Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
c. Conspiracy theory claims
On July 13, 2020, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Mark Warner, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Representative Adam Schiff sent a letter, with a classified attachment, to the FBI to express a purported belief that Congress is the subject of a foreign disinformation campaign. 230
In that letter, which was publicly released on July 20, 2020, they requested a defensive briefing on foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. 231
The classified attachment included unclassified elements that, among other things, attempted — and failed — to tie the joint Committees’ investigation to foreign disinformation.
One of those elements was an unclassified paragraph that summarized an open source document created by Russia-aligned Ukrainian Andriy Derkach, which mentions the Chairmen along with other Republican senators and administration officials.
In that document, the Chairmen are labeled as individuals who are fighting against Ukrainian corruption and under their pictures is an envelope icon.
The Democrats speculated that the envelope icon possibly suggests that the Chairmen might have received information from this Ukrainian national.
Liberal media outlets picked up that reference, clearly from a leak, even though the Chairmen had not received any information from that Ukrainian national, including any alleged tapes.
Those media outlets reported that the Chairmen had in fact received information from Derkach, which is false. 232
Indeed, clicking on the envelope icon in the document produces a collection of public letters the Chairmen have sent during the investigation, not any additional documents that Derkach allegedly sent to them.
Although the Democrats’ letter and attachment from July 13 targeted the Chairmen’s investigation, they were not copied on the letter and were not granted access to the classified portion until two weeks after it was sent to FBI and one week after portions of it were publicly reported.
On July 16, mere days before the Democrats’ July 13 letter became public, Ranking Member Peters and Ranking Member Wyden wrote to the Chairmen to request a briefing from the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and other relevant members of the IC on matters related to the Committees’ investigation. 233
On July 28, 2020, the Chairmen responded to the Ranking Members and reminded them that in March 2020, the FBI and relevant members of the IC had briefed the Committees regarding the investigation and provided assurances at that time that there was no reason that the Committees should not continue their investigation. 234
Those assurances were provided with knowledge of public reporting that Andrii Telizhenko provided records to the Committees.
Notably, Telizhenko had extensive and consistent contact with Obama administration officials and a DNC consultant, and worked for the U.S.-based Democrat firm Blue Star Strategies on matters relevant to the Committees’ investigation.
As such, the only records he provided to the Committees related to his work for Blue Star Strategies and his interactions with Obama administration officials.
Additionally, during that briefing, the agencies made clear to the Committees’ staff that they did not have any additional information to provide and that the relevant written products, which members have had access to for months, speak for themselves.
Subsequently, on Aug. 6, 2020, Chairman Grassley and Chairman Johnson received another briefing from the FBI on behalf of the IC, in which the FBI stated that it is not attempting to “quash, curtail, or interfere” in the investigation in any way.
On July 20, 2020, Politico reported on the contents of the Democrats’ July 13, 2020 letter. 235
Unnamed sources for the article alleged that the classified attachment cited the investigation into Hunter Biden and others as “one of the sources of … concern.” 236
A subsequent Politico article, again citing unnamed sources, reported that in 2019, Derkach allegedly sent information to several members of Congress, including the Chairmen and Ranking Member Wyden and Ranking Member Peters. 237
The article then further suggested that these weak parallels reinforced the “suspicions” of some Democrats that the Committees’ investigation was ‘“laundering’ a foreign influence campaign to damage Biden.” 238
The Politico article also suggested that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent and several other individuals have been the subject of Committee information requests. 239
The Chairmen repeatedly rejected claims that they had any engagement with Derkach.
In August 2020, Derkach was publicly identified by the IC as a proponent of a foreign-sourced influence campaign to influence the 2020 election.
He was later sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury for the same activity. 240
Chairman Grassley and Chairman Johnson praised the Treasury for imposing those sanctions. 241
Since the offices of Chairman Johnson and Chairman Grassley did not receive, and were unaware of, the information that Derkach had allegedly sent, it is impossible that Derkach’s efforts could have shaped the Committees’ investigation in any way.
Furthermore, it should now be clear that Derkach’s core claims are in no way a part of the Committees’ investigative work.
