FEBRUARY 25, 2024
SUNDAY 
PROGRESSIVE OPINION AND NEWS   

I AM INCLUDING THIS PAINFUL STORY BECAUSE OF WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT THE TYPES OF "FAITH" THAT ARE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE AMONG US IN AMERICA, AS WE TRY TO GUARANTEE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM. WE NEED TO FEAR A SOCIETY IN WHICH RELIGION RULES GOVERNMENT AND EVEN LOGIC, NOT BECAUSE RELIGION IS NECESSARILY DELETERIOUS TO THOUGHT, BUT BECAUSE IT IS NOT ENOUGH. 

THIS COUPLE, TWO WOMEN RAISING A NUMBER OF CHILDREN, WERE FOLLOWING A RELIGION IN WHICH "DEMONS" HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM THEIR KIDS BY TORTURE. THE BELIEF HERE SEEMS TO BE THAT THE MORE DEEPLY TWISTED AND DESTRUCTIVE A RELIGION IS, AND THE LESS INTELLIGENT, IN THE SENSE OF ACTUALLY USING OUR COMMON SENSE OR EXERCISING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, THE MORE POWERFUL AND THEREFORE "HOLY" THE PRACTICE MUST BE. WHATEVER GOD THESE PEOPLE ARE WORSHIPPING, IT IS CERTAINLY NOT MINE. 

AS FOR BEING "LED TO BELIEVE" THIS, THAT OR THE OTHER THING, EVEN THOSE WHO ARE NOT VERY INTELLIGENT ARE HELD RESPONSIBIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS, AND "BELIEFS" LEAD TO ACTIONS. I THINK WE ALL NEED TO EXAMINE OURSELVES IN THIS WAY. WHAT DOES MY "FAITH" ENCOURAGE OR EVEN MANDATE? WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO KEEP AN INVOLVEMENT WITH ANY GROUP, SO IF OURS IS OBVIOUSLY WRONG IT IS OUR DUTY TO LEAVE IT. 

AND YET, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT NO INDIVIDUAL SHOULD BE DEPRIVED OF THEIR RIGHT TO PRACTICE THEIR PERSONAL FAITH, HOWEVER FAR FROM WHAT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS "GOOD" THEIR VIEWS ARE, WE MUST ALLOW THIS KIND OF THING TO GO ON AMONG US UNTIL SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAPPENS. SURELY SOMEONE HAD NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH THE CHILDREN BEFORE NOW. THE BOY HAD WOUNDS. DID THEY NOT GO TO A SCHOOL, FOR TEACHERS TO SEE THEIR CONDITION, OR SEE A MEDICAL DOCTOR? MAYBE NOT. GOOD NEIGHBORS MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS. THE SOCIETY FAILED HERE, AND PRISON SENTENCES WILL NOT MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE.  

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ruby-franke-jodi-hildebrandt-sentenced-child-abuse-youtube-eight-passengers/

U.S.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in child abuse case
By Kerry Breen 
Updated on: February 20, 2024 / 3:17 PM EST / CBS News

Parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, who pleaded guilty to child abuse charges that stemmed from one of Franke's children escaping Hildebrandt's house in August to beg a neighbor for help, have been sentenced to prison. Each could serve as much as 30 years, the prosecutor said after the hearing, the most severe penalty available under Utah law. 

Franke has been sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, CBS News affiliate KUTV reported Tuesday, which could range from one to 15 years each. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine prison time, KUTV reported. Franke has 30 days to appeal the decision. 

Hildebrandt received the same sentence of four consecutive prison terms, KUTV reported, which could again range from one to 15 years each. Like Franke, Hildebrandt's prison time will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. 

Franke, who gave parenting advice on her now-defunct "8 Passengers" YouTube channel, and Hildebrandt, who operated a counseling business called ConneXions Classroom, were each initially charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony. Each count carried a potential penalty of one to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. 

While reading the sentencing recommendation, state prosecutor Eric Clarke compared the environment Franke's children faced to a "concentration camp-like setting," and said that Franke "committed horrible acts of child abuse." While addressing Hildebrandt's charges, Clarke called her a "significant threat" to the community. 

Both women addressed the court before their sentencings, with Hildebrandt saying that she would "submit to what the state feels is an appropriate amount of time served." Franke admitted that she and Hildebrandt had "inflicted the injuries" on her children. She said that she had been "led to believe that this world is an evil place" and that Hildebrandt had never been her "business responsibility," but that she had paid the other woman to be her mentor. Franke also thanked public safety officials who rescued her children, calling them "angels," according to KUTV. 

"My charges are just," Franke said. "They offer safety to my family, accountability to the public." 

What did Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt do? 

