I. Executive Summary
During the 2020 presidential campaign, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden assured the American people he was not involved in his family members’ multi-million-dollar global business deals. He assured Americans he had always remained apart from his family’s business interests while he was Vice President. Evidence obtained by Committee on Oversight and Reform Republicans shows these assurances were false. President Joe Biden has participated in his family’s global business ventures with America’s adversaries. He has misused his public positions to further his family’s financial interests. These actions have created the potential for President Biden to be susceptible to influence, blackmail, or extortion by a malign or foreign entity, including the Chinese Communist Party. A review of Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop, as well as information from whistleblowers, reveals a decade-long pattern of influence peddling, national security risks, and political cover-ups. Biden family members used their connections with Joe Biden to enrich themselves through the expectation of access to Joe Biden and promises about what a future Biden Administration might do for them. There are numerous unanswered questions raised by these suspicious activities that warrant further investigation. During the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election campaign, the media’s response to Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop—full of documents detailing suspicious business deals worth millions of dollars—was not to report this information, but to hide it. Some outlets were frank about their disdain for the story. An official NPR Twitter account tweeted to its audience, “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories.”1 In addition, Big Tech actively suppressed this information on social media. Twitter blocked users from posting links to stories about the laptop’s contents; it even locked the New York Post’s account for refusing to take down the article.2 Facebook used its algorithms to limit the spread of stories about the laptop.3 Intelligence officials—who are now television pundits—labeled the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation.4 Committee Republicans’ investigation has uncovered evidence demonstrating deliberate, repeated deception of the American people, abuse of the Executive Branch for personal gain, use of government power to obstruct the investigation and prevent transparency, and potential violations of the United States Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. The President’s personal participation in his family’s global business ventures—committed through and by a complex network of relatives and associates to enrich the Biden family—has exposed the United States to national security risks that could be leveraged by our enemies to undermine the Office of the President. Committee Republicans are aware of the existence of additional evidence implicating the Biden family business ventures in suspicious activities but have been obstructed in our attempts to obtain that information. The Department of Treasury is in possession of at least 150 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) related to Biden family members’ financial transactions. Despite numerous formal requests by Committee Republicans to review those SARs, and despite decades of precedent of Treasury making SARs available pursuant to congressional requests, the Biden Administration changed longstanding policy and now refuses to produce Biden family SARs or to make them available for Committee Republican investigators’ in camera review. President Biden’s actions and his Administration’s obstruction of this investigation raise important questions that deserve answers for the American people. The President misled the American people during his 2020 campaign for the presidency, and he continues to be untruthful every time he repeats or fails to repudiate the false narrative that he had no knowledge or discussions with his family about their business dealings. To date, Committee Republicans have sent over a hundred document requests to numerous entities, including the White House and Department of Treasury, but have not received a single document from the Administration. Despite attempts by the Biden Administration to obstruct the investigation, Committee Republicans will continue to pursue these matters to provide transparency to the American people and to inform potential legislation or other congressional actions needed to remedy any national security threat and to prevent corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse by government officials, including President Biden.
II. Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
2 II. Table of Contents.4
III. The Biden Family’s Layers of Corruption and Self-Dealing
5 1. The Treasury Department’s Refusal to Provide Suspicious Activity Reports Suggests Obstruction
5 2. Big Tech’s Censorship Raises Questions About Helping the Biden Campaign
8 3. The Investigation Has Expanded to Include Biden Family Members and Associates Profiting Off Public Office
13 4. Uncovering Joe Biden’s Involvement in and Knowledge of Business Deals
18 5. Matter of National Security: The Bidens’ Connections to Russia and Ukraine Raise Questions Regarding Sanctions
20 6. Matter of National Security: The President’s Ties to China and the Chinese Communist Party Raise Questions of Conflicts of Interest
IV. Conclusion 30
The Biden Family’s Layers of Corruption and Self-Dealing
Committee Republicans began this investigation as an inquiry into the actions Big Tech companies took prior to the 2020 presidential election to limit access to information that was unfavorable to Joe Biden.
