Tag Archive for: Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden Suggested Lobbying Sen. Bob Menendez On Behalf Of Foreign Client, Emails Show

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Hunter Biden and his business associates appeared to suggest lobbying indicted Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to protect a Spanish rail company after regulators scrutinized the firm, public emails on the younger Biden’s abandoned laptop archive show.

Spanish rail company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) hired Hunter Biden’s investment firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, to lobby the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Amtrak for government contracts on railway projects, according to emails on Biden’s publicly available laptop archive.

The younger Biden and his business associates at Rosemont Seneca spoke with Menendez’s office about CAF and secured meetings between CAF and DOT officials, archived emails show.

CAF hired Rosemont Seneca in June 2010 and Hunter Biden’s firm appeared to discuss potential contracts with Amtrak shortly thereafter, according to the laptop archive. Biden and his associates also appeared to work with CAF on a letter sent by the Spanish ambassador to Amtrak advocating for the firm, emails show.

Hunter Biden sat on Amtrak’s board from July 2006 to February 2009 after he was nominated by former President George W. Bush. Prior to his Amtrak position, Biden worked in former President Bill Clinton’s commerce department and at a Washington, D.C., law firm.

Amtrak awarded CAF’s American subsidiary a contract worth $298.1 million in July 2010 to manufacture 130 new rail cars at a plant in Elmira, New York, CNN reported at the time. Hunter Biden’s firm appeared to negotiate a “success fee” with CAF following the announcement of the contract, according to the archive.

“We may very well be because we don’t have anything in writing, but my point has been that we be firm, have Hunter call the CEO and congratulate him, say we are looking forward to working with CAF as they implement the Amtrak contract and then follow it up with a letter to memorialize the success fee arrangement,” Hunter Biden’s business associate Eric Schwerin said in a July 27, 2010, email.

“IF and only if they push back let’s not let CAF make us think we didn’t do enough work to deserve the fee, as it is a minor percentage compared to what we would normally get for working on a project like this,” Schwerin added.

Rosemont Seneca sent a letter to CAF at the end of July 2010 outlining its request for a “success fee” worth more than $800,000 because of the firm’s work on securing the contract.

Schwerin appeared to get Menendez’s office involved with CAF in early August 2010 by holding a call with Menendez’s then-Chief of Staff Daniel O’Brien, according to an email Schwerin sent Hunter Biden.

“Talked to Danny re: CAF and he is looking into it,” Schwerin said, according to the archive. “He was very interested in finding out more mainly because of Menendez’s chairing the U.S.-Spain Council. Also, mentioned they are doing an event in NY on Sept. 24th (when we will be up there for CGI anyway) with the Spanish President if you want to attend. I’ll hold the date.”

O’Brien communicated with Hunter Biden on multiple occasions and the pair appeared to be friends. Hunter Biden emailed O’Brien in June 2010 about attending a Washington Nationals game during a conversation about his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, attending a forum Menendez was holding with U.S. and Spanish officials, emails show.

Hunter Biden and O’Brien spoke again in March 2011 about the younger Biden stopping by Menendez’s office, emails on the laptop archive show.

“The Senator wants to talk to you,” O’Brien wrote March 9, 2011, and Hunter Biden proceeded to send O’Brien his new cellphone number.

“You’ll hear a message from the Senator if you haven’t already. He felt badly due to his mistaking you for Beau. You were kind to stop by,” O’Brien said later that day.

The “success fee” for Rosemont Seneca had apparently not come in by September 2010, and Hunter Biden appeared to be frustrated with CAF for allegedly undercutting them.

“I just tell people it’s a minimum of 250k just to talk to me- you don’t show up on a call or in a room unless we are getting 20% of the deal. No overhead- no offices no salaries,” Biden said in an email exchange regarding CAF. “I cc’d Eric b/c he gave me A big talk on how CAF really wanted him on this and didn’t really care if I was there and how we wouldn’t have to do much work and the fact he didn’t read the contract regarding success fee.”

Rosemont Seneca and lobbyists from the Democratic lobbying firm SKDK appeared to schedule a meeting with DOT official Peter Rogoff around Sept. 14, 2010, after the firm was hired in early September to bolster CAF’s lobbying operation. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) found the Harris County, Texas, metro system violated federal procurement and Buy America laws in its contract award with CAF, causing the firm to worry and hire additional lobbyists, emails show.

“Further to Hunter’s earlier email, the meeting between CAF and Rogoff is scheduled for Friday at 3:30pm at DOT. They are working on their message to Rogoff between now and then and hope to be able to persuade him to delay implementation of the ruling,” Schwerin said in an email dated Sept. 14, 2010.

“Mentioned Florida and Tomar said they are still focused on it and in fact he has gotten some calls from other consortia this week which he took as a good sign that CAF’s image has not been affected by this Houston issue. He wants our help on this still and asked that we talk after the Rogoff meeting on Friday to figure out a plan on Florida going forward,” he added.

Hunter Biden suggested getting Menendez and other Democratic senators involved — in addition to Rogoff — in a Sept. 14, 2010, conversation with SKDK lobbyists, according to the email archive.

“They need Menendez (very involved in US- Spain business counsel) to take the lead (not Lautenberg- they hate each other) they need him to go to Schumer and raise an alarm that NY is in jeopardy of loosing [sic] hundreds of jobs and go to Steny and point out that MD faces the same fate in the loss of supplier jobs,” Biden said. “And they need that to happen yesterday. So far I don’t think anyone has even reached out to Gillibrand.”

Hunter Biden and SKDK lobbyists on Sept. 14 strategized ahead of the meeting with Rogoff, and Biden corresponded separately with Schwerin about the SKDK strategy, according to the archive.

“First, it is vitally important that you spend time identifying a Congressional champion (if not more than one) that would be willing to weigh in directly on your behalf to DOT and/or the White House,” Schwerin told Biden, who responded by approving Schwerin’s plan, emails show. “This will involve CAF going up to the Hill and meeting directly with members or hiring a lobbyist who can do so. At the very least, you should be in contact with Senators Schumer, Gillibrand and Menendez.”

“Tomar is going to keep working Menendez, Schumer, Gilibrand [sic] (though she hasn’t been a focus to date), the Elmira Mayor and the County Executive,” an SKDK lobbyist emailed the following day.

Rosemont Seneca and SKDK assisted CAF in its fight to have the FTA overturn its decision on the Houston violations and retain its contract. In October 2011, CAF and Harris County officials agreed to a revised contract in order to settle the FTA issues, a Houston-based ABC News affiliate reported at the time.

Federal prosecutors on Friday indicted Menendez and his wife, Nadine, for allegedly accepting bribes in order to steer U.S. foreign policy in Egypt’s favor and securing lucrative contracts for three business associates, according to the indictment.

“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” the indictment reads. “Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home.”

Menendez defended his conduct in a statement released Friday, accusing prosecutors of making false claims and misrepresenting his work. “Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” the senator said.

“They have misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met,” he added.