In December, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse and admitted that she tortured her children, including the now 12-year-old boy who escaped Hildebrandt's home. In the plea agreement, which contained graphic details of abuse, Franke said her son was often kept bound, and that her nine-year-old daughter was made to do manual labor outside in the hot sun with no water or shoes. Both children were often told they were possessed and that their punishments were necessary to help them. 

The boy told officials that Hildebrandt had tied him up and used home remedies to treat wounds caused by the restraints, according to court documents reviewed by KUTV. 

As part of her plea deal, Franke agreed to serve a prison term and agreed that her sentences would run consecutively. She also agreed to testify against Hildebrandt. 

Hildebrandt also pleaded guilty, just days after Franke, to four counts of child abuse. Her plea agreement stated that she either tortured the children or was aware of the abuse. The agreement also stated that Hildebrandt "either physically forced or coerced" Franke's daughter to "jump into a cactus multiple times." 

The crimes were motivated by their religious faith, said Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke in a statement. 

"This is a case about religious extremism. The defendants appear to have fully believed that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies," Clarke said. "Hildebrandt regularly stated that God communicated directly with her and gave her directions. Franke accepted Hildebrandt as her leader and followed her instructions and guidance." 

Where is Ruby Franke's family now? 

Even before the criminal charges, Franke was criticized on YouTube for her harsh punishments towards her children, including once banning one of her children from his bedroom for seven months because he pranked his younger brother. The YouTube channel, which began in 2015, ended after seven years. 

Franke's husband, Kevin Franke, has filed for divorce. In early September, a lawyer for Kevin Franke told CBS News that he was representing his client's interests in keeping his children together and in his care and that he could not comment on Ruby Franke's arrest.

 Kevin Franke appeared in court Friday alongside Franke's two eldest children. While speaking from the stand, Franke apologized to her former husband. "You are the love of my life," she said, according to KUTV. "The ending of our marriage is a tragedy."

 Franke's parents and brother both filed statements with the court ahead of her sentencing Tuesday, blaming Hildebrandt's influence for her actions. Franke's brother Beau Griffiths said that he had also been enrolled in Hildebrandt's ConneXions program.

 "At the continued encouragement of Ms. Hildebrandt, Ruby systematically pushed those around her away, first myself, and then our sisters, parents, and close friends, and then her husband, and finally her own children," Griffiths said in part. "Ruby has clearly been brainwashed. She has been taken advantage of by Ms. Hildebrandt."

 Franke's sisters, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, YouTubers themselves, shared videos detailing Franke's separation from the family and stating that they were not aware of her actions.

 Franke's parents, Chad and Jennifer Griffiths, said in their statement to the court that for three years they only had "brief communications" with their daughter, where she "accused us of either things that never happen or she grossly exaggerated the events that did."

 "She was delusional," they said, according to KUTV. "She was so deeply brainwashed we could not recognize her."

 

FOR THOSE WHO FEEL A NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE LITTLE BITS OF STORIES THAT FLOAT AROUND DAILY, THIS PLOY BY REPUBLICANS WAS JUST ONE MORE ATTEMPT TO SMEAR BIDEN. THAT SEEMS TO BE ALL THEY CAN COME UP WITH TO CLEAR THEMSELVES OF SOME PAINFULLY OBVIOUS LEGAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH TRUMP'S ACTIONS, INCLUDING RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN OUR AFFAIRS, BY DIRECTING THE NEGATIVE ATTENTION TO SOMEONE ELSE. HERE ARE SOME OF THE DETAILS. 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/politics/fbi-informant-biden-impeachment-what-matters       

What Matters
A step-by-step guide to how one debunked story fueled Republicans’ Biden impeachment effort
Marshall Cohen
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf and Marshall Cohen, CNN
Updated 9:17 AM EST, Thu February 22, 2024 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Hunter Biden and his lawyer Abbe Lowell, right, depart a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill on January 10 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images 

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. 

CNN — The basic gist of the story is this: A shadowy ex-FBI informant with ties to Russia has been arrested and charged with giving false information to the FBI, but not before the alleged lies were used by Republicans to publicly accuse President Joe Biden of bribery. 

When you look at the facts now, it seems ridiculous and incredible – a single, unverified FBI interview blows up into public allegations against the president of the United States and fuels plans for his impeachment. 

But it has taken months of incremental developments to arrive at this point, and there are many unanswered questions in the developing saga of Alexander Smirnov, the accused peddler of misinformation. Smirnov has been charged with lying to the FBI and creating false records, but he has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers say he’s “presumed innocent” and will rigorously fight the charges. 

Here’s what we actually do know at this point: 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Alexander Smirnov, middle, leaves court in Las Vegas on February 20. CNN 

Who is Alexander Smirnov?

 Smirnov is a 43-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen who moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas two years ago. A “confidential human source” for the FBI, he provided an FBI agent, his “handler,” information that had been used in multiple investigations dating back to 2010, according to a federal indictment.