Fair and free elections are a cornerstone of the Republic. Committee Republicans are concerned large social media companies may seek to manipulate or influence Americans’ voting preferences by limiting the information available to them or shutting them out of the public discourse. While seeking information about the increasing control social media platforms exercise over American dialogue and information sharing, Committee Republicans have sought answers about a particular story that became the target of social media platforms’ efforts to censor information: the October 2020 reporting by the New York Post on the recovery and contents of a laptop previously belonging to Hunter Biden, the President’s son.
Reporting on the contents of the laptop raised concerns about Biden family members and associates using their access to Joe Biden—and his various positions at the highest levels of government for over four decades—to enrich themselves and generate business opportunities. Committee Republicans’ review of a complete copy of this laptop raised questions about why the New York Post story was so hastily and forcefully suppressed by social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. After Committee Republicans obtained and began reviewing the contents of the laptop, the investigation expanded to include discussions with knowledgeable whistleblowers and formal requests for additional documents and communications relevant to our inquiry from both the federal government and private entities.
1. The Treasury Department’s Refusal to Provide Suspicious Activity Reports Suggests Obstruction The progress of this investigation has been obstructed at the outset by the Biden Administration’s unwillingness to answer questions or provide documents about the President’s involvement in business dealings, even those that implicate grave national security concerns.
Because of the complex nature of the deals and exchanges that the Biden family and others pursued by promising access to Joe Biden or a future Biden Administration, additional financial records are necessary to provide clarity and context around specific transactions.
Committee Republicans have sought Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in the custody of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) that are related to Biden family financial transactions and accounts. SARs are generated by American banks and submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within Treasury when customers engage in a range of activities outside the normal course of business, including large, suspicious transactions that may indicate criminal activity. Between Hunter Biden and James Biden, President Biden’s brother, American banks have generated at least 150 SARs
In an attempt to obtain those SARs, Committee Republicans requested information from banks and financial institutions associated with the Biden family businesses. On May 25, 2022, Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer wrote letters to several banks and financial institutions requesting information about the transactions that occurred in those banks tied to James and Hunter Biden. However, many of the banks indicated the information would only be provided pursuant to a subpoena, an authority Committee Republicans do not have during the 117 th Congress as the minority party.
On May 25, 2022, Committee Republicans also wrote Treasury requesting “copies of all SARs related to Biden family members and associates as well as information regarding the Biden Administration’s decision to prevent Congress from receiving these reports.”10 Committee Republicans stated, “We are particularly concerned where those transactions may involve business with firms or entities, including those with direct ties to foreign governments, hostile to the United States’ interests.”
Committee Republicans requested all SARs generated in connection with various members of the Biden family and known associates (i.e., Hunter Biden, James Biden, Sara Biden, Rob Walker, Eric Schwerin, and Devon Archer) and any entity tied to the Biden family.
Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR)
Because of the complex nature of the deals and exchanges that the Biden family and others pursued by promising access to Joe Biden or a future Biden Administration, additional financial records are necessary to provide clarity and context around specific transactions. Committee Republicans have sought Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in the custody of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) that are related to Biden family financial transactions and accounts. SARs are generated by American banks and submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within Treasury when customers engage in a range of activities outside the normal course of business, including large, suspicious transactions that may indicate criminal activity. 7 Between Hunter Biden and James Biden, President Biden’s brother, American banks have generated at least 150 SARs.8 In an attempt to obtain those SARs, Committee Republicans requested information from banks and financial institutions associated with the Biden family businesses. On May 25, 2022, Oversight Committee Ranking Member James Comer wrote letters to several banks and financial institutions requesting information about the transactions that occurred in those banks tied to James and Hunter Biden.9 However, many of the banks indicated the information would only be provided pursuant to a subpoena, an authority Committee Republicans do not have during the 117 th Congress as the minority party. On May 25, 2022, Committee Republicans also wrote Treasury requesting “copies of all SARs related to Biden family members and associates as well as information regarding the Biden Administration’s decision to prevent Congress from receiving these reports.” Committee Republicans stated, “We are particularly concerned where those transactions may involve business with firms or entities, including those with direct ties to foreign governments, hostile to the United States’ interests.” Committee Republicans requested all SARs generated in connection with various members of the Biden family and known associates (i.e., Hunter Biden, James Biden, Sara Biden, Rob Walker, Eric Schwerin, and Devon Archer) and any entity tied to the Biden family Treasury. Republicans have not received an adequate explanation for this change in policy and question whether Treasury changed the rules to hamper congressional scrutiny of certain individuals, entities, or organizations, including the President and his family. As Republicans pointed out in their letter, “The reversal in policy even raised concerns among Democrats, leading Chairwoman Maxine Waters to sponsor a bill requiring Treasury to provide the reports to Congress.” If the President or his agent used the federal government to obfuscate his role in his family’s ventures, he is abusing the power of the Office of the President. Committee Republicans have written multiple letters to Treasury refining requests for SARs as more information has been uncovered (see, infra, Section III.6) regarding the Bidens’ connections to China and the Chinese Communist Party. These requests, too, remain unanswered. Congressional Democrats have been unwilling to engage or consider the merits of the evidence accrued against the President. Congressional Democrats have not joined Republicans’ letters, have denied Republican requests for subpoenas, and have even voted down attempts to compel the Biden Administration to produce related documents. In July 2022, Oversight Committee Ranking Member Comer introduced House Resolution 1243, which would have officially requested the President release information about his family and various corporate entities set up to do business around the world. 17 Committee Democrats unanimously voted to prevent the Resolution from going to the House Floor, despite Committee Republicans showing evidence of the Biden family’s connections to China during the Committee mark-up. Of note, no Committee Democrats defended the decision by Treasury to change the policy for providing SARs to Congress. The White House has given no indication the Administration will cooperate with this investigation. Instead, reports indicate the White House is hiring staff—and spending over a quarter of a million dollars at taxpayers’ expense—specifically assigned to thwart this investigation and other probes.
2. Big Tech’s Censorship Raises Questions About Helping the Biden Campaign The growing tendency of social media platforms to control the flow of information, censor or diminish certain viewpoints, and, ultimately, influence behavior is a significant concern for Americans. The investigation described in this report began as an inquiry into social media companies—and Big Tech generally—and their practices regarding the free flow of information and viewpoints. Committee Republicans turned to the social media companies themselves to provide information regarding specific actions taken to limit discourse prior to the 2020 election. The “Hunter Biden laptop story” provides the starkest example of reflexive and partisan behavior by Big Tech to benefit a Democratic political candidate and affect election outcomes. On October 14, 2020, the New York Post published the first report on a laptop legally recovered after its abandonment in a Delaware computer repair shop.
The laptop had belonged to Hunter Biden, the son of then-former Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic nominee for President of the United States. The New York Post story focused on Hunter’s connection to Ukraine during his time sitting on the board of directors for the Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma. The reporting explained: Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to a top executive at a Ukrainian energy firm less than a year before the elder Biden pressured government officials in Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was investigating the company, according to emails obtained by The Post. The reporting quoted an April 17, 2015, e-mail from Vadym Pozharskyi, “an adviser to the board of Burisma”:
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 At the time, Joe Biden was Vice President. The reporting noted the e-mail was “contained in a massive trove of data recovered from a laptop computer…dropped off at a repair shop in Biden’s home state of Delaware in April 2019[.]” The New York Post’s report implied the Biden family was engaged in shady international business deals that Vice President Biden was aware of at the time. It also contradicted thenDemocratic candidate Biden’s assertion he had never spoken to Hunter about his business dealings.