Hunter Biden was indicted Sept. 14 for three counts relating to his 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver while he was allegedly addicted to crack cocaine. Biden’s attorney said Tuesday he would plead not guilty to the gun charges.

The Biden family and its business associates received more than $20 million worth of payments from Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, Romanian and Kazakhstani business associates, according to bank records released by the House Oversight Committee.

Ukrainian energy firm Burisma paid Hunter Biden more than $80,000 per month as a board member despite his lack of experience in Ukrainian affairs and the energy sector, House Oversight bank records show. Biden served on Burisma’s board from spring 2014 to spring 2019.

The Daily Caller reached out to Menendez’s office and Hunter Biden’s attorney but did not hear back with a comment by the time of publication.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter. James Lynch can be reached on Twitter @jameslynch32

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Here’s All The Evidence Connecting Joe Biden To Hunter Biden’s Foreign Business Dealings

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The amount of evidence connecting Joe Biden to Hunter Biden’s business dealings is growing as Congressional investigations continue to reveal new information surrounding Hunter Biden’s engagements.

Witness testimony, emails, text messages, flights and additional evidence indicate Joe Biden was knowledgeable about Hunter Biden’s business dealings and communicated with his son’s business associates on numerous occasions. 

Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer testified in July to the House Oversight Committee that Joe Biden spoke with his son’s business associates more than 20 times, including a spring 2014 dinner with Russian oligarch Elena Baturina and a spring 2015 dinner with Vadim Pozharskyi, an executive with Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings.

In addition, Archer mentioned a meeting Joe Biden had in Beijing with a Chinese business associate, whose daughter later received a college recommendation letter from then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Hunter Biden was being paid more than $80,000 per month by Burisma when the dinner with Pozharskyi took place, according to bank records released by House Oversight. Baturina wired $3.5 million to a shell company owned by Archer and Biden in February 2014, bank records show.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure,” Pozharskyi emailed Hunter Biden in April 2015, according to Hunter Biden’s laptop archive.

The Biden family and its associates received more than $20 million from Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, Romanian and Kazakhstani business associates, the bank records indicate. 

Archer also described to House Oversight how the Biden family “brand” represented by Joe Biden protected Burisma from scrutiny and kept the firm in business. Archer said Hunter Biden “called D.C.” at Burisma’s December 2015 board meeting because of pressure from Pozharskyi and Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky.

Joe Biden took a trip to Ukraine days after Hunter Biden’s phone call and archived emails show then-VP Biden’s office worked with one of Hunter Biden’s business associates on media inquiries related to Burisma on the day of the apparent phone call.

Internal State Department emails show Joe Biden’s office sent them talking points and instructed officials not to single out Zlochevsky in response to media questions. Archer could not confirm whether Joe Biden was on the other end of his son’s phone call.

After his testimony, Archer told Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson it is “categorically false” to claim Joe Biden did not know about his son’s business dealings. In the interview, Carlson displayed a personalized letter Joe Biden sent to Archer in 2011 apologizing for not being able to meet him.

Archer also told Tucker Carlson Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was a “threat” to Burisma’s business before Joe Biden successfully pressured Ukraine into getting Shokin fired. Archer told Carlson about a raid Shokin orchestrated on Zlochevsky’s office that occurred soon before Shokin was fired.

“You remember last year I was authorized to say we’d do the second tranche of a billion dollars. And he didn’t fire his chief prosecutor. And because I have the confidence of the president, I was there, and I said: I’m not signing it. Until you fire him, we’re not signing, man. Get it straight. We’re not doing it,” then-VP Joe Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations in September 2016.

House Oversight has requested records from the State Department related to Shokin and Burisma to better understand why U.S. officials changed their perception of Shokin in late 2015. Unearthed memos from U.S. and European officials show Shokin was making progress on Ukraine’s anti-corruption goals before he was fired.

A separate FBI FD-1023 form contains allegations from a confidential human source that Zlochevsky bragged about sending bribes to Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. Zlochevsky claims he sent $5 million to Joe Biden and $5 million to Hunter Biden to get Shokin fired, the confidential human source said. The Ukrainian oligarch allegedly possesses two recordings of Joe Biden and 15 recordings of Hunter Biden discussing the bribes. Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in June the FBI is investigating the bribery allegations.

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and disclosed a transcript from Hunter Biden’s former business associate Rob Walker who said Joe Biden met in May 2017 with officials from CEFC China Energy, a Chinese energy company doing business with Hunter Biden. Shapley confirmed Joe Biden’s apparent meeting with CEFC associates when he testified publicly in July.

Furthermore, Shapley disclosed a threatening text Hunter Biden allegedly sent in July 2017 to a different Chinese associate where he referenced Joe Biden’s presence in the room.

“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Hunter Biden said, according to Shapley.

“I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father,” Hunter Biden added. Images from Hunter Biden’s laptop demonstrate he was with Joe Biden the night he sent the apparent text message, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Hunter Biden texted a CEFC associate on Aug. 3, 2017 boasting over how the “Bidens are the best” at doing what his boss wants for the company, House Oversight revealed in June.

“The Biden’s are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this [partnership],” Hunter Biden told CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. The next day, Hunter Biden’s shell company Owasco PC received a $100,000 payment from CEFC, House Oversight discovered.

The Chairman of CEFC was Ye Jianming, a businessman who was linked to the Chinese Communist Party before being arrested for bribery, House Oversight said in a memo released in May. Emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop show he was “office mates” with Joe Biden and Dong, alongside Jill Biden and his uncle James Biden.

Hunter Biden’s failed guilty plea deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicates he made more than $600,000 from CEFC in 2017 and roughly $1 million from Hudson West III, a business entity he formed with a CEFC associate. IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler testified in July that Hudson West II brought in $3.7 million overall and confirmed the payment from CEFC.

An email sent in May 2017 by former Hunter Biden business associate James Gilliar alludes to Joe Biden as “the big guy” in a discussion about a potential business deal.

“10 held by H for the big guy,” Gilliar suggested, with the “big guy” moniker referring to Joe Biden, former business associate Tony Bobulinski confirmed to the New York Post. “Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face[.] I know u know that but they are paranoid,” Gilliar texted Bobulinski on May 20, 2017, according to House Oversight.

Walker received $3 million worth of payments from State Energy HK, a different Chinese energy firm, and sent more than $1 million of those payments to LLCs held by Biden family members, House Oversight revealed in March. Ziegler also confirmed the payments from State Energy HK in his testimony.

“It’s really hard. But don’t worry, unlike Pop [Joe], I won’t make you give me half your salary,” Hunter Biden texted his daughter Naomi in 2019, according to text messages from his laptop archive reported by the New York Post. Emails on Biden’s laptop indicate he wired himself $100,000 from Joe Biden’s bank account when he was dealing with financial issues.

Moreover, emails on Biden’s laptop show Hunter was paying Joe Biden’s phone bill and paid for house repairs for Joe Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware residence, the Daily Mail reported.