Very little is known publicly about Smirnov. CNN has not obtained a photograph of him, for instance, and he shielded himself by covering his face when leaving court Tuesday, although he does appear to have quite a bit of money. Prosecutors, in asking unsuccessfully for Smirnov to be kept behind bars while he awaits trial, said he has access to more than $6 million in bank accounts and claims to have contacts with multiple foreign agencies. Plus, they said he was planning a monthslong trip out of the US when he was arrested. 

A judge rejected those arguments. Smirnov was released from custody Tuesday but is required to wear a GPS monitoring device and had to surrender his two passports, among other conditions. 

What did he tell the FBI about the Bidens? 

There were, according to the indictment, multiple stories. 

First, in 2017, Smirnov told the FBI he had been in contact with executives at Burisma, the Ukrainian oil and natural gas company that paid Joe Biden’s son Hunter to be on its board, including while his father was vice president and oversaw US policy toward Ukraine. 

Smirnov told his handler that Burisma was interested in buying a US-based oil company. Hunter Biden was briefly mentioned, but no allegation about either Biden was made by Smirnov. The handler documented all of this in what the FBI calls an FD-1023.

 Years later, when Joe Biden was running for president, Smirnov added a bribery allegation.

 In May 2020, Smirnov texted his handler multiple times about the presidential election, showing a bias against Biden, according to prosecutors. He did not make any specific allegations, but alluded to a bribe he said he would try to prove occurred.

 How did the story change?

 By June 2020, there was an investigation led by the now-former, Donald Trump-appointed US attorney in Pittsburgh, Scott Brady, into any allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine, including dubious claims being pushed by then-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. Smirnov’s handler, at Brady’s request, reached out to Smirnov to follow up on his innocuous mention of Hunter Biden years before.

 According to the indictment, in a phone conversation in June 2020, after Joe Biden had secured the Democratic presidential nomination, Smirnov described for the first time meetings and phone calls he claimed occurred in 2015 and/or 2016 in which, he alleged, Burisma executives discussed paying $5 million bribes each to both Bidens for protection through Joe Biden’s position as vice president.

 Smirnov said the alleged bribe was intended to help shut down a supposed Ukrainian criminal probe into Burisma, prosecutors said. As vice president, Joe Biden, along with multiple Western officials, had encouraged Ukraine to oust then-Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. There’s no evidence Shokin was actively investigating Burisma at the time. Biden and US allies wanted Shokin fired for being too soft on corruption – his ouster in 2016 actually would’ve increased, not decreased, potential scrutiny of Burisma.

 Smirnov’s new, explosive but questionable allegations resulted in a second FD-1023.

 Did the FBI ever follow up?

 Efforts to confirm the allegations continued over the next few months, and Brady’s FBI partners in Pittsburgh concluded in August 2020 that the matter should be closed. Senior FBI and Justice Department officials in Washington, DC, concurred.

 The information was ultimately passed on to the Trump-appointed US attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, who was overseeing investigations related to Hunter Biden. Brady told Congress last year that he had believed there was a “sufficient indicia of credibility” into aspects of the 1023 – enough to pass it along to Weiss and to brief Weiss about the document.

 Years later, in August 2023, Weiss was elevated by Attorney General Merrick Garland to become a special counsel for his multifaceted investigation into Hunter Biden.

 That happened shortly after a plea deal between Weiss and Hunter Biden fell apart, and as Republicans pushed unproven conspiracy theories related to the 2020 FD-1023. Smirnov was officially interviewed again by the FBI in September about his Biden-related bribery allegations. He repeated the general allegations from his 2020 phone conversation, but with multiple inconsistencies, according to the indictment.

 PHOTOGRAPH -- Attorney David Weiss speaks during a press conference on May 3, 2018, at his district office in Wilmington, Delaware. Suchat Pederson/The News Journal/AP/File

 During that formal interview, prosecutors now say, Smirnov also added details he said he learned from Russian intelligence officials, including that Hunter Biden stayed at a particular hotel in Ukraine and there are tapes of him there.

 Why do prosecutors say Smirnov’s new story is false?

 For starters, Smirnov alleges the bribes were discussed at meetings with Burisma officials in 2015 or 2016, but according to the indictment there is no evidence he even met with Burisma executives until 2017, after Joe Biden was no longer vice president.

 Plus, people said by Smirnov to be at pertinent meetings with Burisma officials outside of Ukraine did not leave the country between 2011 and 2017, according to the indictment.

 “The evidence at trial will show Smirnov’s story to the FBI was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred but at a later date than he claimed,” according to the indictment.

 Similarly, the indictment alleges that phone conversations in which Smirnov says Burisma executives discussed payments to Biden never happened. And the tidbits that Smirnov said he got from Russian intelligence officials about Hunter Biden being recorded at a Kyiv hotel? The indictment argues Hunter Biden has never traveled to Ukraine.

