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A former Obama administration staffer is blowing the whistle on the Biden family's business dealings, accusing President Biden of being involved in a "kickback scheme" in connection with his son Hunter's overseas business dealings while he was vice president.

Mike McCormick, a stenographer for the White House for 15 years, told "Fox & Friends First" the FBI has been ignoring his alarms on the matter despite his willingness to testify under oath before the federal grand jury investigating Hunter.

"In February, I went to the FBI and filed one of their tips on their website. If you do that, and you're lying to them, you go to jail. I'm not lying. I'm telling the truth, and I'm not going to jail," McCormick said Thursday. "Joe Biden is a criminal. He was conducting malfeasance in office to enrich his family. Jake Sullivan is a conspirator in that, and there's more... Obama officials involved in it, I believe."

BIDEN WISHES REPUBLICANS 'LOTS OF LUCK' IN PLANS TO INVESTIGATE SON HUNTER IF THEY TAKE THE HOUSE

McCormick, who worked with Biden from 2011 to 2017, detailed a key dialogue involving the vice president, aide Jake Sullivan and the press on Air Force Twobefore a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 21, 2014.

Sullivan, who is the current national security adviser, outlined in a White House transcript Biden's priorities for his trip to the country, which included U.S. investment in the Ukrainian energy sector days after Hunter joined the board of Burisma, according to the New York Post.

Months later, and well after the trip, Congress allocated $50 million to Ukraine's energy market.

"I'm sitting back there with a tape recorder. Jake Sullivan comes back and somebody asks about fracking. His answer is, well, we're bringing a lot of American assistance over for fracking. Burisma was the direct beneficiary of that fracking, and that's what I recorded, and that's in a White House transcript," McCormick said.

"In the transcript, you don't know who Jake Sullivan is. It's a senior administration official. I'm the witness that says Jake Sullivan is the guy who said it and he should be investigated because at the time Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma and Joe Biden is bringing American taxpayer money to enrich that company and himself and his family," he continued.

HUNTER BIDEN INTERVIEW GOES OFF THE RAILS AS HOST SAYS HIS HANDS WERE TIED FROM ASKING POLITICAL QUESTIONS

Hunter joined the board of the Ukrainian natural gas firm on April 18, just three days before Biden and his team traveled to Kyiv. But that critical piece of the puzzle was not made public until May 12.

McCormick argued the timeline of the events suggests that Biden funneled American money overseas to "enrich" himself and his family, and used his own influence to aid his son's rookie energy career.

The former stenographer made it clear he wants to present the information under oath before the grand jury in Delaware probing Hunter's business dealings, which is led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss.

Hunter has been under federal investigation since 2018 for suspected tax and foreign lobbying violations.

The probe into Hunter's alleged violations began after suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions were flagged.

VP BIDEN'S OFFICE TRIED TO QUASH BLOOMBERG STORY ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN AT HIS FIRM'S REQUEST, EMAILS SHOW

Those SARs involved money funneled from "China and other foreign nations," according to sources familiar with the probe.

And although reports suggested in months past that the investigation is approaching a critical juncture, Republican subpoena power is likely to accelerate the investigation.

"If David Weiss can't have me in front of his grand jury explaining what I know as a witness, that's a fraudulent grand jury," McCormick said. "It's a fraudulent use of the American judicial system to cover for Barack Obama and Joe Biden's crimes in office."

Biden has repeatedly claimed he has not spoken to his son regarding his overseas business dealings.

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McCormick argued the information he has incriminates Biden, and likely more officials he worked with, in connection with the alleged influence peddling scandal.

"If I went in there, I would tell them to have Barack Obama called in as a witness because he's part of the conspiracy. He's an ex-president. He has to answer who was in charge of this, putting Joe Biden into this role? Did Barack Obama know about it?" McCormick questioned.

"There's evidence I've seen and put in my Substack on April 16th, so two days before Hunter joins Joe Biden is with Hunter in the West Wing. They have a meeting, and then later that day in the evening, Joe Biden spends a day in the limousine in the back of Barack Obama's limousine in western Pennsylvania," he continued.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

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Ex-Obama staffer blows whistle on Biden 'kickback scheme' after Hunter joined Burisma: 'Malfeasance in office' - Fox News

The bombing hit close to home for me as well. My mum hails from a large Irish Catholic family in Roslindale, and after I was born we lived in a small, second-story apartment on Durnell Avenue. Even after we moved to Falmouth, Boston brought our family together. At Christmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins crammed into my grandparents home on Havana Street, and for generations weve gathered for baptisms, weddings, and funerals at Holy Name Parish.

