During the Trump administration there were certain things written about Trump and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that were just plain absurd, legally inaccurate, and/or completely devoid of context. (See here and here for instance).
Writing absurd and legally inaccurate things about the FCPA was not just a hobby of liberal media outlets during a Republican administration.
Joe Biden, through Hunter Biden, has been the focus of much scrutiny by conservative media.
Greg Jarrett earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and has been an adjunct professor of law. He is currently a Fox News legal analyst and commentator.
If there is anyone who should be able to recognize the general applicability of a statute, if would seemingly be a law graduate, former law professor, and current legal analyst for a major media outlet.
However, in this piece titled “A Corrupt DOJ Protects The Bidens While Contorting The Law To Prosecute Trump,” Jarrett bungles the FCPA.
He writes:
“Joe Biden flew aboard Air Force Two to Kyiv and conveyed his infamous extortion demand to the government that Shokin be fired, or the U.S. would withhold $1 billion in financial aid as a penalty. Within hours, the prosecutor was canned and the probe into Burisma vanished overnight. Mission accomplished. The company got what it paid for, and the cash continued to flow into Biden accounts. Later, Joe bragged about it on camera.
In his testimony, Archer agreed that it raised “serious alarm bells for influence peddling.” Is that a crime? Absolutely. It’s called bribery and conspiracy. It’s also a crime under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for a public official to exploit his or her office for financial profit. To prosecute and convict, it is not necessary under the law to show that Joe Biden himself received a penny. Enriching your family constitutes criminality.”
Time out.
The FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions generally cover the offer, promise or payment of money or anything of value, directly or indirectly, to a foreign official, for purposes of influencing the foreign official, in order to assist in obtaining or retaining business.
A U.S. public official, such as Joe Biden, is simply not the recipient category that is captured by the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.