Hunter Biden took an estimated 15 flights with his father on Air Force Two when Joe Biden was vice president, according to an analysis conducted by Fox News. The first son accompanied then-VP Biden on trips to Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa and Asia, the outlet reported.

House Oversight has requested the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provide records from Hunter Biden’s apparent flights and multiple aliases Joe Biden appeared to use for government purposes, including a meeting with Ukraine’s president that Hunter Biden was aware of ahead of time.

Hunter Biden’s business associates visited the White House more than 80 times when Joe Biden was vice president, Fox News reported based on White House visitor logs.

The younger Biden met with his father, Devon Archer and a lobbyist for Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov at the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s official residence, Archer testified. House Oversight is looking closely at the Naval Observatory meeting as part of its investigation, the New York Post reported.

The House Ways and Means, Oversight and Judiciary Committees will be leading an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden over Hunter Biden’s business dealings and IRS whistleblower testimony accusing the DOJ of giving Hunter Biden special treatment in their ongoing investigation, Speaker McCarthy announced Tuesday.

The role Joe Biden allegedly played in Hunter Biden’s business dealings is a central component of the impeachment inquiry and House Oversight’s probe into the younger Biden’s affairs.

The White House said in June that Joe Biden was “not in business” with his son and Joe Biden said Archer’s testimony is “not true” in August.

“The House GOP investigations have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by POTUS,” White House spokesman Ian Sams tweeted on Sept. 12. “In fact, their own witnesses have testified to that, and their own documents have showed no link to POTUS,” Sams added.

Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on three gun charges and faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. Special counsel David Weiss is simultaneously investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes following the collapse of his plea deal in July. Shapley and Ziegler have accused DOJ investigators of giving Hunter Biden special treatment under Weiss’ watch prior to his special counsel designation.

Biden pleaded not guilty to two tax misdemeanors after Delaware U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika scrutinized an immunity provision in the pretrial diversion agreement for his felony gun charge. Noreika’s pressure caused a dispute between Biden’s counsel and the DOJ resulting in the collapse of Biden’s plea agreement.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter. James Lynch can be reached on Twitter @jameslynch32

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Gun Charges Against Hunter Biden Are Meant To Protect The President, Legal Experts Say

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The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to bring felony gun charges against Hunter Biden protects both him and his father, legal experts argued.

Hunter Biden was indicted on three counts Thursday for making false statements and possessing a gun while addicted to drugs, charges stemming from his purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. Legal experts said the gun charge, which is based on a statute that may soon be found unconstitutional, protects the Bidens, as it is the only charge that does not implicate the President.

“It’s the one charge that will not lead to President Biden,” Mike Davis, founder and president of the Article III Project, told the Daily Caller News Foundation, describing the charges as a “cover-up” in a separate tweet. “Tax fraud, wire fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Foreign Agent Registration Act—all those charges could have led to President Biden. But the Biden Justice Department declined to pursue those charges and instead pursued a gun charge that is in serious constitutional doubt.”

Former Assistant United States Attorney Andy McCarthy similarly said on Fox News Thursday that it was “the only charge that this prosecutor could’ve brought against Hunter in which Hunter’s father is not implicated.”

An appeals court ruled in August that the statute Hunter was charged with violating, which bars gun possession for anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance, violates the Second Amendment.

“In short, our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage,” the ruling written by Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee, states. “Nor do more generalized traditions of disarming dangerous persons support this restriction on nonviolent drug users.”

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell already pointed to the ruling to argue the case will “be dismissed before trial.”

“The only change that has occurred between when they investigated [this alleged crime] and today is that the law changed,” Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell told ABC News Friday. “But the law didn’t change in favor of the prosecution. The law changed against it.”

Lawyer and former federal prosecutor Bill Shipley said on Twitter the charge is “on shaky legal ground with the trend in 2nd Amendment jurisprudence.”

“Doesn’t matter if it is Hunter or someone else, the DOJ should not be filing these counts until there is further clarity in the appeals courts that some kind of effort under this statute going forward is going to survive a Second Amendment challenge,” Shipley said.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years and $750,000 in fines, according to court documents.

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on his podcast Friday that the charge was brought “by design, to insulate Joe Biden.”

“The reason this matters is because there’s considerable evidence that Hunter Biden solicited and received tens of millions of dollars from corrupt foreign players in exchange for official favors from his dad, Joe Biden, now the president of the United States,” he said.

“The Biden DOJ was prepared to give him [Hunter] complete and total immunity for any and all criminal conduct, especially, the criminal conduct that implicated his father, and that really, I believe, was the entire objective of this whole thing,” Cruz continued.

However, Politico reported in 2021 that Secret Service agents asked the owner of the store where Hunter purchased the gun to hand over paperwork from the sale in 2018, which the owner refused to do, though he later provided it to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Neither Joe Biden nor Hunter Biden were under the protection of the Secret Service at the time.

Special counsel David Weiss requested to dismiss tax charges filed against Hunter Biden in August in order to refile in another venue, a motion District Judge Maryellen Noreika approved. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in August.

Biden’s initial plea deal, which would have had him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and enter a diversion agreement allowing him to avoid jail time for the felony gun charge, fell apart under Noreika’s questioning during a July 26 hearing after she highlighted a section of the diversion agreement promising broad immunity for future charges.

Weiss and the White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

KATELYNN RICHARDSON

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Hunter Biden Indicted On Three Gun Charges

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Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has been indicted on felony gun charges in Delaware, according to a partially redacted court filing by Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel David Weiss.

Biden was indicted Thursday on three counts for providing false statements and knowingly possessing the gun while he was addicted to drugs, in connection with the acquisition of a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018, the indictment states. He faces a maximum prison sentence of ten years for the first and third offenses, with the second offense holding a maximum of five years, according to a defendant information sheet.

“Robert Hunter Biden, provided a written statement on Form 4473 certifying that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, the statement was false and fictitious,” the indictment reads.

READ THE FULL INDICTMENT:

The DOJ said in a Sept. 6 status report that it was seeking an indictment for Biden’s felony gun charge by the end of the month. Biden’s legal team responded by arguing the pretrial diversion agreement proposed by the DOJ is legally valid, a notion the DOJ has disputed.

Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two tax misdemeanors and sign a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid jail times for a felony gun charge. His plea agreement collapsed when Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika scrutinized an immunity provision tucked into the diversion agreement, resulting in a dispute between Biden’s defense counsel and DOJ special attorney Leo Wise.

Biden’s defense counsel Christopher J. Clark withdrew from the case in August because of his role in the failed guilty plea negotiations. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss special counsel in August and Weiss immediately requested to withdraw Biden’s two tax offenses to potentially charge him in a different jurisdiction. Noreika granted Weiss’ request and dismissed the tax charge without prejudice.

The House Ways and Means, Oversight and Judiciary Committees continue to investigate IRS whistleblower testimony accusing the DOJ of giving Hunter Biden special treatment in the tax case against him. House Oversight is also investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and the role Joe Biden played in his son’s affairs.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday the House Ways and Means, Oversight and Judiciary Committees will be spearheading the House’s impeachment inquiry into Hunter Biden.