As a speechwriter, Ive always tried to write with someone specific in mind a real, living person the speech should connect with, deeply, emotionally. That week, I kept thinking of my family and friends across Massachusetts, especially one of my uncles, Dan Saunders. He was Boston to his core: an altar boy at Holy Name, Roslindale High class of 65, Army Reserve, and a season ticket holder to Boston College football and hockey games. He was also a fixture at more than a few Boston bars, including the Corrib Pub in West Roxbury and the old Green Briar in Brighton, where hed belt out ballads with the Irish musicians on Monday nights.

A staunch conservative, my Uncle Dan was no fan of Obama and he let me know it, which made for some lively discussions at Thanksgiving. Still, as I worked on the presidents remarks, I imagined Uncle Dan watching the speech at a pub with his friends. What would he want to hear?

The evening before the service, I sent a draft to Obama, who usually reviewed speeches in his study on the second floor of the White House. The next morning, his edits were waiting on a desk just outside the Oval Office. Much of what Id written was intact, but hed made extensive changes to just about every paragraph.

An early line in the speech quoted an E.B. White poem that described Boston as not just a capital or a place, but the perfect state of grace. In exquisite penmanship across the top of the page, Obama added an entire new paragraph that echoed the poem and touched on the healing that was needed:

And so we come together to pray, and mourn, and measure our loss. But we also come together today to reclaim that state of grace to reaffirm that the spirit of this city is undaunted, and the spirit of this country shall remain undimmed.

Reflecting on his time in the city, he added, Theres a piece of Boston in me, and for millions of us, what happened on Monday is personal. Toward the end, in a hopeful line about the future how the Sox, Patriots, and Bruins would be champions again, with parades down Boylston Street he added, to the chagrin of New York and Chicago fans.

I spent most of the flight on Air Force One making his changes and then circulated what I thought was the final version. Instead, Obama casually walked back and handed me another round of edits. He was still thinking, still trying to capture the essence of what had happened how the city, and the country, could move forward. His writing was taking on a more spiritual tone, weaving a passage of Scripture For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power and love and self-discipline more deeply throughout the text.

There was only one problem. Air Force One was already descending into Logan, and the motorcade would head straight to the service. I didnt want to get stuck in a staff van, with spotty Internet, frantically trying to type in his final edits as we bounced through the streets of the South End. So I decided to stay behind and finish on the plane, which meant watching the service like most Americans on TV.

At the pulpit at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, with some 2,000 people filling the pews, Obama started slowly, deliberately, pausing every few words to let his words sink in.

He painted a picture of a beautiful day to be in Boston fans at Fenway, runners lacing up their shoes in Hopkinton, people lining the streets to hand them cups of water and, then, how in an instant, the days beauty was shattered. He celebrated Boston as a city that opens its heart to the world, including the runners he described in a Whitmanesque sentence he had added earlier as a gathering of men and women of every race and every religion, every shape and every size; a multitude...

Obama paid tribute to the three lives lost in the blasts: Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, and little Martin Richard, just 8 years old, whod been eating ice cream with his family. Obama spoke to the injured, some watching from hospital beds across the city, telling them You will run again!

Then, about halfway through his speech, Obamas tone shifted. He spoke directly to the people of Boston and channeled the spirit of defiance and resilience that had taken hold that week.

Your resolve is the greatest rebuke to whoever committed this heinous act. If they sought to intimidate us, to terrorize us, to shake us from those values...that make us who we are, as Americans well, it should be pretty clear by now that they picked the wrong city to do it.

The church erupted into applause, and the audience was on its feet. But Obama didnt stop. He leaned into the microphone and continued. Not here in Boston! Not here in Boston!

He described runners being knocked down by the blast, but getting back on their feet, Well pick ourselves up. Well keep going. We will finish the race!

Obama was turning a sermon into a rally not only about how to deal with death, but how to live our lives. As his remarks built to a crescendo, he rode the emotion in the church, practically yelling over the applause.

