bragged about the firing, has claimed the demand came from then-President Barack Obama, who had allegedly lost faith in the prosecutor’s ability to tackle corruption. Unofficially, though, it was known that Shokin was investigating both Burisma and Zlochevsky for public corruption.
It is uncertain if that probe extended to Biden, although Shokin has claimed that prior to his ouster, he was warned to back off the matter. Regardless of what occurred, Shokin’s successor, who is now himself being investigated for public corruption, dropped the investigation into Burisma.
Biden remained on the company’s board until his term expired in April 2019. During his tenure, Burisma wired millions of dollars to a Morgan Stanley bank account controlled by the younger Biden and his business associates. Between November 2014 and November 2015 alone, Burisma transferred more than $3.5 million to the account.
Last month, Ukrainian law enforcement officials announced they had seized more than $5 million in what is alleged to be a bribery scheme perpetrated to benefit Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s founder. According to reports, three suspects, who all have ties to Zlochvesky, attempted to bribe anti-corruption officials investigating Burisma and its founder for embezzlement.
The head of Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bureau claimed the alleged scheme was not connected with either Biden or his father.
Neither Blue Star nor Joe Biden’s presidential campaign returned requests for comment on this story.
Nobu, the posh, high-end restaurant and hotel chain — backed by left-wing actor and raging Trump-basher Robert De Niro — took more than a dozen loans from the Trump administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).In DeNiro’s eyes, President Trump is a “mean-spirited, soulless, amoral, abusive con-artist son of a bitch.” But that didn’t stop one of the actor’s prime investments from using the Trump administration’s loan program for cash, a loan program meant to help keep small business wrecked by the Chinese coronavirus financially afloat.
De Niro-backed Nobu restaurants took more than a dozen PPP loans https://t.co/pSYIdPeFUr— CNBC (@CNBC) July 6, 2020
The Nobu chain of luxury restaurants and hotels took 14 loans from the U.S. small business relief program for as much as $28 million, which went toward properties across the country, from California, to Texas, to New York, according to a report by CNBC. Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa — the celebrity chef and owner of the restaurant chain — has a net worth of $200 million. Meanwhile, Robert De Niro — who co-founded it — is worth an estimated $500 million.
Restaurants were among the biggest recipients of PPP loans, which were part of the government’s response to financial difficulties that businesses faced during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. The report added that U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that the program was not meant to go toward companies that could reasonably tap other forms of capital during the pandemic.
The luxury restaurant chain was founded by De Niro, Matsuhisa, and film producer Meir Teper, who combined are estimated to have a net worth of roughly $700 million.
The Nobu group appears to have garnered at least $11 million and as much as $28 million from PPP loans, making it one of the bigger beneficiaries of the program. And the luxury group is not the only well-funded chain to have received government bailouts.
P.F. Chang’s, Five Guys hamburgers. and Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits have also received multimillion-dollar loans. Cafe business Bluestone Lane was also given a loan worth between $5 million and $10 million.
The report added that franchisees of both McDonald’s and Wendy’s also appeared on the list and in some cases received loans of more than $150,000.
Media Matters Took In up to $2 Million in Small Business Relief Loans
Media Matters for America, the George Soros-funded left-wing nonprofit organization, received between $1 million and $2 million in loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to Treasury Department data released Monday.The loan money, intended to provide relief to small businesses that were shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, was approved for Media Matters by Bank of America on April 29, after the progressive outlet criticized the Trump administration for its handling of the rescue funds, suggesting the administration would not seek “enough to do the job.”
Politically-affiliated nonprofits benefiting from the small business loans, which were created as part of the CARES Act and lent $521 billion through June 30, came to light in April, as Breitbart News reported, after several groups such as state affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center filed applications for the loans. Treasury data has so far revealed that branches of the ACLU in Texas, Montana, and North Carolina borrowed between $150,000 and $350,000.
“The PPP is providing much-needed relief to millions of American small businesses, supporting more than 51 million jobs and over 80 percent of all small business employees, who are the drivers of economic growth in our country,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Critics have pointed to a conflict of interest for groups with political motivations — such as the progressive Media Matters, which has received funding from prominent liberal donors like Soros — pocketing the taxpayer-funded relief money. Media Matters founder David Brock also founded the super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, for example, which funded in key swing states advertisements attacking President Donald Trump’s “incompetency” in his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza emphasized the benefits of the paycheck relief program, saying, “In three months, this Administration was able to act quickly to get funding into the hands of those who faced enormous obstacles as a result of the pandemic.”
Although a variety of hard-hit industries from health care to hospitality were able to benefit from the funding, Media Matters received a higher-than-average loan, with the average being $100,000, according to Mnuchin.
The loans provided through the PPP will be forgiven so long as the money is directed toward payroll — with the stipulation that employees are retained or quickly rehired, and salary levels are maintained — and interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities, according to the SBA.
So, they can bash the president an all of his supporters,but then turn around and take money intended for small businesses? Money no one would get if the Leftists these clowns support has their way? Hypocrites, all!! It's all about power for them. Don't forget. Don't support these liars.
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