 If the FBI didn’t believe Smirnov, how did his allegations make it to Congress and the public? 

Republicans on Capitol Hill have made investigating both Bidens a top priority dating back to the Trump-Ukraine impeachment in 2019. Last year, they pushed for months for the document with Smirnov’s allegations to be released even though the FBI considered it to have been debunked.

 House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer had threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress if the document was not released to lawmakers. Ultimately, Wray allowed members of Congress to privately view the document, but not keep it.

 After the document was obtained by lawmakers from someone who sought protection under a law to protect whistleblowers, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, released it to the public and argued it could be evidence of a cover-up. It’s not publicly known who gave the document to Grassley.

 PHOTOGRAPH -- With a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden's emails on display, Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer announces a recess because of a power outage during a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 8, 2023 in Washington, DC. With a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden's emails on display, Rep. James Comer announces a recess during a House hearing on February 8, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images North

 How did Smirnov’s allegations affect the Biden impeachment effort?

 Comer has embraced the unverified bribery allegation since, he said, it tracked with his broader investigation into the Biden family’s overseas business dealings.

 Republicans tried to place the bribery allegations within the larger universe of Hunter Biden’s business career, in which he admittedly traded on his father’s name and made millions of dollars from companies in China and elsewhere. Despite pursuing criminal charges against Hunter Biden for his gun ownership and tax evasions, prosecutors have not alleged wrongdoing with regard to Burisma.

 After releasing the FD-1023, Republicans argued it could be evidence of a cover-up.

 “While the FBI sought to obfuscate and redact, the American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats, thanks to brave and heroic whistleblowers,” Grassley proudly proclaimed in July.

 The unverified allegations became an article of faith in GOP efforts to undercut Biden’s credibility.

 “Every day this bribery scandal becomes more credible,” Comer said on Fox News last July, seizing on Smirnov’s allegations.

 Have Republicans pulled back any of their allegations?

 Grassley’s decision to publicly release the unverified allegations that Weiss, a Republican-appointed US attorney, now says were lies has not aged well. Grassley has made no official comment on the recent developments.

 Comer recently told Spectrum News that the impeachment effort against Biden may not ultimately occur.

 But Republicans argue in talking points obtained by CNN that they have evidence beyond the FD-1023 that shows Biden was involved in the business dealings of his son and other family members.

 In a statement after the Smirnov indictment was unsealed, Comer said, “the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023. It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings.”

 Even though Republicans are maintaining that the charges against Smirnov have no impact on their work, they removed a reference to the informant from a letter sent to an unrelated witness requesting an interview, copies of the letters obtained by CNN show.

 Republicans are also asking the FBI why they ever relied on the now-discredited informant in the first place. Comer says the FBI told him last year that Smirnov was “credible and trusted” and had been “paid six figures” for his information.

 The Oversight Committee website still, as of this writing, includes mention of the debunked form FD-1023.

 Where did the Smirnov information originate?

 The origin of the debunked bribery story is unclear. But it’s notable that Smirnov says he has ties to Russian officials and even admits they gave him information about Hunter Biden – information that the Justice Department says is false.

 Given how Smirnov’s story has changed over time, according to the indictment, it’s hard to know exactly what to believe.

 There is, however, a confirmed track record of Russians spreading disinformation about the Bidens in Ukraine. It’s the same storyline that then-President Trump seized on when he dispatched Giuliani to build a case against Joe Biden before the 2020 election.

 The anti-Biden messages Smirnov allegedly sent to his handler in 2020 included references to a former Ukrainian lawmaker, Andriy Derkach, who worked with Giuliani in 2020. Derkach and his allies were labeled later that year by the US government as agents of the Russian government and sanctioned for trying to meddle in the 2020 election to hurt Joe Biden’s chances.

 The disinformation continues.

 “(Smirnov) is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November,” prosecutors said in court documents.

 What role does Weiss play in all of this?

 After Hunter Biden’s plea deal collapsed last summer, Weiss was given the title of special counsel to give him independence from the Department of Justice, which is run by Biden appointees. He is the person currently prosecuting Hunter Biden in Delaware for illegally owning a gun while he was addicted to drugs and in California for tax evasion. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

 Weiss is now also using his special counsel powers to prosecute Smirnov for lying to the FBI and making up the bribery story about the Bidens.

 Ironically, Republicans cheered on his prosecution against Hunter Biden, but it’s now the Democrats who are trumpeting his case against Smirnov.

 This story has been updated with additional information.

 Up next

 Fact check: How House Republicans put now-debunked Biden bribery claim at the center of impeachment push

9 minute read 

How a trusted FBI source became the center of a Washington scandal

7 minute read

 Fox News hyped the bogus FBI informant claims against Biden. Now it’s refusing to walk them back

4 minute read

 

END OF FEBRUARY 25, SUNDAY  

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