And this time next year, on the third Monday in April, the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever, and to cheer even louder, for the 118th Boston Marathon. Bet on it!

The Bostonians in the pews were on their feet again, clapping and cheering. Some pumped their fists into the air. This wasnt a city in fear. It was a community, and a country, that was strong, resilient, refusing to be terrorized.

Back on Air Force One, David Simas, one of the presidents political advisers, and a native of Taunton, said the speech was a love letter to Boston. I felt that way, too. News coverage showed people gathered outside the cathedral and crowded into restaurants and bars, taking in Obamas words the way a speech is meant to be received together, a communal experience.

Sometime that afternoon, I noticed a new voice mail on my phone.

Terry, this is your Uncle Dan, he said, in his thick Boston accent.

I was surprised. He rarely called. He couldnt have known that Id helped with the speech, or that, as I worked on it, I was doing it for him. From the noise in the background, I could tell he was at one of his favorite pubs. I just watched the presidents speech. We all did, he said. He did a good job. It was a very fine speech, and I just wanted you to know that.

It wasnt much. But coming from my uncle, it was high praise. In an era when we seem perpetually divided, it was a glimpse, however brief, of the country we might yet become living proof of a line in the speech Obama had written himself.

Our faith in each other, our love for each other, our love for country, our common creed that cuts across whatever superficial differences there may be that is our power. Thats our strength. Thats why a bomb cant beat us.

Terry Szuplat served as a national security speechwriter and deputy director of White House speechwriting under President Obama. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.

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How President Obama wrote his love letter to Boston after the Marathon bombing - The Boston Globe

Chicago will host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and one of the city's biggest cheerleaders on the national stage is excited for the event to come to the Midwest.

Former President Barack Obama, who worked as a community organizer and served in both the Illinois and U.S. Senate before being elected to the Oval Office in 2008, expressed his excitement about the news in a social media post Tuesday.

Theres no place like Chicago, the former president said in a social media post. Michelle and I are thrilled to have the Democratic National Convention return to our hometown next year.

Obama is of course no stranger to the bright lights of the convention stage. He leapt onto the national scene with his keynote address at the 2004 event in Boston, and accepted the party's presidential nomination at a packed football stadium in Denver during the 2008 convention.

The former president has also made plenty of noteworthy speeches in Chicago itself, including his victory address after the 2008 election in Grant Park and his farewell address at McCormick Place in 2017.

A spokesperson for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told NBC 5 the city has been selected for the 2024 edition of the convention, topping bids from Atlanta and New York.

The Democratic National Committee announced the news in a release Tuesday morning, saying the Midwest continued to be a "critical Democratic stronghold."

Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, President Joe Biden said in a statement. Democrats will gather to showcase our historic progress including building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not from the top down. From repairing our roads and bridges, to unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating over 12.5 million new good-paying jobs, weve already delivered so much for hard working Americans now its time to finish the job.

The convention is scheduled to take place Aug. 19-22, 2024, at the United Center.

Last year, officials announced a bid to bring the convention to Chicago. The video announcement was accompanied by endorsements from top Illinois Democrats, including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago will welcome people from across the nation to an unforgettable event highlighting our partys vision for lifting up working families and those who too often have been left out and left behind, Pritzker said in a statement.Our great global city and its diverse communities, unparalleled hospitality, and world renowned venues shows off the best of America and its people represent the heart of our country.

Lightfoot said the convention will create "once-in-a-generation opportunities for job creation and business growth here in our city." Meanwhile, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, who will be in office at the time of the event, said he looks forward to working with the DNC "to facilitate a spectacular convention that showcases Chicago's diverse culture, our beautiful lakefront, our renowned hospitality sector, and our best asset: our amazing people."

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Chicago's "union labor advantage, hotel capacity and the city's location played key roles in its selection over other cities.

Were right in the middle of the battleground states," she told NBC 5 shortly after the announcement was made.

Republicans last year chose Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin for their 2024 national convention.

The DNC also noted the city will "showcase President Bidens economic agenda that is rebuilding our roads and bridges, unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating good-paying middle-class jobs."

Chicago last hosted the convention in 1996 when former President Bill Clinton accepted the party's nomination for a second term in office.

