The media now claims that the Hunter Biden/CEFC story is part of a 'disinformation campaign.' But many of the details were reported in 2018 by ... the New York Times

The explosive revelations regarding Hunter Biden's business dealings with the corrupt and now-defunct Chinese energy company CEFC have been largely dismissed by mainstream media outlets as part of a "disinformation campaign."

For example, as of 6:30 p.m. ET there were zero stories visible on the CNN.com front page about the explosive allegations leveled by former Biden business partner Tony Bubolinski, or anything else connected with the story. MSNBC.com appears likewise almost totally devoid of coverage of the story, except to note that Trump likely plans to make Hunter Biden an issue in the debate tonight. The Biden campaign has also indicated that Biden will refuse to answer any questions about the story on the basis that it is a part of a "Russian misinformation" campaign.

However, the media were not always studiously silent about the questionable relationship between CEFC and the Biden family. In fact, in 2018 (before Joe Biden became the Democratic nominee for president), the New York Times ran a damning piece on the arrest of former CEFC head Ye Jianming and his efforts to bribe foreign officials around the world, including specifically the Biden family.

Among other explosive facts from the Times report, the story alleged that when U.S. authorities closed in on CEFC and took one of Mr. Ye's emissaries into custody, one of the first phone calls he made was to Joe Biden's brother James, in an attempt to show how politically connected he was. According to the Times:

In a brief interview, James Biden said he had been surprised by Mr. Ho's call. He said he believed it had been meant for Hunter Biden, the former vice president's son. James Biden said he had passed on his nephew's contact information.

"There is nothing else I have to say," James Biden said. "I don't want to be dragged into this anymore."

The report also detailed that Ye began cultivating a relationship with the Biden family in 2015, when Biden was still vice president. The report stated that an aide to Ye met with Hunter Biden during that time frame, and that Ye himself met with Biden at a hotel in Miami in 2017.

The report states that, "Mr. Ye proposed a partnership to invest in American infrastructure and energy deals," which is exactly what is detailed in many of the text and email messages that were released throughout the day on Thursday.

At the time, the Times noted that, "It is unclear whether Hunter Biden struck any business deals with CEFC or Mr. Ye. Through his attorney, Hunter Biden declined to comment."

The Times story made clear that, prior to Biden's run for president, Hunter's relationship with CEFC and the possibility that he was roped into CEFC's shady web was a legitimate story, and that many of the details contained in emails and texts that have been attested to by Tony Bubolinski were verified by reporting at the time.