For example, according to media reports, Derkach is responsible for spreading allegations that Burisma made direct payments to Joe Biden in the amount of $900,000, which were allegedly funneled to Biden through his son’s consulting firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, and marked for “consultative services.” 242
This claim about direct payments made to Joe Biden is not evaluated in the Committees’ report of investigation, nor has it ever been cited as a predicate for any of the Committees’ information requests.
However, during the Chairmen’s staff interview of George Kent, Ranking Member Peters’ staff inserted into the interview record the same Derkach-created document that Democrats relied on in their July 13 letter to falsely accuse the Chairmen of relying on disinformation. 243
Kent described Derkach’s document as disinformation, but Ranking Member Peters’ staff used it anyway. 244
Thus, the Ranking Members introduced disinformation into the record, not the Chairmen. 245
In summary, the Democrats’ July 13, 2020, letter relied on foreign disinformation to create a false and harmful innuendo about the Chairmen’s oversight work.
That innuendo was then wrapped in a classified attachment in an apparent effort to fabricate a veneer of credibility and shield their analysis from public scrutiny before being disseminated to news media, which reported their speculation as fact.
Ironically, the Democrats relied on and disseminated foreign-sourced disinformation to falsely accuse Republicans of relying on that same foreign-sourced disinformation.
Despite its inaccuracies, the Democrats’ false narrative has continued to be picked up, amplified and circulated by a broad network of Democrat-friendly media outlets and Democratic members of Congress.
MSNBC has reported extensively on the Derkach allegations. 246
Further, on Aug. 7, 2020, Senator Richard Blumenthal published an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he repeated many of these baseless allegations as if they were fact. 247
He wrote: It now appears that … disinformation and deception are gaining a toehold in Congress as well: On Wednesday, The Post reported that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is moving ahead with an investigation into presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s family using documents provided to the senator by the son of a former KGB officer.
Johnson’s actions are of such concern to the CIA, according to news reports, that the agency has refused to brief him.
Think of it: Congress may become a forum for debunked conspiracy theories peddled by Kremlin proxies.
There is no excuse for perpetuating Russian disinformation in the U.S. Senate, just as there is there is no excuse for barring the American public from learning more about the genuine foreign threats to the November election. 248
Senator Blumenthal’s reference to documents provided by a former KGB officer is a reference to the debunked conspiracy theory that Derkach sent documents to the Chairmen.
His reference to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefing relates to false allegations spread in an Aug. 5, 2020, Politico article that suggested that the CIA has refused to cooperate with an offer to brief the Committees because its officers have “deep skepticism of the probe[.]” 249
In reality, the CIA declined to provide a briefing because it considers any additional briefings to be unnecessary.
The FBI is the lead agency for the IC in matters related to foreign election interference, and the FBI already has repeatedly briefed the Committees on behalf of the IC.
As previously noted, at a March 2020 briefing, which included the Ranking Members’ staff, the FBI informed the Committees that there was no reason they should not continue with their investigation.
On Aug. 6, 2020, the FBI reiterated the same to the Chairmen.
The Chairmen responded to Senator Blumenthal, as well as Senator Chris Van Hollen’s false statements regarding the investigation. 250
In their response, the Chairmen reasserted that they have not received any information from Derkach and that their focus is on government records from the Obama administration and records from a Democrat lobby shop.
The Chairmen also noted to both senators that for years the senators peddled and pushed the now-debunked Russian collusion narrative and used the “Steele dossier” — a Democrat bought-and-paid-for document filled with Russian disinformation — to do so. 251
Senators Blumenthal and Van Hollen never responded to the Chairmen.
230 Letter from Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Vice Chairman Mark Warner, S. Select Comm. on Intelligence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Chairman Adam Schiff, H. Select Comm. on Intelligence, to Fed. Bureau of Investigation (July 13, 2020),
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploaded ... signed.pdf.
231 Letter from Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Vice Chairman Mark Warner, S. Select Comm. on Intelligence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Chairman Adam Schiff, H. Select Comm. on Intelligence, to Fed. Bureau of Investigation (July 13, 2020),
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploaded ... signed.pdf; see also Press Release, Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House, Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff, Warner Send Letter to FBI Director Requesting Defensive Counterintelligence Briefing for All Members (July 20,2020), https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/72020-2.
232 See Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Desiderio, and Kyle Cheney, Democrats: Packets sent to Trump allies are Part of Foreign Plot to Damage Biden, POLITICO (July 23, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... den-380217; As the Chairmen have repeatedly said, they and their staff have not received, relied upon, or solicited information from Derkach.