This is a breaking news story and it will be updated.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

REPORT: White House War Room Prepares To Fight McCarthy Impeachment Inquiry

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The White House has set up a war room of two dozen lawyers, legislative aides and communications staffers to prepare a response to a potential GOP impeachment effort against President Joe Biden, a White House aide familiar with the strategy told NBC News.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that an impeachment inquiry into Biden is a “natural step forward,” adding that he plans to bring the inquiry to Congress when it returns in September. Since McCarthy’s comments, White House aides have used the August recess to research GOP’s statements and to polish their response to a possible impeachment inquiry, a source familiar with the strategy told NBC News.

“Comparing this to past impeachments isn’t apples to apples or even apples to oranges; it’s apples to elephants,” the White House aide told the outlet. “Never in modern history has an impeachment been based on no evidence whatsoever.”

The White House’s preparation for an impeachment inquiry began once the House flipped to a Republican majority earlier in 2023, NBC News reported.

McCarthy began discussing moving forward with impeachment inquiries if the Department of Justice (DOJ) used David Weiss’s position as special counsel to prevent the House Oversight Committee from investigating Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden pled not guilty to two tax misdemeanors after his plea deal and diversion agreement collapsed because scrutiny from U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika led to a disagreement between the DOJ and Hunter Biden’s legal team.

The DOJ alerted the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that it would not cooperate with subpoenas for two FBI agents as part of the committee’s investigation into IRS whistleblower testimony allegedly showing the DOJ gave Hunter Biden special treatment in its investigation for alleged tax and gun crimes.

As a model for their response, Biden’s aides have studied the time the House attempted to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998, a source familiar with the strategy told NBC News. The aides believe the current possibility of a GOP impeachment inquiry is “not an evidence-based effort; it’s an election-focused effort,” a person familiar with the Biden campaign’s thinking told the outlet.

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

REAGAN REESE

White House correspondent.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘On the Verge of a Banana Republic’: Biden Used Air Force Two, Pseudonyms to Enrich His Family, GOP Says

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As Barack Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden sent more than 5,000 emails under a host of false names and abused federal resources to facilitate his son, Hunter Biden’s foreign influence-peddling businesses, Republicans say. The combination of corruption and federal agencies refusing to make the records public leaves America “on the verge of being a banana republic,” according to one U.S. congressman.

Details broke this week about two scandals threatening to engulf the 46th president as the 2024 election heats up. First, Congress revealed that then-Vice President Biden improperly used Air Force Two and Marine Two to whisk Hunter Biden to 15 countries, where he often struck business deals enriching himself and at least nine members of the Biden family, possibly including “The Big Guy,” Joe Biden. Second, a legal watchdog has sued the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) for refusing to turn over 5,138 emails that Joe Biden sent using three separate aliases — including “Robert L. Peters,” “Robin Ware,” and “JRB ware” [sic] — while he was vice president.

Video footage captured Hunter Biden accompanying his father on taxpayer-funded travel during the Obama administration, including a 2013 trip to China that cemented Hunter’s business ties to Beijing. “Then-Vice President Joe Biden abused Air Force Two by allowing his son to jet set around the world to sell ‘The Brand’ to enrich the Biden family. This is yet another example of then-Vice President Biden abusing his public office for his family’s financial gain,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is spearheading numerous investigations into presidential corruption. He demanded NARA leader, U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan, to turn over all travel-related records about the use of the taxpayer-funded aircraft by Hunter Biden (and his business associates Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer, and Jeffrey Cooper) by September 13.

Yet another watchdog accuses NARA of withholding records for years showing that Joe Biden would send emails under false names while vice president, and copy Hunter Biden on information related to Ukraine. The Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about Biden’s use of the pseudonymous government email account Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov, as well as two Gmail accounts: robinware456@gmail.com and JRBWare@gmail.com. The Office of Vice President copied several of the emails sent to these accounts to Hunter Biden, including a May 26, 2016, email about a scheduled phone call between then-Vice President Biden and then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. At the time, Hunter received $83,333 a month as a board member of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. Biden would later admit to threatening to deny Poroshenko $1 billion in loan guarantees unless he fired prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma.

Conservatives have already waited years to see these emails. SLF first asked NARA for these emails two years ago, but NARA said it could not produce the emails until this year for technical reasons. This summer, NARA confirmed the president sent thousands of such messages — but that it may deny or heavily redact the materials before making them available.

“We have performed a search of our collection for Vice Presidential records related to your [June 9 FOIA] request and have identified approximately 5,138 email messages, 25 electronic files and 200 pages of potentially responsive records,” said a letter sent via email on June 24 by Stephannie Oriabure, the director of NARA’s archival operations division. However, the emails “must be processed in order to respond to your request,” and the legal watchdogs may not receive a copy of all messages, as some “may not be applicable to your specific topic.” NARA said it placed their “request in our Complex queue,” which will “treat everyone equitably.”

SLF sued NARA to turn over all materials immediately. “After over a year of trying to work with NARA, its continued unreasonable delays have forced SLF to file this lawsuit,” said Braden Boucek, legal director at the Southeastern Legal Foundation.

The delays and stonewalling outraged conservatives. “This administration promised transparency to the American people. Is this their idea of transparency?” asked Jody Hice, a former U.S. congressman from Georgia and senior vice president at Family Research Council, on Tuesday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” The emails show that “when he was vice president, he was doing government business and discussing government business with his son, Hunter Biden, and others. After nearly two years, not a single one of those emails has been released.”

“By all outward appearances, we are on the verge of being a banana republic,” said Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) on “Washington Watch.” The Biden family is “making millions and millions of dollars at taxpayers’ expense, and we’ve got federal agencies that won’t release the information.”

“American citizens ought to be able to look at these documents and make a decision about whether the law was violated,” said Weber. “The people of America ought to rise up and say they want the truth.”

Thus far, Democrats have offered only a vague defense of Biden’s character. “I’m extremely confident the American people know fundamentally that Joe Biden is a good and decent man who’s dedicated his life to public service,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). But 63% of Americans say Hunter Biden was “involved in illegal influence peddling,” and a majority of Americans (53%) believe Joe Biden participated in his crime, according to a Harvard/Harris Poll released in May.

On the campaign trail in 2019, candidate Biden promised to erect “an absolute wall” between himself and his family’s business deals. “I have never discussed, with my son or my brother or with anyone else, anything having to do with their businesses. Period.” He promised to do “the same thing we did in our administration” as vice president.

“Apparently, the ‘absolute wall’ only applied to the specific name ‘Joe Biden,’” wrote libertarian columnist James Bovard in the New York Post.

The House Oversight Committee cited the president’s comments as one of 16 times Biden lied about his family’s business schemes — each one containing video footage of Biden’s statement, which the committee then contrasts with the facts.

