President Joe Biden twice denied on Wednesday that he had anything to do with his son’s “shakedown text message,” revealing that Hunter Biden was willing to use his father’s influence to pressure a Chinese business associate against him to pay.
Hunter told Communist Party official Henry Zhao in a WhatsApp message on July 30, 2017, that he was “sitting with his father,” adding, “and we would like to know why the agreement that was made has not been fulfilled.”
Hunter was known to be staying at the boarding house of President Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware at the time.
On the South Lawn Wednesday, as he left for Chicago, the president was asked how involved he was in his son’s Chinese shakedown texting — and whether he was sitting next to Hunter, as the message said.
“No, I wasn’t and I-,” he said, pausing. When pressed again, he said loudly, “No!”
President Joe Biden twice denied Wednesday on the South Lawn that he had anything to do with a WhatsApp message his son Hunter sent to a Chinese business associate, using his father’s influence to pressure the official to have him pay.
The president’s son was staying at the boarding house of Biden’s Delaware home when he wrote a letter to Communist Party official Henry Zhao on July 30, 2017, revealing that his father was sitting next to him and asking “why the promise made was not fulfilled’.
The existence of the message prolongs the drama surrounding the president’s son as the 80-year-old Biden begins campaigning in earnest for a second term.
Last week, Hunter agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. attorney in Delaware, pleading guilty to two felony tax charges and likely entering probation on a gun charge.
But two IRS whistleblowers told House Republicans they believed the president’s son was receiving preferential treatment in criminal investigations.
Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee released the claims last week, with the sources saying Hunter had failed to pay taxes on $8.3 million in income and that Delaware U.S. attorney David Weiss, Hunter in California and Washington, DC had wanted to sue and had been denied.
The WhatsApp message was given to House Republicans by one of the IRS whistleblowers.
Hunter’s attorney Chris Clark responded by calling the whistleblower “biased.”
Clark also pointed out that Hunter was hooked when he insinuated that his father, then the former vice president, was involved in his business dealings.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer pointed out first son was hooked when he insinuated his father was involved in his China business deal
“Any verifiable words or actions by my client, in the midst of a terrible addiction, are his own alone and have no connection to anyone in his family,” Clark said.
Clark also countered Republican complaints that the Justice Department’s investigation into the president’s son did not go far enough.
“An extensive, five-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded this week, resulting in my client accepting responsibility for two counts of misdemeanor and failure to file tax payments, as well as a firearms charge. , which will be continued. subject to a diversion agreement for the trial,” Clark said. “As his attorney throughout this case, I can say that any suggestion that the investigation was not thorough, or twisted corners, or gave my client any slack is ridiculous and profoundly irresponsible.”
Weiss himself had assured House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan that he had complete autonomy over the investigation.
Weiss was one of the few Trump-appointed US attorneys who kept his job when Biden took office — and did so because he was in charge of the Hunter investigation.
On Tuesday, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released more WhatsApp messages from Hunter.
In August 2017 posts, the first son pushed for $10 million to be invested annually in the joint venture with CEFC China Energy, calling a $5 million proposal “new to me” and “obviously not acceptable.”
The House Oversight Committee’s Twitter account said Hunter sent a message to Gongwen Dong, a CEFC China Energy employee who went by the nickname “Kevin.”
“I’m tired of Kevin,” Hunter said. “I can make five million dollars at any law firm in America. If you think it’s about money, it’s not. The Biden’s (sic) are the best at doing exactly what the chairman of this partnership wants. Please don’t squabble over peanuts.’
The next day, one of Hunter’s shell companies, OWASCO PC, received a $10,000 payment from CEFC, the House Oversight Republicans said, sharing a receipt.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released new WhatsApp messages between Hunter Biden and a Chinese business partner as they began an energy deal in August 2017.
The “chairman,” Republicans said, is now missing from Chinese oil tycoon Ye Jianming, who disappeared in February 2018 after being taken into custody by Chinese authorities.
The Republicans on the Oversight Committee alleged that Ye had ties to an intelligence agency for the Chinese Communist Party.
Ye stated that CEFC China’s vision is “to obtain overseas resources and serve national strategy,” according to Oversight Republicans’ Twitter account. “He wanted to expand China’s reach and influence around the world.”
“As more facts come to light, it becomes even clearer that the Bidens are putting China and their interests first and America last,” the House Oversight Republicans charged.
Ye had previously been questioned by federal authorities in New York in November 2017 over a bribery scheme involving CEFC’s activities in Chad and Uganda.
Ye’s lieutenant, Patrick Ho, was eventually convicted of seven counts of bribery and money laundering related to the bribery scheme.
Ho had called James Biden, Hunter’s uncle and the president’s brother, after he was arrested, according to a 2018 New York Times profile of CEFC’s demise.
James Biden told The Times he thought the call was for Hunter.
“There is nothing else I have to say,” James Biden told the paper. “I don’t want to get dragged into this anymore.”
Since January, the House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer has been investigating what he calls the “influence peddling” of the Biden family.