233 Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., and Ranking Member Gary Peters, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff., to Chairman Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., and Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff. (July 16, 2020),
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/ ... equest.pdf.
234 Letter from Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., and Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff., to Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., and Ranking Member Gary Peters, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff. (July 28, 2020), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/sites/d ... ing%29.pdf.
60
235 See Natasha Bertrand, Kyle Cheney, and Andrew Desiderio, Dem leaders demand FBI briefing on 'foreign interference campaign' targeting lawmakers, POLITICO (July 20, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... ign-373134.
236 See id.
237 See Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Desiderio, and Kyle Cheney, Democrats: Packets sent to Trump allies are Part of Foreign Plot to Damage Biden, POLITICO (July 23, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... den-380217. As the Chairmen have repeatedly said, they and their staff have not received, relied upon, or solicited information from Derkach.
238 See id.
239 See Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Desiderio, and Kyle Cheney, Democrats: Packets sent to Trump allies are Part of Foreign Plot to Damage Biden, POLITICO (July 23, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... den-380217.
240 See Press Release, Off. of the Dir. of Nat’l Intelligence, Statement by NCSC Director William Evanina: Election Threat Update for the American Public, (Aug. 7, 2020), https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/ ... can-public; see also Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Treasury Sanctions Russia-Linked Election Interference Actors (Sept. 10, 2020), https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1118.
241 Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., Grassley, Johnson Praise Trump Admin Actions Against Foreign Disinformation & Election Interference (Sept. 10, 2020), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/ne ... nformation.
242 Mark Moore, Giuliani claims Ukrainian company paid Joe Biden $900,000 in lobbying fees, NEW YORK POST (Oct. 10, 2019), https://nypost.com/2019/10/10/giuliani- ... ying-fees/.
243 George Kent Testimony at 150.
244 George Kent Testimony at 156.
245 George Kent Testimony at 150.
246 See Steve Benen, Dems fear foreign influence campaign is using Ron Johnson probe, MSNBC (July 21, 2020),
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-sho ... n-n1234509.
247 See Sen. Richard Blumenthal, The threat to U.S. elections is real, and frightening. The public has a right to know, THE WASHINGTON POST (Aug. 7, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... story.html.
248 Id.
249 See Andrew Desiderio and Natasha Bertrand, CIA Steers Clear of Senate Republican Probe into Bidens, POLITICO (Aug. 5, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/0 ... obe-391479.
250 Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., Grassley, Johnson to Colleagues: Stop Spreading Foreign-Sourced Falsehoods (Aug. 20, 2020), https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairman ... falsehoods.
251 See Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., IG Footnotes: Serious Problems with Dossier Sources Didn’t Stop FBI’s Page Surveillance (Apr. 15, 2020), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/ne ... rveillance.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
d. Ongoing leaks
While these false narratives have developed and spread, leaks to the media have continued.
The same team of writers responsible for the above-referenced July 23, 2020, Politico article have published several other pieces that contained leaked Committee information related to the Ukraine investigation.
On July 16, 2020, Politico published the names of individuals who the Committees requested to interview, including David Wade, Antony Blinken, Amos Hochstein, Victoria Nuland and Catherine Novelli. 252
The article detailed areas of interest for the investigation and stated that subpoenas could be issued as soon as July 22, 2020. 253
None of this information was made public by the Chairmen.
Although the sources for the leaked information contained in the article are unknown, the article states that a spokesman for Chairman Johnson declined to comment on ongoing discussions with witnesses and Chairman Grassley has not confirmed to the media any interviewees, whether potential or actual. 254
On July 22, Politico published an article stating that the Committees had secured an interview with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent. 255
The article contained non-public scheduling details and indicated that Kent could be interviewed as early as July 24, 2020. 256
252 Natasha Bertrand and Andrew Desiderio, Senate Republicans Eye Subpoenas of Biden Advisers in Burisma Probe, POLITICO (July 16, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/1 ... nas-366358.
253 Id.
254 Id.
255 Natasha Bertrand, Senate Republicans Secure Impeachment Witness who Flagged Concern about Hunter Biden, POLITICO (July 22, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... den-378495.