“How many other FBI memos exist on potential Biden bribes that we have not heard about?” asked Bovard.

For now, investigators still want to learn the details about these government emails. If federal agencies, which are supposed to be politically neutral, stonewall that effort, Weber thinks they should pay the price.

“I would hope that members of Congress actually use their power to reduce funding on some of these agencies,” said Weber. Then the American people need to “clean house” and “kick out these crazy Democrats who have zero transparency, operate under pseudonyms, claim that they had absolutely nothing to do with their son’s business, and lie with a straight face.”

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: From One Unapologetic Media Hoax To The Next

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Joe Biden lied repeatedly when he claimed he knew nothing of his son Hunter’s influence-peddling businesses.

The president further prevaricated that he had no involvement in Hunter’s various shake down schemes.

Yet, the media continued to misinform by serially ignoring these facts.

Had journalists just been honest and independent, then-candidate Joe Biden might have lost a presidential debate and even the 2020 election. The public would have learned that Hunter’s business associates and his laptop proved Joe was deeply involved in his son’s illicit businesses.

Later, as the evidence from IRS whistleblowers mounted, the White House stonewalled subpoenaed efforts and sought to craft an outrageous plea deal reduction in Hunter’s legal exposure.

Reporters ignored the Ukrainians who claimed Joe Biden himself talked to them about quid pro quo arrangements.

They again discounted Hunter’s laptop that explicitly demonstrated that Hunter was whining that he had handed over large percentages of his income to his father Joe — variously referred to as the Big Guy and a “ten percent” recipient on many deals.

They played dumb about Joe Biden’s use of pseudonyms and alias email accounts to hide thousands of his communications to Hunter and associates.

They attacked the former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who now claims Biden was likely bribed by Ukrainians.

Yet the media can no longer hide the reality that the president of the United States likely took bribes to influence or alter U.S. policy to suit his payers. Those two crimes — bribery and treason — are specifically delineated in the Constitution as impeachable offenses.

In denial, the media has instead pivoted with hysterical glee over various weaponized prosecutions of former President Donald Trump.

But now, to use a progressive catchphrase, the proverbial “walls are closing in” on Joe Biden.

So will we at last expect the media finally to confront the truth?

Answer — only if Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical health continues to deteriorate geometrically to the point that he can no longer finish his term or run for reelection — and thus becomes expendable.

Such a cynical view of the media is justified given their record of both incompetence and unapologetic deceit.

From 2015 to 2019, we were suffocated 24/7 with lies like “Russian collusion,” “Putin’s puppet,” “election rigging” and the “Steele dossier.”

When all such “evidence” was proven to be a complete fraud cooked up through Hillary Clinton’s stealthy hiring of and collusion with a discredited ex-British spy, a Russian fabulist at the Brookings Institution and a Clinton toady in Moscow, did the media apologize for their untruth?

Was there any media confessional that perhaps Robert Mueller and his left wing legal team (the giddy media-dubbed “all-stars,” “dream team” and “hunter killers”) proved a colossal waste of time?

Not at all.

Instead, the media went next right on to “the phone call” and “impeachment.”

The country then wasted another year.

The same biased reporters now claimed that the heroic Alexander Vindman had caught Trump fabricating lies about the Bidens — given Joe Biden was a possible 2020 opponent — to force Ukraine to investigate them or lose American foreign aid.

On that accusation Trump was impeached.

Then the truth emerged that unlike Joe Biden, Trump never threatened to cancel aid, but merely to delay it.

Trump was right that the Bidens were knee deep in Ukrainian bribes and influence peddling.

And that the whistleblower had no first-hand knowledge of the Trump call but was spoon fed a script cooked up by the gadfly Vindman and California Rep. Adam Schiff.

The result was journalistic glee that we impeached a president for crimes that he did not commit but exempted another president, Biden, who had likely committed them.

Then came the next hoax of the Russian fabricated facsimile of Hunter’s laptop.

The 2020 Biden campaign along with an ex-CIA head rounded up “51 intelligence authorities” to mislead the country into believing that Russian gremlins in the Kremlin had fabricated a fake laptop.

Ponder that absurd fantasy: Moscow supposedly had created fake nude pictures, fake photos of Hunter’s drug use and fake email and text messages from Hunter to the other Bidens.

The media preposterously convinced the country that the Russians and by extension Trump had once again sandbagged the Biden campaign.

No apologies followed when the FBI later admitted it had kept the laptop under wraps for more than a year, knew it was authentic and yet said nothing as the media and former spooks misled the country and warped an election.

Now we are enmeshed in at least four court trials on cooked-up charges that could as easily apply to a host of Democrats as to Trump.

For the last eight years, a discredited media has never expressed remorse for any of the damage they did to the country. And they will not again, when their latest mythological indictments are eventually exposed.

AUTHOR

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and the author of “The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won,” from Basic Books. You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Biden Gets Drowned Out By Boos As He Tries To Speak With Reporters During Lake Tahoe Vacation

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President Joe Biden was drowned out by loud booing from a crowd in Lake Tahoe as he spoke with reporters Friday, video shows.

The onlookers booed Biden as he left a pilates class and spoke to reporters during his family vacation in Lake Tahoe. The Bidens, including first son Hunter Biden, are currently on a weeklong vacation to Lake Tahoe, staying at the home of billionaire climate activist and Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer.

“Have you seen Donald Trump’s mugshot yet?” a reporter asked the president. Former President Donald Trump had his mug shot taken at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office after surrendering in Georgia on Thursday night. Trump and 18 others are facing charges for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state.

“I did see it on television,” Biden answered as he continued to receive loud booing from the crowd.

“What did you think?” the reporter asked.

“Handsome guy,” Biden said as the yelling continued.

As the Biden family vacations at Steyer’s multi-million dollar mansion in Nevada, the Department of Justice and House Republicans are continuing their investigations into the younger Biden. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in July to two tax misdemeanors, while the diversion agreement for his felony gun charge dissolved under scrutiny from Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika.

Officials launched an investigation into Steyer over his alleged violation of Vacation Home Rental (VHR) policies regarding the rental of his home to the Biden family. A local resident reportedly filed a claim earlier in August, alleging Steyer did not have a VHR permit. The complaint was “being researched,” VHR Program Manager Ernie Strehlow told the Daily Caller on Aug. 21.

AUTHOR

ELIZABETH WEIBEL

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

‘They Were Being Bribed’: Fired Ukrainian Prosecutor Blames Dismissal On Biden ‘Corruption’

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The Ukrainian prosecutor fired following pressure from then-Vice President Joe Biden alleged his firing was due to “corruption” in the Biden family.

Biden boasted about forcing the Ukrainian government to fire Viktor Shokin, a prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, an energy company, during an event held by the Council on Foreign Relations. Biden’s son, Hunter, was appointed to the board of Burisma in 2014.