Nevertheless, many journalists and media figures accused the Post—the fourth largest newspaper in the United States—as reporting on rumors or worse, and the reporting was characterized as a distraction or even the product of “Russian disinformation.” The Biden campaign itself denied the allegations and labeled the story as disinformation. Many of these journalists would recant their views only long after the 2020 election. Social media companies’ actions to suppress the story were dramatic, unprecedented, and raised concerns among Committee Republicans. The day of the New York Post’s reporting— October 14, 2020—Facebook and Twitter took steps to limit the story’s distribution among its users. Drawing on a vague 2018 policy, Twitter removed the Post’s story alleging that it could be used “to incentivize hacking by allowing Twitter to be used as distribution for possibly illegally obtained materials.” Twitter did not provide evidence that material in the Post’s story was accessed or obtained through hacking or, for that matter, any illegal activity. The same day, Twitter also locked out the Post from its Twitter account, preventing it from sharing or posting content even unrelated to the Biden family. The next day, Twitter appended warning labels to the information; the Post remained locked out of its account for two weeks. Twitter also locked out White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany from her account because she shared the story. On October 28, 2020, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg told the Senate Commerce Committee that his company “throttled the spread” of the New York Post reporting after being warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) “to be on ‘heightened alert’ about ‘hack and leak operations’ in the final days before the 2020 election.” Later, Mr. Zuckerberg acknowledged Facebook had altered its algorithms to limit the story from being seen by many of its users. The actions Facebook and Twitter took against the New York Post greatly suppressed the story and aided the Biden Campaign by discrediting the true reporting. The later revelations that at least Facebook was working at the behest of the FBI raises additional questions about whether the government was working to censor information and limit free discourse.
Big Tech Oversight Requests in the 116th Congress The actions social media companies took in the weeks prior to the 2020 election were unprecedented and undermined Americans’ trust in their access to information about elections and candidates. On October 15, 2020—the day after the Post’s reporting was published and Twitter began censoring it and those who would share it—Ranking Member James Comer wrote to Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey requesting information about Twitter’s policies regarding the type of censorship it had used against the Post. 35 The letter requested “a list of all links Twitter has blocked on its platform from January 1, 2019, to the present.” Additionally, the letter requested specific answers to questions about Twitter’s handling of the Post’s reporting. Twitter provided none of this information to the Committee. Late in the 116th Congress and after the 2020 election—on December 15, 2020—eighteen Members of Congress wrote to Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and requested a bipartisan hearing on Facebook and Twitter’s censorship of the New York Post and users who shared the Post’s reporting. The letter stressed, “Big Tech platforms continue to limit speech based on political ideology” and requested “a hearing to learn who [is] responsible for making these decisions and what policies enable Big Tech to selectively limit and/or censor speech on social media.” The requested hearing did not occur. The actions social media companies took to limit or remove the Hunter Biden laptop story or punish those who shared it cannot be entirely separated from the content of the story itself. As the 117th Congress commenced, Republicans expanded the investigation from focusing on Big Tech’s unethical practices to include a review of the troubling facts described in the Post’s reporting. Committee Republicans obtained a copy of the laptop at the center of that story. Based on a review of the information contained therein, as well as in discussion with whistleblowers and other evidence obtained by Committee investigators, the investigation began to broaden into the Biden family and allegations of abuse of power for personal financial gain. ii. Oversight Requests in the 117th Congress Republicans’ investigation in 2021 focused on the Biden family’s history of trading on its connections to the highest levels of government. With traditional media’s growing consensus that the facts reported by the New York Post were not disinformation but legitimate, Republicans revived their requests to social media companies to explain their actions prior to the 2020 election to suppress the “Hunter Biden laptop story.” On April 20, 2022, Ranking Member James Comer wrote to Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal explaining some of the facts Republicans had discovered since the last correspondence with Twitter on the matter, including the fact that “Hunter Biden has engaged in all manner of international business, from consulting for a Ukrainian energy company to assisting the Chinese in gaining access to cobalt mines in Africa—often to the detriment of U.S. interests…[and] a ‘Chinese energy conglomerate and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter Biden and his uncle.’” The letter requested Twitter preserve all documents concerning the company’s censorship in 2020 regarding the New York Post reporting. Twitter has not acknowledged whether it has preserved the requested information. Upon Twitter’s acquisition and reversion to a private company in October 2022, Committee Republicans wrote the new leadership and reiterated the previous requests made to the company. On October 28, 2022, Republicans wrote owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, requesting documents and information about the company’s role in the 2020 election and reiterating its former requests.