256 Id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
d. Ongoing leaks
While these false narratives have developed and spread, leaks to the media have continued.
The same team of writers responsible for the above-referenced July 23, 2020, Politico article have published several other pieces that contained leaked Committee information related to the Ukraine investigation.
On July 16, 2020, Politico published the names of individuals who the Committees requested to interview, including David Wade, Antony Blinken, Amos Hochstein, Victoria Nuland and Catherine Novelli. 252
The article detailed areas of interest for the investigation and stated that subpoenas could be issued as soon as July 22, 2020. 253
None of this information was made public by the Chairmen.
Although the sources for the leaked information contained in the article are unknown, the article states that a spokesman for Chairman Johnson declined to comment on ongoing discussions with witnesses and Chairman Grassley has not confirmed to the media any interviewees, whether potential or actual. 254
On July 22, Politico published an article stating that the Committees had secured an interview with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent. 255
The article contained non-public scheduling details and indicated that Kent could be interviewed as early as July 24, 2020. 256
252 Natasha Bertrand and Andrew Desiderio, Senate Republicans Eye Subpoenas of Biden Advisers in Burisma Probe, POLITICO (July 16, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/1 ... nas-366358.
253 Id.
254 Id.
255 Natasha Bertrand, Senate Republicans Secure Impeachment Witness who Flagged Concern about Hunter Biden, POLITICO (July 22, 2020), https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/2 ... den-378495.
256 Id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
e. Preferential treatment
Throughout this investigation, the Ranking Members have tried to create the narrative that the Chairmen have received preferential treatment from the executive branch.
The Ranking Members have asserted that the executive branch has been too quick and too thorough in its responses to Committee information requests. 257
Ranking Member Wyden has made this allegation repeatedly and has said they are legitimate efforts to raise awareness of a “double standard of Trump administration cooperation with Congress.” 258
The suggested implication is that the Trump administration is working to quickly release information to the Committees because the investigation includes Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, President Trump’s political opponent in the 2020 presidential election.
Allegations suggesting the existence of a double standard ring hollow.
By no stretch has the Trump administration responded to all of the Committees’ requests in a timely manner.
The Chairmen have dozens of outstanding requests related to the investigation, and on literally hundreds of occasions, the Chairmen’s staff have had to remind the executive branch, particularly the State Department, to comply with their requests. 259
Indeed, in some cases, the Committees have received relevant records from the administration after interviewing witnesses who could have been asked about the information.
That is the absence of cooperation.
Finally, recently released emails show that in the past, Democrats have exhibited the very type of behavior they are now accusing Republicans of engaging in.
These documents show officials in the Obama administration scrambling to produce highly sensitive documents in response to requests made by Democrat offices on Capitol Hill during the final days of the Obama administration and before President Trump assumed office.
In one email on Jan. 13, 2017, a State Department staffer pointedly remarked, “The clock is ticking.” 260
That same day, another urged, “Both Senators [Cardin and Warner] want the package by Thursday Jan. 19.” 261
As the deadline for President Trump’s inauguration approached, on Jan. 18, one of the same individuals wrote, “Is it possible for me to act as the courier and drop [the information] off to the Hill tomorrow?"
"There is a time sensitivity to these docs.” 262
257 See Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of St. (May 6, 2020), https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... -2020.html; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of St. (July 7, 2020), https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/medi ... equest.pdf; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to Fed. Bureau of Investigation (Aug. 17, 2020), https://www.finance.senate.gov/download ... fbi-letter; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of Just. (Aug. 24, 2020),
https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/medi ... low-up.pdf.
258 See Emma Loop, Here’s What’s Happening In Republicans’ Biden Ukraine Investigation, BUZZFEED NEWS (Feb. 6, 2020), https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/em ... estigation.
259 See Letters from Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., and Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff., to U.S. Dep’t of St., U.S. Dep’t of Just., Fed. Bureau of Investigation, Off. of the Dir. of Nat. Intelligence, and Cent. Intelligence Agency (July 28, 2020) (on file with Comms.) (Each letter indicates that there is a number of outstanding requests for records and information from each respective department.).
