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A year-long GOP-led Senate probe uncovered evidence that Hunter Biden’s business deals during his father’s vice presidency concerned U.S. officials who believed the activities represented ethics problems and conflicts of interest including potential criminal activity including bribery and sex trafficking.
A long-anticipated report by two panels — the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Finance Committee — contains bombshell revelations just weeks out from the presidential election, as it suggests that officials within the Obama administration “ignored clear warning signs about ethical conflicts and possible extortion risks involving Joe Biden’s family.”
One of the most damning of the revelations is that the Treasury Department tagged overseas payments made to Hunter Biden and business partner Devon Archer for potentially illegal actions.
In “Suspicious Activity Reports,” the Treasury Department flagged millions of dollars paid out from Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian energy firm where Hunter Biden sat as a board member. The transactions also involved Yelena Baturina, a Russian oligarch, and a Chinese businessman with links to the country’s Communist government, according to the report.
It’s not clear whether Senate investigators have determined if the FBI or other federal authorities investigated the activities.
“The Treasury records acquired by the Chairmen show potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals,” notes the 87-page report.
The report also states that Obama administration officials “knew” Hunter Biden’s board position was “problematic” and that it disrupted “the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.”
“This investigation has illustrated the extent to which officials within the Obama administration ignored the glaring warning signs when the vice president’s son joined the board of a company owned by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch,” the report says.
What’s more, the report — which cites U.S. government records — also notes: “Hunter Biden paid nonresident women who were nationals of Russia or other Eastern European countries and who appear to be linked to an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.”
Just The News said Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson told the outlet Wednesday the massive volume of suspicious activity regarding Hunter Biden leaves the vice president open to illicit foreign influence or even extortion.
“The report raises serious questions that former Vice President Biden needs to answer. There are simply too many potential conflicts of interest, counterintelligence and extortion threats to ignore,” Johnson told the outlet.
Both Johnson and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), head of the Finance Committee, said investigators “faced many obstacles” from Democrats and recalcitrant federal agencies that “failed to comply with document requests.”
The findings stand in stark contrast to Democrat claims last fall as they moved to impeach President Donald Trump for alleged improper actions involving Ukraine. Then, Democrats dismissed any concerns about Joe and Hunter Biden regarding Burisma and other foreign influences as Russian propaganda.
Trump was accused of seeking a “quid pro quo” from President Volodymyr Zelensky during a July 2019 phone call in which he suggested the Ukrainian leader look into allegations of corruption involving the Bidens.
However, according to the just-released report, State Department records from Obama administration appointees note that officials were deeply concerned Burisma was inherently corrupt and that the firm paid out a $7 million bribe in 2014 to Ukrainian prosecutors while the company was under investigation — at the time Hunter Biden was sitting on the board.
Also, George Kent, a State Department official who appeared as an impeachment witness for Democrats, noted in memos that Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board created an “awkward” conflict of interest that disrupted U.S. anti-corruption efforts that were being led at the time by then-Vice President Biden.
Recall, too, that Joe Biden, during a seminar in 2018 hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, bragged that he threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine if the country did not fire its top prosecutor, who was reportedly heading the investigation into Burisma corruption.
The situation regarding Hunter Biden’s position with Burisma and the firm’s alleged illicit activities so alarmed Kent that he attempted to raise his concerns directly with the then-vice president, but was brushed off. He also tried to alert the Justice Department to the alleged bribe. Kent would, however, cancel a partnership between the State Department and Burisma.
“Even though Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board cast a shadow over the work of those advancing anticorruption reforms in Ukraine, the Committees are only aware of two individuals who raised concerns to their superiors,” the Senate report said. “Despite the efforts of these individuals, their concerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears.”
The report’s conclusions are equally damning and are likely to provide President Trump with new ammunition heading into a series of debates with his Democratic opponent.
“The Obama administration knew that Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board was problematic and did interfere in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine,” the report said.
”Moreover, this investigation has illustrated the extent to which officials within the Obama administration ignored the glaring warning signs when the vice president’s son joined the board of a company owned by a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch.”
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Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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