“I do not want to deal in unproven facts, but my firm personal conviction is that, yes, this was the case,” Shokin said in a clip from an interview that will air on Fox News Saturday. “They were being bribed. The fact that Joe Biden gave away $1 billion in U.S. money in exchange for my dismissal, my firing, isn’t that alone a case of corruption?”

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley released the FD-1023 form containing allegations that the Bidens received millions of dollars in bribes obtained from a whistleblower on July 20. The document, which recounted what a “confidential human source” (CHS) told the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in June 2020, says that a top Burisma executive felt he was “pushed to pay” the Bidens.

Shokin had been investigating Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma during his Hunter’s tenure at the company. Biden later bragged about forcing Shokin’s ouster.

“I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden said. “Well, son of a bitch. He got fired.”

Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, told investigators that then-Vice President Joe Biden spoke with his son, Hunter, “more than 20 times about their business deals,” according to Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

The New York Post reported on the contents of a laptop abandoned by Hunter Biden at a Delaware computer repair shop on Oct. 14, 2020 that included emails related to business dealings by the Biden family.

The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed the authenticity of one of the emails in October 2020. The Washington Post and New York Times confirmed the authenticity of the data in March 2022 in articles about investigations into Hunter Biden by the Department of Justice.

AUTHOR

HAROLD HUTCHISON

Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: Former Intelligence Director Slams New Biden Docs As The ‘Smoking Gun And The Bloody Knife’

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

House Oversight Releases Bank Records Showing Hunter Biden Took Millions From Russian And Ukrainian Oligarchs

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The House Oversight Committee released bank records Wednesday showing Hunter Biden took millions of dollars worth of payments from Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh oligarchs.

Hunter Biden received millions from Russian oligarch Elena Baturina, Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and Kazakh oligarch Kenes Rakishev when his father was vice president, the committee found. The committee has identified over $20 million in payments from foreign partners to the Biden family and their associates. 

In February 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca Thornton, a shell company affiliated with Hunter Biden and his business associate Devon Archer, House Oversight showed. The payment was also identified in a September 2020 Senate report laying out Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.

Nearly $1 million of the money was transferred to Archer and the rest was placed in Rosemont Seneca Bohai, another shell company Archer and Biden used to take foreign payments, House Oversight found. Archer testified House Oversight on July 31 that he and Biden were co-owners of Rosemont Seneca Bohai and the company was opened in Delaware the day before Baturina’s payment.

Rosemont Seneca Thornton did not have any other money come into its account after Baturina’s payment, House Oversight records show.

Shortly thereafter, Biden and Archer joined the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and worked on behalf of Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky. Each made more than $1 million annually and took approximately $83,000 per month from Burisma.

The Burisma payments were wired to Rosemont Seneca Bohai until late 2015, when Biden began having the payments sent into his shell company Owasco P.C. due to Archer’s legal troubles.

In addition, Kazakh oligarch Kenes Rakishev wired $142,300 to Rosemont Seneca Bohai in April 2014, two months after Hunter Biden met with Rakishev at a Washington, D.C. hotel. Rosemont Seneca Bohai paid $142,300 for a sportscar for Hunter Biden the next day, House Oversight discovered.

Archer and Biden scheduled a meeting in June 2014 for Burisma executives, Chinese business associates and the Kazakh government to discuss a three-way business deal, House Oversight said. Rakishev maintained close ties to then-Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for treason, abuse of power and attempting a coup in April 2023.

Biden and Archer made approximately $3.32 million from Burisma in 2014 and 2015, according to bank records produced by House Oversight.

Joe Biden dined with Baturina at Washington D.C’s Cafe Milano in 2014, Archer testified. On April 16, 2015, Joe Biden dined with Massimov, Hunter Biden, Devon Archer and Burisma executive Vadim Pozharsyi at Cafe Milano, House Oversight stated.

“During Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden sold him as ‘the brand’ to reap millions from oligarchs in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. It appears no real services were provided other than access to the Biden network, including Joe Biden himself. And Hunter Biden seems to have delivered,” Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight Committee said in a press release.

“It’s clear Joe Biden knew about his son’s business dealings and allowed himself to be ‘the brand’ sold to enrich the Biden family while he was Vice President of the United States.”

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump Was Right Again And Again About The Biden Family’s Foreign Business Dealings

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Former President Donald Trump’s assertions during the 2020 presidential campaign about the Biden family’s foreign business dealings have proven to be accurate.

Trump routinely criticized then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden about his son’s dealings with Ukrainian, Russian and Chinese associates when he was on the campaign trail, most notably at the presidential debates leading up to the November 2020 election.

WATCH:

“China ate your lunch, Joe. And no wonder your son goes in and, wha—, he takes out billions of dollars. He takes out billions of dollars to manage. He makes millions of dollars. And also, while we’re at it, why is it — just out of curiosity — the mayor of Moscow’s wife gave your son three and a half million dollars,” Trump said to Biden during a September 2020 presidential debate, according to an official transcript from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

“That is not true,” Biden retorted.

“What did he do to deserve it? What did he do with Burisma?” Trump pressed.

“None of that is true,” Biden shot back.

“My son did nothing wrong at Burisma,” Biden said later in the debate.

” I think he did,” Trump retorted.

“He doesn’t want to let me answer, because he knows I have the truth. His position has been totally thoroughly discredited,” Biden claimed.

“By who?” Trump asked.

“By everybody. Well, by the media, by our allies,” Biden answered.

Trump and Biden continued clashing at the September debate over the Biden family’s business dealings despite moderator Chris Wallace’s efforts to shift the conversation.

“And he threatened Ukraine —,” Trump said.

“Sir,” Wallace interrupted.

” — with a billion dollars,” Trump said.

“That is absolutely not true,” Biden said, before Wallace moved the conversation to racial issues.

Trump made similar comments about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings at an October 2022 debate which took place after the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop was censored by Twitter and falsely categorized as Russian disinformation. The Daily Caller News Foundation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CBS News later verified the Hunter Biden laptop archive.

WATCH:

“You got three-and-a-half million dollars. Your family got three-and-a-half million dollars and you know someday, you’re gonna have to explain — why did you get three-and-a-half?” Trump asserted, according to the official debate transcript.

“I have not taken a penny from any foreign source ever in my life,” Biden responded.

“Number two, I don’t make money from China, you do. I don’t make money from Ukraine, you do. I don’t make money from Russia. You made three-and-a-half million dollars, Joe, and your son gave you— They even have a statement that we have to give 10% to the big man. You’re the big man, I think. I don’t know, maybe you’re not. But you’re the big man, I think. Your son said we have to give 10% to the big man,” Trump said later in the debate.

“I carried out U.S. policy. Not one, single, solitary thing was out of line. Not a single thing, number one. Number two, the guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy, trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me, which they would not do, and did not do, because it never, ever, ever happened. My son has not made money in terms of this thing about — what are you talking about — China. I have not had it. The only guy that made money from China is this guy. He’s the only one. Nobody else has made money from China,” Biden hit back.