260 Email from Naz Durakoglu, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Kerem Bilge, Eric Green, and Maria Germano, U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 13, 2017, 10:56 a.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
261 Email from Naz Durakoglu, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Elizabeth Lawrence, Hera Abbasi, Kerem Bilge, Katherine Harris, Eric Green, Christopher Robinson, et al., U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 18, 2017, 3:10 p.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
262 See Email from Julia Frifield, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Hera Abbasi, Anthony Wier, Rori Kramer, Lauren Gillis, Zachary Schram, et al., U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 5, 2017 9:52 a.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
e. Preferential treatment
Throughout this investigation, the Ranking Members have tried to create the narrative that the Chairmen have received preferential treatment from the executive branch.
The Ranking Members have asserted that the executive branch has been too quick and too thorough in its responses to Committee information requests. 257
Ranking Member Wyden has made this allegation repeatedly and has said they are legitimate efforts to raise awareness of a “double standard of Trump administration cooperation with Congress.” 258
The suggested implication is that the Trump administration is working to quickly release information to the Committees because the investigation includes Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, President Trump’s political opponent in the 2020 presidential election.
Allegations suggesting the existence of a double standard ring hollow.
By no stretch has the Trump administration responded to all of the Committees’ requests in a timely manner.
The Chairmen have dozens of outstanding requests related to the investigation, and on literally hundreds of occasions, the Chairmen’s staff have had to remind the executive branch, particularly the State Department, to comply with their requests. 259
Indeed, in some cases, the Committees have received relevant records from the administration after interviewing witnesses who could have been asked about the information.
That is the absence of cooperation.
Finally, recently released emails show that in the past, Democrats have exhibited the very type of behavior they are now accusing Republicans of engaging in.
These documents show officials in the Obama administration scrambling to produce highly sensitive documents in response to requests made by Democrat offices on Capitol Hill during the final days of the Obama administration and before President Trump assumed office.
In one email on Jan. 13, 2017, a State Department staffer pointedly remarked, “The clock is ticking.” 260
That same day, another urged, “Both Senators [Cardin and Warner] want the package by Thursday Jan. 19.” 261
As the deadline for President Trump’s inauguration approached, on Jan. 18, one of the same individuals wrote, “Is it possible for me to act as the courier and drop [the information] off to the Hill tomorrow?"
"There is a time sensitivity to these docs.” 262
257 See Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of St. (May 6, 2020), https://www.documentcloud.org/documents ... -2020.html; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of St. (July 7, 2020), https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/medi ... equest.pdf; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to Fed. Bureau of Investigation (Aug. 17, 2020), https://www.finance.senate.gov/download ... fbi-letter; Letter from Ranking Member Ron Wyden, S. Comm. on Fin., to U.S. Dep’t of Just. (Aug. 24, 2020),
https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/medi ... low-up.pdf.
258 See Emma Loop, Here’s What’s Happening In Republicans’ Biden Ukraine Investigation, BUZZFEED NEWS (Feb. 6, 2020), https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/em ... estigation.
259 See Letters from Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., and Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff., to U.S. Dep’t of St., U.S. Dep’t of Just., Fed. Bureau of Investigation, Off. of the Dir. of Nat. Intelligence, and Cent. Intelligence Agency (July 28, 2020) (on file with Comms.) (Each letter indicates that there is a number of outstanding requests for records and information from each respective department.).
260 Email from Naz Durakoglu, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Kerem Bilge, Eric Green, and Maria Germano, U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 13, 2017, 10:56 a.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
261 Email from Naz Durakoglu, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Elizabeth Lawrence, Hera Abbasi, Kerem Bilge, Katherine Harris, Eric Green, Christopher Robinson, et al., U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 18, 2017, 3:10 p.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
262 See Email from Julia Frifield, U.S. Dep’t of St., to Hera Abbasi, Anthony Wier, Rori Kramer, Lauren Gillis, Zachary Schram, et al., U.S. Dep’t of St. (Jan. 5, 2017 9:52 a.m. EST) (on file with Comms.).
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
f. Conclusion
Many of the allegations Democrats have made against Republicans — that they are relying on foreign disinformation, that they are carrying out a politicized investigation in an effort to bring down their political opponents, and that they are working covertly with the executive branch to quickly release sensitive information for political reasons — reflect the very patterns of behavior that Democrats themselves have engaged in, and continue to engage in, on a regular basis.
