House Republicans referred Hunter and James Biden to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, alleging they lied under oath during their testimony at the Capitol.
They say Hunter lied about using his last name to help business partners with visa problems, his association with a company that was receiving massive foreign payments and threatening a Chinese businessman via WhatsApp.
“We have caught President Biden’s son and brother blatantly lying to Congress in what appears to be a concerted effort to conceal Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s plans,” said Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., it’s a statement.
‘This is not the end of our efforts to hold the Bidens accountable; It’s just the beginning.’
House Republicans referred Hunter and James Biden to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, alleging they lied under oath during their testimony at the Capitol.
Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith said:
‘Lying to Congress to impede an ongoing investigation is a serious crime. If the Department of Justice does not act on our criminal referral and hold Hunter Biden accountable, they will once again tell the American people that there are two levels of justice in this country. One for the rich and politically connected, and one for everyone else.
Smith, Comer and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan claimed that Hunter and James had told lies as part of a “conscious and calculated effort to isolate Joe Biden from the duly authorized impeachment inquiry.”
They recommended that the president’s son and brother be charged with making false statements and perjury and said the Justice Department should “consider Hunter Biden’s alleged prior criminal activity when evaluating whether to charge him over the false statements.”
Hunter will appear in court this week on charges related to lying on a gun form.
They say Hunter lied about using his last name to help business partners with visa problems, his association with a company that was receiving massive foreign payments and threatening a Chinese businessman over WhatsApp.
They noted that Hunter had been federally indicted in two different jurisdictions at the time of his deposition and was therefore subject to two federal court orders stating that he could not commit any crimes while on federal supervised release.
The Justice Department is unlikely to accept referrals under the Biden administration. But a second Trump administration could reinvigorate the effort to prosecute Biden family members.
Here are the alleged lies they cite to suggest that Hunter and James should be criminally prosecuted:
Hunter Biden distanced himself from Rosemont Seneca Bohai affiliation
The reference claims Hunter “falsely distanced himself” from Rosemont Seneca Bohai, a corporate entity that received millions from foreign businessmen, many of whom repaid shortly after meeting with then-Vice President Joe Biden.
After Hunter Biden’s testimony, the committee received documents showing that Hunter was the company’s corporate secretary.
Former associate Devon Archer had testified that he and Hunter had an equal interest in Rosemont Seneca Bohai, and evidence offered by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler showed that Hunter was the beneficial owner of the entity’s associated bank account. .
That account was used to receive Hunter’s $50,000 monthly salary for being on Burisma’s board of directors and other foreign news, such as one from a Kazakh oligarch that was equivalent to the same amount ($142,000) as a Porsche purchased by Hunter a day after.
In the spring of 2014, Joe joined Hunter and a handful of his business partners for dinner at Café Milano in Washington, DC. Among those attending the dinner were Kazakhs Kenes Rakishev, Karim Massimov, Yelena Baturina and possibly Eric Schwerin.
On April 22, Rakishev transferred $142,300 to Rosemont Seneca Bohai’s account.
Neither Rosemont Seneca Bohai nor its associated bank accounts were “under my control or affiliated with me,” Hunter said in his interview.
Ziegler provided the committee with evidence that Hunter was the beneficial owner of a bank account called Rosemont Seneca Bohai and a signed document that reads: “I, Robert Hunter Biden, hereby certify that I am the Acting Secretary, duly elected and qualified as “Rosemont Seneca.” Bohai, LLC.’
This document was used to enter into a contract with Porsche Financial Services.
Hunter claims he sent wrong text message with ‘Zhao’ – it wasn’t his Chinese business affiliate
Republicans also said Hunter lied about his now-infamous WhatsApp message with Chinese energy company CEFC official Raymond Zhao.
At one point, Hunter sent a message to the Chinese associate: “I’m sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment has not been fulfilled.”
Shortly after, $5 million flowed from CEFC affiliates to companies related to Hunter and James Biden.
But Hunter claimed he sent that message to the wrong ‘Zhao’.
“The Zhao this is being sent to is not the Zhao connected to the CEFC,” Hunter said. He “didn’t understand or even remotely know what the hell he was talking about.”
Phone records from Hunter Biden’s WhatsApp account show that he only communicated with one Zhao, Raymond Zhao, and continued messaging with that same ‘Zhao’ about CEFC matters for months.
James denies Beverly Hills Hilton meeting with Devon Archer and Joe
James Biden denied that he, Joe and Hunter ever met with Bobulinski at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles in May 2017.
Investigators then read a message from Bobulinski to James Biden dated May 2, 2017: “Nice to meet you and spend some time together.” Please thank Joe for his time. It was great to talk. Tony B.’
James then said: ‘Joe Biden never met with Tony Bobulinski.
Following his lawyer’s suggestion, he added: “as far as I know.”
Bobulinski told impeachment investigators about a May 2017 meeting between Hunter, Joe, James and him at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
“The only reason Hunter wanted me to meet his father was because I was the CEO of Sinohawk,” he said, referring to the China-affiliated company Hunter would later be a part of.
Bobulinski said the meeting lasted “between 45 minutes and an hour.”
James Biden told investigators he did not remember such a meeting ever taking place.
Hunter Biden also contradicted that testimony.
We were in the lobby bar with Mr. Bobulinski having coffee. … My uncle and I. I think my uncle was also staying at that hotel. And then yes. I know, if you go further, he says, but I think the reality is that he didn’t do it, anyway, my dad went and shook Tony’s hand. They talked about…I think at the time, I don’t know if it was that Tony’s father was suffering from cancer and his sister was suffering from cancer, and he invited him to the speech at the Milken Conference.’