Twitter has not acknowledged whether it has preserved the requested information. This fall, Committee Republicans requested information from Facebook after the company’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the FBI had approached the company before the 2020 election, instructing Facebook to “be on high alert” for “Russian propaganda.” On September 1, 2022, Republicans from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Committee on the Judiciary wrote to Facebook. The letter requested documents and communications regarding Facebook’s communications with the FBI, the Biden Campaign, or the Democratic National Committee. Facebook has provided none of the information requested.
3. The Investigation Has Expanded to Include Biden Family Members and Associates Profiting Off Public Office In 2021, Committee Republicans expanded the scope of their investigation to include Biden family members and associates. Republicans’ inquiry quickly established that few in the President’s extended family have failed to capitalize on their relationship with Joe Biden. From Valerie Biden Owens, the President’s “sister, confidante, and longtime political strategist,” penning a book about the Biden family shortly after the inauguration to Francis “Frank” Biden “promot[ing] his relationship to the commander-in-chief in an Inauguration Day advertisement for the law firm he advises[,]” the Biden family’s monetization of the President’s time in Washington is well documented. On July 14, 2021, twelve Republican Members of the Committee wrote to the White House, requesting Counsel to the President Dana Remus produce documents and information regarding self-dealing by the President’s family, including during Joe Biden’s time as Vice President. The White House Counsel did not respond. Republicans also wrote to then-Archivist of the United States David Ferriero of the National Archives and Records Administration with similar requests for information. The National Archives also failed to provide the documents and information requested.
The most documented instances of family members trading on Joe Biden’s political success and power are his brother, James Biden, and Hunter Biden, the President’s son. The investigation of the Biden family has concentrated on these two individuals’ business pursuits domestically and internationally, and how those pursuits became entangled with or enhanced Joe Biden’s personal financial interests. James and Hunter Biden have worked together to pursue business opportunities for years. After reviewing thousands of documents, it is unclear what skills or value either James or Hunter provides to a business venture besides a connection to Joe Biden.
Paradigm Global Advisors: Beginnings of Hunter and James Biden as Business Partners and Connections to Joe Biden One of the earliest examples of the Biden family leveraging their connections for profit is memorialized in a lawsuit filed during Hunter and James’s involvement with Paradigm Global Advisors. In 2007, Anthony Lotito filed suit against James and Hunter, claiming to have been cut out of a business arrangement made with the Bidens when they formed LBB Holdings USA. Allegedly, the Bidens attempted to purchase shares of the hedge fund, Paradigm, cutting out Lotito despite the prior promise of a joint venture. In the lawsuit, Lotito raised concerns about Hunter’s conflicts of interest as the son of then-Senator Biden and his employment as a lobbyist. Specifically, Lotito claimed: In early January 2006, James Biden called Lotito to inform him that his brother, Senator Joseph P. Biden, was concerned with the impact that Hunter’s lobbying activities might have on his expected campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Biden told Loitito that, considering these concerns, his brother had asked him to seek Lotito’s assistance in finding employment for Hunter in a non-lobbying capacity.
The Lotito case was resolved out-of-court in a settlement finalized in December 2008. According to e-mails reviewed by Committee Republicans, Hunter and James Biden were paying approximately $5,442 a month to Lotito as part of the settlement agreement. The last of these payments was recorded on January 3, 2012, and totals approximately $200,000 in total over three years to Lotito. This case is an early example of Hunter and James’s business dealings, the liability they represented to Joe Biden’s political career, and Joe Biden’s direct involvement to manage that liability.
