In a Interview 2020 on Fox News with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, Bobulinski said James and Hunter Biden also participated in the meeting. “We didn’t go into too much detail about the company,” Bobulinski said, but he said it was “crystal clear” that Hunter Biden had discussed the deal with his father .
In September, House Republicans released a FBI Summary from an interview conducted with Bobulinski in the fall of 2020, showing that Bobulinski told investigators the same basic story: that he had discussed the China project with Joe Biden. The summary gives added weight to Boublinski’s public claims because lying to the FBI in order to influence an investigation can lead to criminal charges.
Bobulinski said he did not discuss the matter in depth with Joe Biden. Archer said Joe Biden was familiar with his son’s business dealings and had seen the president exchange pleasantries with his son’s business partners over the phone, but had not seen him engage in the details of his son’s affairs.
In an article published in September, the former chairman of a hedge fund run by James and Hunter Biden fifteen years ago told the Wall Street Journal that Joe Biden, then a senator, sometimes participated during business calls with loved ones. Former Paradigm Global Advisors executive Charles Provini said most of Joe Biden’s involvement was “just banter,” but that topics like Provini’s duties and fund litigation had were also discussed during these calls. Provini sued Paradigm and the case was dismissed.
Asked in July by a reporter whether the White House stood by claims that Biden had never discussed his business dealings with his son, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre responded with a more limited assertion: “President was never in business with his son,” she said. said.
In response to a question about the telephone conversations detailed by Archer, the president said in August“I never talked business with anyone,” a statement consistent with Archer’s testimony.
Asked whether the president maintained his general refusal to discuss his relatives’ business dealings with anyone, the White House cited testimony from House witnesses who said they observed no interaction of this type.
No money from China
Joe Biden also faced questions about Hunter Biden’s dealings outside of Ukraine.
During the October 2020 debate, Joe Biden was asked about the relevance of Hunter’s work in China and for Burma during his vice presidency.
“My son didn’t make any money from this business, what are you talking about, China. I haven’t had…the only guy who’s made money in China is this guy,” he said, referring to Trump. “No one else has made money from China.”
The moderator’s question referred to Hunter Biden’s work in China during Biden’s vice presidency. Hunter Biden started a business with Chinese asset managers Bohai Harvest RST, during his father’s vice-presidency. The extent to which Hunter Biden profited from his involvement in the company remains unclear. A representative for Hunter Biden said his work on a company-related advisory board during the Obama years was not paid.
But the broader claim that Hunter Biden didn’t make money in China is false. In court last July, Hunter Biden admitted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from a Chinese energy company, CEFC, and people associated with it, following his father’s vice presidency.
Entities controlled by James and Hunter Biden ended up receiving nearly $5 million in legal and consulting fees from the Chinese energy company and its executives when his father was no longer in office, according to a report. Washington Post analysis published last year. HAS plea agreement hearing Last July, Hunter Biden admitted receiving income from CEFC.
We are not taking advantage of Biden’s name
Biden also offered blanket assurance that his relatives had not profited from their association with a powerful official.
In a October 2020, interviewMilwaukee-area television reporter Adrienne Pedersen cited to then-candidate Biden a statement from Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson alleging that “Hunter Biden, along with other members of the Biden family , took advantage of Biden’s name.”
“Are Senator Johnson’s Claims Legitimate? » asked Pedersen.
“None at all,” Biden said, adding: “Ron should be ashamed of himself.”
Johnson’s original comment was made in the context of a 2020 report released by Senate Republicans who examined the foreign dealings of Biden’s inner circle. The report details alleged payments made by CEFC and individuals affiliated with it to accounts associated with Hunter Biden, James Biden, and James’ wife, Sara Biden.