Let us not forget how the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for the Steele dossier, which was created by a foreign national, a former MI6 employee, and is based on Russian government sources. 263
Some of those Russian government sources were part of the Russian presidential administration and supported Hillary Clinton. 264
Moreover, in January 2017 and February 2017, the FBI received reporting, some from the IC, that assessed portions of the Steele dossier were the product of a Russian disinformation campaign. 265
That’s no surprise, since the Russian Intelligence Services were also aware of the dossier in early 2016 before the FBI opened Crossfire Hurricane.
Thus, the Steele dossier was the perfect vehicle for disinformation to affect multiple elections and to sow discord and chaos.
Yet Democrats had no qualms about disseminating information from the dossier far and wide, reading parts of the dossier into the congressional record, and using its allegations as the basis for years of investigations and false claims against the Trump administration.
Moreover, since the Chairmen made public in April 2020 the fact that the Steele dossier contained Russian disinformation, it does not appear that any Democrats have commented upon this revelation or expressed concern about their previous reliance on Russian disinformation.
Here, the Democrats are again relying on unverified foreign disinformation to falsely accuse their political rivals of doing the same.
Congressional oversight can and should be nonpartisan.
It should be focused on exposing wrongdoing regardless of who is involved and on ensuring transparency and accountability in government on behalf of the American people.
Efforts to discredit legitimate oversight, especially using foreign disinformation to sow discord, only serves to benefit our foreign adversaries at the expense of our own democratic institutions.
263 See Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., IG Footnotes: Serious Problems with Dossier Sources Didn’t Stop FBI’s Page Surveillance (Apr. 15, 2020), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/ne ... rveillance.
264 See id.
265 See id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
X. THE MINORITY FALSELY ACCUSED THE CHAIRMEN OF ENGAGING IN A RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND USED OTHER TACTICS TO INTERFERE IN THE INVESTIGATION.
f. Conclusion
Many of the allegations Democrats have made against Republicans — that they are relying on foreign disinformation, that they are carrying out a politicized investigation in an effort to bring down their political opponents, and that they are working covertly with the executive branch to quickly release sensitive information for political reasons — reflect the very patterns of behavior that Democrats themselves have engaged in, and continue to engage in, on a regular basis.
Let us not forget how the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for the Steele dossier, which was created by a foreign national, a former MI6 employee, and is based on Russian government sources. 263
Some of those Russian government sources were part of the Russian presidential administration and supported Hillary Clinton. 264
Moreover, in January 2017 and February 2017, the FBI received reporting, some from the IC, that assessed portions of the Steele dossier were the product of a Russian disinformation campaign. 265
That’s no surprise, since the Russian Intelligence Services were also aware of the dossier in early 2016 before the FBI opened Crossfire Hurricane.
Thus, the Steele dossier was the perfect vehicle for disinformation to affect multiple elections and to sow discord and chaos.
Yet Democrats had no qualms about disseminating information from the dossier far and wide, reading parts of the dossier into the congressional record, and using its allegations as the basis for years of investigations and false claims against the Trump administration.
Moreover, since the Chairmen made public in April 2020 the fact that the Steele dossier contained Russian disinformation, it does not appear that any Democrats have commented upon this revelation or expressed concern about their previous reliance on Russian disinformation.
Here, the Democrats are again relying on unverified foreign disinformation to falsely accuse their political rivals of doing the same.
Congressional oversight can and should be nonpartisan.
It should be focused on exposing wrongdoing regardless of who is involved and on ensuring transparency and accountability in government on behalf of the American people.
Efforts to discredit legitimate oversight, especially using foreign disinformation to sow discord, only serves to benefit our foreign adversaries at the expense of our own democratic institutions.
263 See Press Release, Chairman Charles Grassley, S. Comm. on Fin., IG Footnotes: Serious Problems with Dossier Sources Didn’t Stop FBI’s Page Surveillance (Apr. 15, 2020), https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/ne ... rveillance.
264 See id.
265 See id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
Hunter Biden was paid as much as $50,000 per month to serve on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company with a corrupt owner, while his father was the public face of the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy. 266
But Burisma was not the only example of Hunter Biden seeking to monetize his family name.
During the course of our investigation, Chairman Grassley and Chairman Johnson uncovered additional examples of Hunter Biden, other family members, and their business associates pursuing financial arrangements with foreign nationals in various parts of the world.
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.
