House Republicans claimed on Thursday that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter each received a $5 million payment from Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma to shrug off a corruption investigation.
Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Marjorie Taylor Greene were among those given access to a June 2020 FBI document giving detailed testimony to agents of an informant who had spoken with Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky.
That informant alleged that Zlochevsky said he handed out $5 million to each Biden to call off an ongoing investigation by then-Ukrainian Attorney General, Viktor Shokin.
Ukrainian prosecutors first began investigating Bursima – the company where Hunter held a board position for five years – in 2012 over allegations of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.
Greene has now claimed that the $5 million payments were “bribes” paid by Zlochevsky to get Shokin fired – thus nullifying the investigation.
House Republicans alleged on Thursday that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter each received a $5 million payment from Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma as a bribe to kill a corruption investigation
Zlochevsky is a multi-millionaire Ukrainian oil and gas oligarch who founded Burisma in 2002. According to those familiar with the document, he told an FBI informant that he paid both Joe and Hunter Biden $5 million each to ensure that Ukrainian Attorney General Viktor Shokin was fired.
Shokin was finally fired in April 2016, a month after Biden, then vice president, threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine if he was not replaced as prosecutor.
Biden has since claimed that he pushed for Shokin’s resignation over his failure to properly contain corruption in Ukraine.
“I have no doubt that Joe Biden was guilty of bribery,” Luna told Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram.
“There were two separate transactions, one that went to Joe Biden for $5 million, one that went to Hunter Biden for $5 million.”
Zlochevsky is a multi-millionaire Ukrainian oil and gas oligarch who founded Burisma in 2002. He also held various positions in the Ukrainian government from 2010 to February 2014.
Burisma brought Hunter onto the board in 2014 as it looked to expand overseas, even though he had no prior experience in the industry.
Hunter supposedly served as a helpful non-executive director advising on legal issues, corporate finance and strategy.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who reviewed the FBI document, has alleged that the $5 million payments were “bribes” paid by Zlochevsky to the Bidens to get Shokin fired
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter leave Holy Spirit Catholic Church in South Carolina after attending mass in August 2022
The June 2020 document containing the bombshell claims is internally referred to by the FBI as an FD-1023 form and is used by agents to record unauthenticated reports from confidential human sources.
An anonymous source familiar with the contents of the document told Fox News digital that the source claimed to have been informed of the alleged bribe by Zlochevsky, who at the time was supposedly consulting the source on how Burisma might acquire a US-based oil company.
Zlochevsky explained to the FBI source that his company paid the Bidens because Shokin was investigating Burisma, making it difficult for the company to enter the US market.
According to the person familiar with the FBI document, the informant said that Hunter and Joe Biden were paid “through so many different bank accounts” that investigators would not be able to unravel this for the next decade.
Fox News Digital reported that the source who notified the FBI of the payments had been used as a source since 2010 and received approximately $200,000 in return.
After a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday, Biden dismissed the allegations, saying, “Where’s the money?”
President Biden downplayed the accusation Thursday, saying, “Where’s the money?”
It came at the end of a joint White House press conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and after journalists fired questions at the pair.
As the crowds died down, Biden was asked about the Republican claims, adding after his initial comment, “I’m kidding. It’s a lot of malarkey.’
Biden’s flippant response infuriated Representative Nancy Mace, who sits on the oversight committee.
“We don’t think it’s funny to sell out your country,” she tweeted. Prove us wrong by releasing your and your family’s unredacted bank details. The FBI can’t protect you forever.’
White House officials have repeatedly expressed frustration over what they believe to be unfounded allegations, and the FBI has warned that the information has not been verified.
Biden was also asked what he was doing to protect the independence of the Justice Department after years of attacks by Donald Trump during his tenure and absence.
You would notice, I have never – not once – suggested [to] the Justice Department what they should or should not do with regard to whether or not to press charges,” he said. ‘I’m honest.’