“His son didn’t have a job for a long time, was sadly no longer in the military service, I won’t get into that. And he didn’t have a job. As soon as he became vice president, Burisma — not the best, not the best reputation in the world — I hear they paid him 183,000 a month. Listen to this, 183, and they gave him a $3 million upfront payment, and he had no energy experience. That’s 100% dishonest,” Trump followed up.

“Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what this, he’s accusing me of, is a Russian plan. They have said that this has all the characteristics — four, five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him and his good friend Rudy Giuliani,” Biden said later on.

Joe Biden was citing a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials which claimed Hunter Biden’s laptop was part of a “Russian information operation” without evidence to back it up. One of the letter’s signatories, former CIA official Michael Morrell, testified to the House Judiciary Committee about how Biden Secretary of State Tony Blinken orchestrated the letter, which Morrell signed to help Biden defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s assertions about Ukraine, China and Russia appear to be based on a Senate report released in September 2020 detailing Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and the New York Post’s October 2020 reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop archive.

Trump made similar assertions on Twitter beginning in late 2019, before Biden won the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Trump tweeted on numerous occasions about the Biden family’s business dealings with Chinese, Ukrainian and Russian business partners.

Hunter Biden’s consulting firm was wired $3.5 million by Russian oligarch Elena Baturina in February 2014 as part of a consulting agreement, the Senate report found. Baturina was married to former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and her net worth is estimated at $1.3 billion.

Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Devon Archer, testified to the House Oversight Committee Monday about how Joe and Hunter Biden dined with Baturina in the spring of 2014 at a cafe in Washington, D.C., according to a transcript of Archer’s testimony.

Trump’s statement about Biden threatening Ukraine with a billion dollars was based on what then-Vice President Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in September 2016 when Biden bragged about getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired in early 2016.

“You remember last year I was authorized to say we’d do the second tranche of a billion dollars. And he didn’t fire his chief prosecutor. And because I have the confidence of the president, I was there, and I said: I’m not signing it. Until you fire him, we’re not signing, man,” Biden told CFR. Biden made similar comments at a January 2018 event with CFR when he was out of office.

When Shokin was fired, Hunter Biden was being paid $83,000 a month as a board member of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, another detail confirmed by Archer’s testimony. Archer also testified about a dinner Joe Biden attended a dinner with Burisma executive Vadim Pozharskyi and how the Biden family “brand” prevented Burisma from going out of business.

One of Hunter Biden’s former business partners, James Gillar, called Joe Biden “the big guy” in emails first reported by the New York Post. Another former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, confirmed to the outlet the “big guy” moniker was referring to Joe Biden.

Likewise, Archer confirmed to the House Oversight Committee “my guy” was a nickname Hunter Biden used to describe his father in an April 2014 email.

Archer told Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson it was “categorically false” to say Joe Biden was not aware of his son’s business dealings, referencing a personalized letter Biden sent him in 2011. In the same interview, Archer said Shokin was a “threat” to Burisma’s business and recalled a purported raid on Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky’s property overseen by Shokin’s office.

In addition, Hunter Biden received payments from a Chinese firm, CEFC China Energy, whose chairman, Ye Jianming, was linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and People’s Liberation Army (PLA), according to the senate report.

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified to the House Ways & Means Committee about a threatening text Hunter Biden allegedly sent a CEFC associate with Joe Biden in the room. Shapley provided a transcript of former Biden business associate Rob Walker’s interview with the FBI where Walker said Joe Biden met with CEFC officials in May 2017, shortly after his vice presidency concluded.

The House Oversight Committee revealed in late June a text allegedly sent by Hunter Biden on Aug. 3, 2017 to a CEFC associate about how the Bidens are “the best” at assisting his boss. The next day, Owasco P.C., one of Biden’s shell companies, was paid $100,000 by CEFC, the committee disclosed.

On Aug. 8, 2017, Hudson West III, a business entity formed by Hunter Biden and a CEFC business partner, was wired an estimated $5 million, the Senate report found.

Hunter Biden earned about $1 million from Hudson West III in 2017, according to his guilty plea agreement with Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors which fell apart in court. Biden admitted during his late July court appearance he made $664,000 from CEFC in 2017, court transcripts show.

IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler testified to the House Oversight Committee that Hunter Biden and his business associates took an estimated $17 million from Chinese, Ukrainian and Romanian business interests. The Oversight Committee released a memo in May 2023 outlining more than $10 million in alleged payments from foreign companies to Biden family members.

Two months prior, the House Oversight Committee released a memo showing Walker took $3 million from a Chinese energy company and allegedly sent $1.3 million worth of payments to Biden family members. Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in July more bank records would be released showing Hunter Biden’s alleged dealings with Russian business partners.

The White House said President Biden “was not in business with his son” when Shapley’s testimony was publicized, a shift from Biden denying any knowledge of his son’s business dealings.

“Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family,” Hunter Biden’s lawyer said in the wake of Shapley’s testimony.

Hunter Biden was charged by the DOJ in June with two tax misdemeanors and a felony gun charge. Both IRS whistleblowers accused prosecutors of slow-walking and obstructing the Hunter Biden case based on their knowledge of the investigation.

The president’s son was expected to plead guilty to the tax charges and sign a diversion agreement for the gun charge, until a disagreement with the DOJ about the immunity clause hidden inside Biden’s diversion agreement caused Biden’s plea deal to implode. The DOJ investigation into Hunter Biden is still ongoing and

“He confirms President Biden was not involved in his son’s business,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams tweeted about Archer’s testimony. Sams told multiple media outlets the investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings is an “evidence-free wild goose chase” following Archer’s testimony.

The day after Devon Archer’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee, Trump was indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith for charges related to his efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election results. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday at an arraignment in Washington, D.C. He continues to lead the 2024 Republican presidential primary by wide margins.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Jack Moore contributed to this report.

AUTHOR

JAMES LYNCH

Investigative reporter. James Lynch can be reached on Twitter @jameslynch32.

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Devon Archer Testimony Transcript Released

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The transcript of Hunter Biden’s business associate Devon Archer’s congressional testimony was released Thursday.

Archer testified about Hunter’s business dealings and President Joe Biden’s alleged involvement. Archer is a close friend of Hunter and sat on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma alongside Hunter.

The transcript alleges that Hunter had a “brand” as part of the Biden family, specifically due to President Joe Biden. Archer testified that while Biden had no involvement with Burisma to his knowledge, “Burisma would have gone out of business if it didn’t have the brand attached to it.”

Archer also said it is fair to say “that Hunter Biden was selling the illusion of access to his father.”

Archer went on to testify that after Biden’s other son, Beau, died, he increasingly contacted Hunter. The former business partner also said that in one instance, Hunter put Biden on speakerphone while in Paris on a call and that he suspects Biden “knew” he was on the phone but said Hunter would frequently just talk about the weather.

“And [Hunter] said, ‘Say hello to,’ and he would just say the names of the people there?” Archer was asked.

“I don’t recall directly, but, yes, something like that,” Archer testified.