In particular, these documents show that Hunter Biden received millions of dollars from foreign sources as a result of business relationships that he built during the period when his father was vice president of the United States and after.
In addition to providing new and descriptive details about the nature, origin and extent of payments from Burisma Holdings to Hunter Biden, the documents acquired by the Committees also shed light on a much broader array of questionable financial transactions involving Hunter Biden, other members of the Biden family, and their associations with foreign nationals.
These foreign nationals have questionable backgrounds that have been identified as being consistent with a range of criminal activities, including but not limited to organized prostitution and/or human trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement. 267
The following transactions are designed to illustrate the financial associations between and among subjects in the inquiry.
Much has been reported about Hunter Biden and Devon Archer and their corporate entities and foreign and domestic financial associations.
The transactions discussed below do not illustrate the full extent of the material the Committees possess.
The transactions discussed below are designed to illustrate the depth and extent of some questionable financial transactions.
Moreover, the financial transactions illustrate serious counterintelligence and extortion concerns relating to Hunter Biden and his family.
The Committees will continue to analyze the records in their possession.
266 Paul Sonne, Michael Kranish, and Matt Viser, The gas tycoon and the vice president’s son: The story of Hunter Biden’s foray into Ukraine, THE WASHINGTON POST (Sept. 28, 2019), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/na ... -foray-in- ukraine/2019/09/28/1aadff70-dfd9-11e9-8fd3-d943b4ed57e0_story.html; Polina Ivanova, Maria Tsvetkova, et al., What Hunter Biden did on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, REUTERS (Oct. 18, 2019), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hunt ... SKBN1WX1P7.
267 There is extensive public reporting concerning Hunter Biden’s alleged involvement with prostitution services. Records on file with the Committees do not directly confirm or refute these individual reports. However, they do confirm that Hunter Biden sent thousands of dollars to individuals who have either: 1) been involved in transactions consistent with possible human trafficking; 2) an association with the adult entertainment industry; or 3) potential association with prostitution. Some recipients of those funds are Ukrainian and Russian citizens. The records note that it is a documented fact that Hunter Biden has sent funds to non-resident alien women in the United States who are citizens of Russia and Ukraine and who have subsequently wired funds they have received from Hunter Biden to individuals located in Russia and Ukraine. The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what “appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.”
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
Hunter Biden was paid as much as $50,000 per month to serve on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company with a corrupt owner, while his father was the public face of the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy. 266
But Burisma was not the only example of Hunter Biden seeking to monetize his family name.
During the course of our investigation, Chairman Grassley and Chairman Johnson uncovered additional examples of Hunter Biden, other family members, and their business associates pursuing financial arrangements with foreign nationals in various parts of the world.
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.
In particular, these documents show that Hunter Biden received millions of dollars from foreign sources as a result of business relationships that he built during the period when his father was vice president of the United States and after.
In addition to providing new and descriptive details about the nature, origin and extent of payments from Burisma Holdings to Hunter Biden, the documents acquired by the Committees also shed light on a much broader array of questionable financial transactions involving Hunter Biden, other members of the Biden family, and their associations with foreign nationals.
These foreign nationals have questionable backgrounds that have been identified as being consistent with a range of criminal activities, including but not limited to organized prostitution and/or human trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement. 267
The following transactions are designed to illustrate the financial associations between and among subjects in the inquiry.
Much has been reported about Hunter Biden and Devon Archer and their corporate entities and foreign and domestic financial associations.
The transactions discussed below do not illustrate the full extent of the material the Committees possess.
The transactions discussed below are designed to illustrate the depth and extent of some questionable financial transactions.
Moreover, the financial transactions illustrate serious counterintelligence and extortion concerns relating to Hunter Biden and his family.
The Committees will continue to analyze the records in their possession.
266 Paul Sonne, Michael Kranish, and Matt Viser, The gas tycoon and the vice president’s son: The story of Hunter Biden’s foray into Ukraine, THE WASHINGTON POST (Sept. 28, 2019), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/na ... -foray-in- ukraine/2019/09/28/1aadff70-dfd9-11e9-8fd3-d943b4ed57e0_story.html; Polina Ivanova, Maria Tsvetkova, et al., What Hunter Biden did on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, REUTERS (Oct. 18, 2019), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hunt ... SKBN1WX1P7.
