In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he falsely accused President Donald Trump of attempting to blackmail Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden over his actions favoring Burisma, including blackmailing Ukraine into firing the prosecutor investigating Burisma in exchange for a desperately needed $1 billion loan. Interestingly, Ciaramella was involved with the bribery for firing blackmail and the fact that he lied about Trump trying to blackmail Ukraine. Ciaramella was protected from testifying in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
Ciaramella was a close adviser when Biden threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it fired its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukraine-based Burisma Holdings. This was at a time when Burisma was paying Hunter Biden millions of dollars. What a coincidence, huh? No wonder Ciaramella wanted to remain anonymous. Hopefully, Trump’s next Attorney General will look into Joe Biden and Eric Ciaramella’s actions. Without Merrick Garland, justice could actually be served.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, who has testified as an expert witness in the ongoing Biden impeachment inquiry, said:
“It now seems there was material evidence that would have been used at the impeachment trial [to exonerate Trump]. Trump was alleging there was a conflict of interest with the Bidens, and the evidence could have challenged Biden’s account and established his son’s interest in the Shokin firing.”
Ciaramella’s role – including high-level discussions with top Biden aides and Ukrainian prosecutors – is only now coming to light thanks to the recent release of White House emails and photos from the National Archives.
The emails show Ciaramella expressed shock – “Yikes” is what he wrote – at Biden’s move to withhold the $1 billion in aid from Kyiv, which represented a sudden shift in U.S. policy. They also show he was drawn into White House communications over how to control adverse publicity from Hunter taking a lucrative seat on Burisma’s board.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELYet there is no evidence Ciaramella raised alarms about the questionable Biden business activities he witnessed firsthand, which is in sharp contrast to 2019. In that instance, he was galvanized into action after being told by White House colleague Alexander Vindman of an “improper” phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the call, Trump solicited Zelensky’s help in investigating Burisma and Hunter Biden’s role in the company.
Some former congressional investigators say Ciaramella effectively helped cover up a scandal far worse than what Trump was impeached over. What’s more, he failed to disclose that he had a potential conflict of interest stemming from his connection to the matter Trump asked Zelensky to probe when he lodged his complaint against Trump. RealClearInvestigations was the first to identify the then-33-year-old Ciaramella as the anonymous impeachment “whistleblower,” something major media continue to keep under tight wraps.
Ciaramella worked under CIA Director John Brennan when President Obama made Biden his point man on Ukraine in 2014, the same year Burisma hired Hunter. The next year, the CIA detailed Ciaramella, a longtime advocate for aid to Ukraine, to the White House, where he worked closely with Biden and his staff as a top adviser on key Ukrainian policies. After Biden left office, he stayed on at the GOP White House until mid-2017 even though he’s a Democrat, working as a Ukrainian and Russian analyst on Trump’s National Security Council. Co-workers there accused him of trying to sabotage Trump, including allegedly leaking sensitive information to the press.
Ciaramella focused on aid to Ukraine and anti-corruption reforms in the country. In that capacity, he:
- Hosted, cleared into the White House, and met face-to-face there with senior Ukrainian prosecutors.
- Gave a “readout” of the meeting to his superiors, who in turn pushed for Shokin’s firing.
- Traveled with Biden to Kyiv during the 2015 trip during which Biden demanded Shokin’s firing.
- Wrote media “talking points” for Ukrainian officials.
- Huddled with the top Biden officials involved in discussions concerning the $1 billion aid package and Shokin, including: Amos Hochstein; Victoria Nuland; Geoffrey Pyatt; Bridget Brink; and Michael Carpenter.
- Corresponded with Biden officials coordinating responses to negative media reports about Hunter’s cushy and controversial Burisma job.
Emails from the time show Ciaramella appeared surprised to hear about the linkage between the $1 billion loan to Ukraine and the dismissal of Shokin. Though Biden maintains he insisted Kyiv oust Shokin because he was too soft on weeding out fraud in entities that included Burisma, Ciaramella suggested he didn’t share the view that Shokin was corrupt. “We were super impressed with the group,” Ciaramella added, “and we had a two-hour discussion of their priorities and the obstacles they face.”