Committee Republicans are currently working with a whistleblower regarding Paradigm’s connections to illicit financial schemes, foreign actors, and abuse of the federal government.
ii. Americore Health: A Kentucky Bankruptcy Proceeding Implicates James Biden In 2019, an American business, Americore Health, LLC, partnered with James Biden to help lead the company and develop business through his political connections. Americore was in the business of purchasing and improving the efficiency of rural hospitals. James approached various businesses in the medical field around the country to enter into business partnerships with him and/or Americore Health in return for expanding the size and reach of those businesses. According to one witness, James allegedly promised both Americore and investors millions of dollars that he claimed variously to be coming from the Middle East, Russia, or China. However, the business owners were cut out of the deals as James gained knowledge of their operations. James deceived investors and attempted to abscond with proprietary processes to enrich himself by delivering the information to Turkish investors. According to one witness, to attract business, James promised access to a future Biden Administration and “the highest levels of government”—long before Joe Biden announced his candidacy—and that his brother Joe Biden had been made aware of the business, which would be made profitable when it could become part of the Biden platform.56 According to the same witness, James would often explain over the phone that Joe Biden was in the room with him and James had been explaining the deal to him.
James Biden continues to be implicated in the Americore Health matter. The entire operation has collapsed, partly because of the fraudulent claims James Biden made to the medical businesses and hospitals Americore sought to purchase, and to Americore itself about funding he could—but never did—deliver. In a July 2022 filing in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Americore alleged that James fraudulently induced Americore to provide “loans” that were never repaid to him for hundreds of thousands of dollars. James appears to have used his connections to fraudulently convince Americore to lend over $600,000 to him, which “ultimately forced [Americore] into bankruptcy, as he never delivered the promised [] large investment from the Middle East.” The promised funding was variously described as from Saudi Arabia and Qatar where James developed relationships during Joe Biden’s time in elected office.
In September 2022, James Biden settled with Americore for $350,000. James Biden’s pattern of using his brother’s name and connections to induce business is troubling. That his promises of funding were apparently tied to the Middle East, Russia, or China raises further questions. On July 14, 2022, Ranking Member Comer wrote a letter to the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, requesting information about James Biden and Americore Holdings, LLC.61 The letter requested all Suspicious Activity Reports in Treasury’s custody “that are related to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.” As with the other requests for SARs, Treasury has not provided the documents requested.
iii. Georges Bergès Gallery: Exorbitant Prices for Hunter Biden Art Sales In 2020, Hunter Biden, who had previously worked as a lawyer and lobbyist, made a sudden career change to be an artist.62 The prices of Hunter Biden’s art ranged from $75,000— more than the median household income for the American family—to $500,000. This raises questions why a party would pay such exorbitant prices for work by an amateur artist.
Figure 3: Self-portrait. Hunter Biden (credit New York Times); price unknown (similar works between $75,000 and $500,000)
According to reporting, the White House and the Georges Bergès Gallery—“a relatively little-known newcomer” to the New York art scene—have memorialized and agreed to guidelines and procedures for the sale of works of art by Hunter Biden.64 These guidelines and procedures have not been released to the public. There is zero transparency related to Hunter Biden’s art career. Hunter Biden is the only artist specifically advertised by the Bergès Gallery, as revealed by the gallery’s online presence.
In two letters, Committee Ranking Member James Comer requested information about these agreements. Mr. Bergès has not responded to these requests. Committee Republicans are concerned about the prices of Hunter Biden’s art and his pattern of attempting to court foreign business in return for providing access to his father. Bergès has previously expressed his desire to be the “lead guy in China” for art, 66 and, as described later in this report, Hunter has connections to some of the wealthiest and most powerful members of the Chinese government. Foreign governments using “transactions involving high-value art to evade sanctions imposed on them by the United States” is wellestablished. On November 7, 2021, Committee Republicans wrote to U.S. Office of Government Ethics requesting OGE investigate this matter.68 OGE refused to investigate.
The Members also wrote again to Committee Chairwoman Maloney requesting she “hold a hearing to question Mr. Biden and his gallerist, Georges Bergès, as well as White House counsel responsible for crafting the agreements shrouding the purchasers of Mr. Biden’s art in secrecy.”
