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Biden’s DOJ CLEARS lobbying firm with ties to Ukraine, Burisma, Hunter Biden of any wrongdoing

May 19, 2022 | | Print Article

A Washington lobbying firm that worked on behalf of Ukraine’s Burisma Holdings — the oil and natural gas company on whose board of directors Hunter Biden served — has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.

Blue Star Strategies, described by The Washington Post as a “bipartisan public affairs consultancy that touts its work for major corporations and foreign governments,” began its work with Burisma in November 2015 and “has faced allegations of corruption domestically as well as in Britain and the United States.”

More than a few eyebrows were raised when then-Vice President Joe Biden’s son landed a seat on the board and a generous salary, despite having no experience in the industry.

But according to 2020 testimony from Blue Star’s CEO, Karen Tramontano, to Senate investigators, the firm’s work did not include Hunter Biden. Rather, claimed Tramontano, Blue Star’s activities involved a “range of government, public affairs, and legal services.”

Blue Star failed to disclose its work with Burisma, as required Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act — a failure which was corrected at the conclusion of the Justice Department’s probe when the firm submitted a filing that details the work it did in 2015 and 2016 on behalf of Burisma and its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky. Zlochevsky, according to a 2019 report from Reuters, used to serve as deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, “which is in charge of all military and law-enforcement structures in Ukraine.”

In the new filing, dated May 12, the firm added “retroactively a foreign principal for a specific and limited time in 2016.”

According to an exhibit submitted with the retroactive filing, Blue Star Strategies “was asked in 2016 to help schedule meetings with U.S. Government officials so counsel for Mr. Zlochevsky could present an explanation of certain adverse proceedings in the U.K. and Ukraine involving Mr. Zlochevsky.”

The firm then scheduled two meetings and provided a representative to accompany Zlochevsky. In March and April 2016, Blue Star was paid a monthly retainer of $30,000, “a small portion of which was allocated to scheduling a meeting for Mr. Zlochevsky’s attorney,” according to the filing.

When asked by The Post to comment on the new filing, Tramontano’s attorney, Peter J. Kadzik, said that Blue Star “fully cooperated” with the DOJ probe.

“There was no finding of any wrongdoing,” Kadzik continued. “To respond to the DOJ request, Blue Star Strategies submitted an administrative filing to explain the purpose of meetings that were held.”

Burisma Holdings and Hunter Biden’s role in the company came to national attention during the relentless attacks on former President Donald Trump, mainly thanks to the work of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who worked tirelessly to make the company a household name.

Despite harsh criticism and attempts to slander and smear his name, Giuliani spent much of President Trump’s term in office screaming about Burisma and alleging corruption to anyone who would listen.

On Twitter, the finding of no wrongdoing is hardly sitting well with conservatives.

“It’s time to bring back the independent counsel statute and to make DOJ independent of the WH,” said one user.

“Biden suggested Michael Flynn be charged with a Logan Act violation for nothing,” responded another. “These rich lawyers/lobbyists exert influence on behalf of a foreign company/govt and Biden’s Meritless Garland does nothing.”

Melissa Fine
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