“And did you ever have the impression that Joe Biden actually knew who these people were? Or was he just telling – saying hello, kind of, at Hunter Biden’s invitation?”

“You know, sometimes yes, sometimes no, but generally no,” Archer said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) clarified late Sunday it would not have Archer sent to prison before his testimony after a Saturday letter sent to a judge indicated the DOJ was seeking a date for Archer to surrender to prison. The department later clarified the date would come after Archer provides testimony to Congress.

Archer was sentenced in 2022 to a year and one day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribal group and investment clients as part of a bond issuance scheme. Archer’s appeal was rejected in June after a federal appeals court reversed his request for a new trial.

AUTHOR

BRIANNA LYMAN

News and commentary writer. Follow Brianna on Twitter.

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Tucker Sits Down With Hunter Biden’s Business Associate Devon Archer

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Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson sat down one-on-one with Devon Archer about his former business associate, Hunter Biden.

Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday where he detailed Hunter’s business deals, most notably the alleged personal phone calls with his father, President Joe Biden, on speaker phone in front of foreign business executives on over twenty occasions. Archer detailed Biden’s involvement with his son’s business dealings in the sit-down with Carlson.

Archer confirmed the nearly twenty phone calls made by Hunter to his father while surrounded by business associates within a ten-year span.

“So Joe Biden, who is very much a product of Washington, of course must have known that he was calling into effectively a business meeting,” Carlson said. “Something’s happening. He must have understood that that was kind of what his son was selling.”

“Well that’s hard for me to speculate,” Archer answered.

“But like, just to keep it to the facts, Joe Biden, then the sitting Vice President knew that there were Hunter’s business associates in the room,” Carlson pressed.

“Yeah, I think I can definitively say at particular dinners and meetings, he knew there were business associates and he, or if I was there, I was a business associate too. So I think, you know, any of the other colleagues from the DC office or New York were there,” Archer said.

Carlson also confronted Archer on a letter from January 20, 2011, addressed to him from Biden. The then-Vice President wrote to apologize for not being able to speak with him while hosting former Chinese President Hu, and said, “I hope I get a chance to see you again soon with Hunter,” according to Archer.

Archer said Biden thanked him for his idea to bring a government regulatory strategic advisory business into the private equity sector. The letter indicated that Biden worked with foreign governments while serving as Vice President.

Archer said Hunter joined the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, because he brought the benefits of the “Biden brand.” He and Carlson agreed it is “disingenuous” to act unsure as to the reason Burisma hired Hunter, who served on the board from 2014 to 2019.

AUTHOR

NICOLE SILVERIO

Media reporter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Devon Archer told House Oversight Joe and Hunter Biden spoke ‘more than 20 times’ about business, rep says

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President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden spoke “more than 20 times about their business deals,” Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer said Monday before the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Daily Caller.

“The biggest significant thing that has come out so far is that we now have proof that Joe Biden lied. He’s been telling everyone for years now that he knows nothing about Hunter Biden’s business deals, that he’s never talked to his son about it. Well, this morning Devon Archer confirmed for all of us that that is not true,” Greene said in an interview with the Caller.

“He told us in his transcribed interview that he heard Hunter Biden speak to Joe Biden more than 20 times about their business deals. Not about anything else, but about the business deals,” the House Oversight member added.

The president famously said in 2019 that he had never spoken to his son about business.

Archer met with the lawmakers behind closed doors on Monday and the transcripts have yet to be released. The former business associate worked with Hunter Biden at Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC, and was subpoenaed by Republicans to testify as a part of their investigation into the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.

Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman told reporters during the testimony’s break that Archer said, “Hunter would put his father on speakerphone with whomever was at dinner and there wasn’t any indication that he had any idea who was at dinner.”

Greene rebuked Goldman’s account of the interview.

“Dan Goldman came out during the break and tried to put a big spin on it. Physically sweating while he’s talking about, ‘Oh, they talked about weather — that’s not what Devon Archer said. Devon Archer said he heard them talk more than 20 times about Hunter’s business deals,” Greene said.

Archer did say that the “Bidens were in the business of influence peddling. And while influence peddling is not necessarily a crime… it is definitely very bad when it’s influence peddling involving the vice president of the United States,” Greene added.

The White House and Goldman did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Caller.

AUTHOR

DIANA GLEBOVA

White House correspondent.

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Hunter Biden’s Proposed Plea Deal Lays Out Just How Much He Got From Chinese, Ukrainian, Romanian Sources In 2017

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Hunter Biden’s proposed plea deal on two misdemeanor tax charges shows the president’s son earned millions from foreign sources in 2017.

During calendar year 2017 — one of the years Hunter Biden is charged with failing to pay taxes in their entirety — the president’s son earned “just under $1 million from a company he formed with the CEO of a Chinese business conglomerate; $666,666 from his domestic business interests; approximately $664,000 from a Chinese infrastructure investment company; $500,000 in director’s fees from a Ukrainian energy company; $70,000 relating to a Romanian business; and $48,000 from the multi-national law firm,” the memorandum of the plea agreement read, Politico first reported Wednesday.

“He further negotiated and executed contracts for business and legal services that paid millions of dollars of compensation to him and/or his domestic corporations, Owasco, PC and Owasco, LLC,” the plea deal stated.

Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings are being investigated by the House Oversight Committee, and President Joe Biden has been questioned repeatedly about the extent to which he was involved in his son’s business affairs.

House Oversight released a report in May alleging members of the Biden family received $10 million from foreign sources, including from China and Romania, while Joe Biden was vice president.

The president and his administration have repeatedly denied Joe Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings. Joe Biden said in 2019 he has never “spoken” to Hunter Biden about his business affairs, and the White House has stated repeatedly since June that the president was never “in business” with his son.

Hunter Biden served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma from 2014 to 2019, was a founding partner of Chinese investment company BHR Partners, worked as a consultant at CEFC China Energy and did legal work for Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu.

In June and May, two IRS whistleblowers testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes was slow-walked by the DOJ.

Biden had “tax issues” for years before 2017, one whistleblower told the committee.

“Back in 2002, he filed his Form 1040 late-filing and owing over $100,000 in taxes; 2003, owed more than $100,000 dollars in taxes; 2004, late-filed and owed more than $20,000 in taxes; and then 2005, late filed his personal return and owed over $100,000 in taxes,” the whistleblower testified.

Biden’s legal team attempted to enter into a plea agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on two misdemeanor tax charges for 2017 and 2018 on Wednesday. The deal included Biden pleading guilty to the misdemeanor tax charges in exchange for avoiding jail time on a separate charge for illegally possessing a gun. The judge overseeing the case refused to accept the initial plea deal due to the lack of clarity on what the DOJ could charge Biden on in the future, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

The legal teams conferred and came back with a more narrow scope of what the plea deal would encompass, limiting it to the tax and gun charges. The judge refused to accept the deal and requested more briefs, and Biden changed his plea to not guilty.

AUTHOR

DIANA GLEBOVA

White House correspondent.

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