The Chairwoman did not respond to this request. Uncovering Joe Biden’s Involvement in and Knowledge of Business Deals Committee Republicans have learned that Joe Biden was personally involved in his family’s business dealings. The information on Hunter Biden’s laptop is extensive, and Committee Republicans will continue to pursue leads from the laptop to further our ability to obtain documents and information in the face of Biden Administration obstruction. Committee Republicans will also continue to pursue information from Biden family associates and seek information that sheds light on foreign business dealings that may leave the President of the United States vulnerable to malign influence.
The laptop has revealed certain associates involved in numerous Biden transactions and business dealings. Two of these individuals have been made public through letters. Committee Republicans will continue pursuing information from these individuals relevant to the investigation. Eric Schwerin Hunter Biden’s access to the highest levels of the Executive Branch began shortly after his father’s election as Vice President, when e-mails between Hunter and his business associate, Eric Schwerin, picked up and made increasing references to Joe Biden.
Along with visiting the White House himself, Hunter brought business associates and potential associates to the White House and the Vice President’s residence throughout Joe Biden’s time in the Obama-Biden Administration. Hunter’s business associates even met with then-Vice President Joe Biden without Hunter present. Schwerin visited the White House at least 27 times between 2009 and 2016. In 2015, Schwerin was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
documents and communications between or among Schwerin, Hunter Biden, and the President.80 He did not respond to this request. ii. Edward Prewitt Committee Republicans have focused on the financial transactions conducted by the Biden family as their operation became increasingly international and opportunities became more complex and lucrative. As part of the investigation, Committee Republicans have requested information from the Department of Treasury and the banks and financial institutions through which the Bidens conducted business. Committee Republicans are also interested in the people who knew about or facilitated the logistics of the transactions. On July 27, 2022, Republicans wrote to Edward Prewitt, who managed the financial accounts of many of Hunter Biden’s businesses. Having a long history with Hunter, Prewitt notified Hunter through e-mails about his bank accounts being flagged by Wells Fargo corporate compliance. Mr. Prewitt has not responded to the Committee’s requests for information.
Matter of National Security: The Bidens’ Connections to Russia and Ukraine Raise Questions Regarding Sanctions The Biden family’s connections to Russia and Ukraine implicate national security at a time when the two nations are at war and President Biden largely directs American foreign policy regarding both. In April 2014, Hunter Biden’s Rosemont Seneca co-founder and fellow Burisma board member, Devon Archer, met with Joe Biden in the West Wing.
Six days later, Archer was appointed to the board of Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, alongside Hunter. Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine shortly after this meeting with Archer.
In 2022, Archer was convicted of fraud for his role in a $60 million Ogala Sioux Native American tribal bond scheme with other Hunter Biden associates, Bevan Cooney, John Galanis, and Jason Galanis. Neither Hunter Biden nor Joe Biden were implicated in this fraud case. However, their names, as well as Eric Schwerin, appear on the juror questionaire as parties who may be called as witnesses during the course of the federal trial.
Less than a year later, Hunter Biden and Joe Biden dined with business associates from Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan at Café Milano in Washington, D.C.88 One of the parties, Karim Massimov, is a Kazakh oligarch, former prime minister and intelligence officer. This meeting was strategic for Burisma to establish relationships and expand into Kazakhstan. At this time, Joe Biden was in the headlines for leading Ukraine foreign policy for the Obama Administration.91 State Department officials are on the record with concerns about Hunter’s advisory role on Burisma’s board at the same time as the U.S. was brokering anti-corruption policy in Ukraine.
Documents show that Hunter Biden personally interacted with CEFC officials to facilitate the deal. In a November 8, 2017, e-mail, Hunter Biden wrote a CEFC official: “I hope that you have received the information I sent regarding the LNG [liquified natural gas] opportunities in the state of Louisiana…The proposal I have shared with you has the added benefit of being good for both the United States and China simultaneously.”
