| | | The Trumpiest of TV channels tried to bring a peddler of Biden dirt to America. The Ukrainian went to jail instead.
Before catching the eye of German law enforcement, former Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Onyshchenko drew attention from the conservative TV channel One America News. Last week, German authorities arrested the multi-millionaire because of a warrant from Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors. Before his arrest, though, the Trump-friendly media outlet tried to help him get a visa to travel to the U.S.
The effort, which has not been previously reported, was part of a push by OAN to unearth information on Burisma Holdings, the energy company that retained Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President and current Trump rival Joe Biden. Onyshchenko has claimed to have dirt on the firm. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, meanwhile, has boosted the channel’s Burisma work.
“I can confirm that One America News Network did attempt to secure a number of visas for former Ukrainian officials to travel to the United States, including Olekesandr Onyshchenko,” network president Charles Herring told The Daily Beast in an email. “One America News Network made the request prior to Mr. Onyschchenko being detained. One America News investigative efforts have cost in excess of $100,000 to date.”
Herring added that the outlet is also “currently seeking visas” for several other former Ukrainian officials, but is no longer doing so for Onyshchenko. Herring declined to say which other ex-officials his outlet is trying to secure visas for. Efforts by media outlets to secure legal travel authorizations for their sources are in an ethical gray area, according to one expert. Especially when the source in question is accused of embezzlement.
Onyshchenko’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Ukrainian anti-corruption prosecutors allege Onyshchenko ran a scheme to steal millions from Kyiv’s state-owned natural gas company.
The news of OAN’s effort to help him get a visa comes on the heels of Rudy Giuliani’s trip to Kyiv, where Trump’s personal lawyer worked with a correspondent and crew member of OAN. On the trip, Giuliani and OAN’s Chanel Rion met with Viktor Shokin and Yuri Lutsenko, two former Ukrainian prosecutors who have alleged misconduct by the Bidens. Their claims—that Obama administration officials pressured the Ukrainain government to ignore wrongdoing by Burisma in a bid to protect the Bidens—are at the heart of Giuliani’s search for dirt. Giuliani has said he is working with OAN on this project, and the network’s segments back that up.
OAN’s coverage of the impeachment scandal has raised eyebrows. The channel sent a camera crew to the apartment building where they believe the whistleblower who kicked off the Ukraine scandal lives, and to the home of the suspected whistleblower’s parents. And Rion’s documentary series on the Bidens and Burisma has taken an odd tone. In a promotional segment for one program, she said the sources would “testify under oath” for the show. Giuliani figures prominently throughout the programing. And on Tuesday evening, Rion tweeted effusive praise of Giuliani’s communications director, Christianne Allen. “An incredibly talented patriot and a breath of fresh air here in the swamp. @Christianne_L_A — here’s to the adventures ahead,” Rion wrote, along with a picture of herself and Allen.
thedailybeast.com |
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