It appears the news about the Justice Department’s indictment of former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov is not causing the public to doubt that President Joe Biden was involved in his family’s shady business dealings.
A revealing poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov showed that a substantial percentage of American voters do not believe Biden’s claims that he was not involved in his son Hunter’s business affairs. What is interesting about these findings is that they did not fall along party lines – even a significant number of Independents and Democrats are skeptical about the president’s denials. Interestingly enough, this includes 21 percent of Democrat respondents.
About 43 percent expressed at least a “somewhat favorable” view of the president.
The results of the poll, which were released on Wednesday, showed that a whopping 53 percent of registered voters believe the president “personally profited” from his son’s overseas business adventures. This includes about 44 percent of Democrats.
Meanwhile, 67 percent of respondents indicated that they believe Hunter Biden “personally profited” from his father’s position in government.
Another noteworthy finding is that the majority of respondents were aware of the Justice Department’s indictment of former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who is accused of fabricating the allegations that both Joe and Hunter Biden accepted $5 million bribes from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. About 22 percent said they heard “a lot” about the case while 47 percent indicated they heard “a little” about it.
The findings of this poll come just after a report unearthed more details about James Biden, the president’s brother, and his questionable ties to a hospital chain that collapsed amid allegations of fraud and other criminal activities. At a recent Congressional hearing, Jim denied that his brother was involved, claiming that the president “never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest” in the family’s business matters.
As the 2024 presidential campaign inches ever so closer to the general election, these perceptions could shape the choices of the electorate. With both Biden and former President Donald Trump in a statistical dead heat, these attitudes could work in Trump’s favor, especially if House Republicans manage to uncover even more damning information during the impeachment inquiry.
The findings of this poll suggest that the indictment against Smirnov is not doing much to lessen doubts about Biden’s denials of involvement in his family’s business endeavors. Even though the Justice Department is accusing Smirnov of lying about the bribery scandal, people still believe the president is not as innocent as his allies would like us to believe.
Despite Trump’s myriad of legal troubles, he remains a formidable opponent to Biden – especially because it is obvious that the former president’s indictments are motivated by a desire to skew the outcome of the upcoming election.
These dynamics will make for an interesting election season. As voters consider their choices, questions about President Biden’s business affairs will likely play a role in determining whether people choose to pull the lever for him.
As the Biden administration navigates these waters while also fending off attacks from House Republicans the president’s team, along with his close friends and allies in the activist media have their work cut out for them.