To be clear: President Biden was not a bystander to the business scheme orchestrated by his son with members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). President Biden was consulted on this business deal, was made an equity partner in it, met with the management of the planned venture, and shared office space with Chinese nationals tied to the CCP. In a September 21, 2017, e-mail Hunter Biden wrote that Joe Biden is his business partner, and provided Joe Biden’s personal cell phone if the recipient seeks confirmation. Committee Republicans possess e-mails that show that Hunter Biden, CEFC officials, and Joe Biden would share offices under the Hudson West/CEFC/Biden Foundation name.
On October 26, 2022, Committee Republicans wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray about the risks of this relationship. 110 The letter highlighted national security concerns with the infiltration of someone so closely linked to CCP espionage to the Biden family. Committee Republicans provided Director Wray with evidence of Bao’s close relationship to Hunter Biden and her attempts to ingratiate herself with his father. In the October 26, 2022, letter, Committee Republicans wrote: Bao provided Hunter insight into purchasing liquified natural gas reserves in the United States to sell to China, had access to the Biden family’s financial information, and liaised with CCP-affiliated agents on the Bidens’ behalf. After infiltrating the Biden family, Bao urged Hunter to encourage Joe Biden to run for president months before he announced and then supplied the Biden family campaign advice related to China.111 Committee Republicans requested documents related to JiaQi Bao, Chinese oil company CEFC, foreign intelligence service efforts to compromise the Biden family, and the FBI’s handling of the Hunter Biden investigation. The FBI did not respond to the letter. iii. Suspicious Activity Report Obtained by Committee Republicans Although the Department of Treasury has refused Committee Republicans’ May 25, 2022, June 1, 2022, and September 20, 2022, requests for SARs connected to Biden family members, 112 Committee Republicans did obtain one SAR related to China
The SAR details “93 wires between 02/03/2014 and 08/02/2019 totaling $2,461,962.60” to and from businesses and associates linked to the Biden Family and a Shanghai based investment fund controlled by the Bank of China. The SAR identifies Hunter Biden as a “politically exposed person.”
Conclusion
Committee Republicans’ investigation reveals that President Joe Biden lied to the American people about his personal involvement with his family’s global business dealings. Evidence indicates that President Joe Biden personally participated in and benefitted from these financial ventures, leaving him open to influence, blackmail, or extortion by malign or foreign entities such as the CCP.
Committee Republicans entrusted with the majority in the 118th Congress will work to continue our investigation and obtain the critical documents and information necessary from any entity within the government or without. More specifically, Committee Republicans have sought and will continue to seek additional information: 1) To inform legislative solutions to protect the integrity of elections and Americans’ right to unbridled access to information and viewpoints unencumbered by government or corporate censorship;
2) To inform legislation regarding government employees’ family members’ ability to lobby or engage government officials for financial gain; and
3) To inform legislation concerning elected officials’ mandatory disclosure of financial interests held in trust by family members or associates and interests held in businesses controlled or funded by America’s adversaries. Committee Republicans are committed to using all tools available to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Oversight Committee under the U.S. Constitution and the House Rules to obtain the documents and information necessary to inform legislation or other congressional actions needed to remedy any national security threat and to prevent corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse by President Biden or other government officials.
A President Compromised
This is very well done and informative. The level of the corruption has passed the acceptable level by any measure. We al know that a certain amount of corruption always exists, in this case, it has undermined and damaged our country beyond a short term fix. This time some jail time and removals from public office are in order. It is time to draw the line on what is acceptable or everything and anything will become acceptable.
Good writing, Bill.
The following joke is not about you (I actually respect you), but your description of yourself reminded me of it. It's one of those sayings that can be used to make fun of someone, should the need arrive:
"Are you an autodidact?"
"What?"
"Have you become so stupid on your own?"
While we are at it, let me share my favorite one, too:
"Give a big hug to your brain surgeons! Your lobotomy has been a success!"
I hope, these can bring a smile to your face, too. :)