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Former President Obama Reacts to News Chicago Will Host 2024 Democratic National Convention - NBC Chicago

Hofstra University will host The Barack Obama Presidency: Hope and Change, a three-day conference from April 19-21. The event marks the universitys 13th presidential conference and will include scholars, journalists and government officials.

Those officials include White House Chief of Staff Valerie Jarrett, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, and White House Director of Legislative Affairs Philip Schiliro. They will join other subject experts who will explore the administration, policy making, and legacy of Barack Obama, according to Hofstra.

The conference is presented at the Hofstra Cultural Center, the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, in conjunction with the Barack Obama Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration and the Obama Foundation. Political scholar and journalist Melissa Harris-Perry will be featured in a keynote dialogue on Wednesday.

Hofstra University takes great honor in this tradition of hosting presidential conferences, Hofstra President Susan Poser said in a statement.

Since the first one in 1982, the conferences have provided Hofstra students, faculty, and the general public opportunities to meet and learn directly from those who have had a hand in shaping our nations history, Poser said.

Hofstras 13th presidential conference will address key topics about leadership, politics, and policy making in the Barack Obama presidency, Conference Director and Political Science Professor Meena Bose said in a statement. It will include scholarly paper presentations and forum discussions on such diverse topics as domestic and foreign policy, health care, the economy and trade, media coverage, the First Lady, education policy, and communications strategy.

Bringing together public officials, journalists, and scholars to discuss President Obamas consequential leadership and legacy in American politics presents a unique and enduring contribution to presidency studies, Bose added. We are delighted that students will have the opportunity to participate in these richly informative conference discussions.

Hofstra has hosted conferences on the administrations of every U.S. president since the universitys founding in 1935, beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In addition, the university has hosted three consecutive presidential debates, in 2008, 2012 and 2016. A total of presidents have visited the campus, according to Hofstra.

The full schedule of the upcoming conference is available here. To register, click here.

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Hofstra to host conference on Obama presidency - Long Island Business News

WASHINGTON Former President Barack Obama phoned Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson on Saturday afternoon and gave him some advice about parenting.

Johnson, 47, and his wife Stacie are the parents of sons Owen, 15; Ethan, 10, and daughter Braedyn, 8.

Obama, whose political career was launched from Chicagos South Side, phoned Johnson, who lives in Austin on the West Side, and the two shared an extended conversation, a source close to Johnson told the Sun-Times.

Obama spent a decent amount of time giving advice about raising a family with young kids while holding executive office, I was told.

In addition, Obama made a general offer of assistance and support as Johnson takes office.

Johnson, a paid staffer for the Chicago Teachers Union and a Cook County Board member, will be sworn-in as Chicagos 57th mayor on May 15 after beating Paul Vallas in Tuesdays run-off election.

Obama and former first lady Michelle have written and spoken often about some of the tough times they went through while juggling their careers and raising their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Michelle Obama has commented on the stress Obamas political career put on their marriage.

While the Obama daughters now are young adults, they were toddlers when Obama was a state senator, commuting between their condo in Hyde Park and Springfield.

One of the advantages of being president, Obama would often say, was living above the office thats the White House and being able to make it home for dinner. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, when he was Obamas first chief of staff, often joked that he worked in a family friendly White House that is, family friendly for the Obama family.

The Sun-Times was also told that Vice President Kamala Harris called Johnson on Wednesday. Later in the day, President Joe Biden phoned Johnson, also to congratulate him.

In the call with the president, Johnson pitched Chicago to be the host of the 2024 Democratic convention, where Biden will be nominated for a second term.

Chicagos main rival for the convention is Atlanta with New York also bidding for the event.

The host city convention decision is up to Biden.I was told a Democratic National Committee Technical Advisory Group, which advises Biden and his team on logistics issues, putChicagosbid on top. Biden has many factors including politics to consider.

Chicagos push for the convention is easier with Vallas out of the picture. It would not have been a plus to have as mayor someone who played footsie with Republicans and who had been critical of the president.

One of Chicagos major building projects is the Obama Presidential Center, under construction in Jackson Park, with City Hall involved in many aspects of the development in and around the complex.

An Obama spokesman confirmed that the Obamas voted in Chicagos Feb. 28 first round municipal elections and the Tuesday runoff.

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Obama called Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and gave him this advice - Chicago Sun-Times