267 There is extensive public reporting concerning Hunter Biden’s alleged involvement with prostitution services. Records on file with the Committees do not directly confirm or refute these individual reports. However, they do confirm that Hunter Biden sent thousands of dollars to individuals who have either: 1) been involved in transactions consistent with possible human trafficking; 2) an association with the adult entertainment industry; or 3) potential association with prostitution. Some recipients of those funds are Ukrainian and Russian citizens. The records note that it is a documented fact that Hunter Biden has sent funds to non-resident alien women in the United States who are citizens of Russia and Ukraine and who have subsequently wired funds they have received from Hunter Biden to individuals located in Russia and Ukraine. The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what “appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.”
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
a. Burisma Holdings Limited
On April 15, 2014, Burisma Holdings (Burisma), a Ukrainian private oil and gas company owned by corrupt Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky, sent two wires totaling $112,758.15 to Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC. 268
Rosemont Seneca Bohai is an apparent shell entity owned by Hunter Biden’s long-time business associate, Devon Archer, which was first registered in Delaware on Feb. 13, 2014. 269
According to Real Clear Politics, on the following day, April 16, 2014, Archer visited Vice President Biden at the White House. 270
One week later, on April 22, 2014, Vice President Biden appeared with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsemy Yasenyuk and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea. 271
That same day, Burisma announced that Archer had joined its board of directors. 272
In the wake of Vice President Biden’s visit, the press described him as “the public face of the administration’s handling of Ukraine.” 273
The earliest payment from Burisma related to Hunter Biden appears to have been made to Boies, Schiller, and Flexner LLP (Boies Schiller), the Washington law firm where he was employed as a counsel in 2014. 274
On May 7, 2014, mere weeks after Vice President Biden took lead of the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy, Burisma sent Boies Schiller a payment of $250,000. 275
Approximately one week later, on May 12, 2014, Hunter Biden joined Archer on Burisma’s board of directors. 276
Burisma made a second payment to Boies Schiller on Sept. 16, 2014, in the amount of $33,039.77. 277
Both the May 7 and Sept. 16 payments state in the transaction notes that they were “for Legal and Consulting Services.” 278
Payments from Burisma to Boies Schiller have been the subject of past news reporting. 279
According to Hunter Biden’s attorney, George Mesires, at Biden’s urging, Boies Schiller performed the following services for Burisma: [E]ngaged Nardello & Co., a leading global investigative firm, to assess, among other things, Burisma’s corporate structure and government practices.
Burisma agreed to pay the legal expenses of Boies Schiller to support Hunter in developing corporate reform initiatives. 280
However, according to statements made at the time by both Hunter Biden and Burisma, these were Hunter Biden’s responsibilities as a member of Burisma’s board of directors.
In a press release issued on May 12, 2014, Biden stated: I believe that my assistance in consulting the Company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine. 281
Alan Apter, the chairman of Burisma’s board of directors, also said “the company’s strategy is aimed at the strongest concentration of professional staff and the introduction of best corporate practices, and we’re delighted that Mr. Biden is joining us to help us achieve these goals.” 282
It is unclear whether any of the funds sent from Burisma to Boies Schiller were used to pay for services that Hunter Biden was supposed to provide to Burisma as a member of the board.
Additionally, if Burisma was paying Boies Schiller for consulting services provided by third-party firm Nardello & Co, as Mesires has indicated, it remains unclear why Hunter Biden did not provide or arrange those services himself, on his own time, in exchange for the compensation he was receiving from Burisma as a member of the board.
Between May 15, 2014 and Feb. 12, 2016, Burisma sent another 48 wires to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, totaling $3,489,490.78. 283
Of the 48 transactions, 39 are described as “Consulting Services” and 39 of the 48 are in the amount of $83,333.33, with the last of the payments occurring on Feb. 12, 2016. 284
Between June 5, 2014, and Oct. 5, 2015, Rosemont Seneca Bohai sent 38 wires totaling $701,979 to three of Hunter Biden’s bank accounts. 285
These transfers may represent the final step in the flow of funds from Burisma to Rosemont Seneca Bohai to Biden during this period.
The nature of the payment arrangement between Biden and Burisma appears to have changed over time.
In May 2016, Hunter Biden’s business partner, Archer, and five others were arrested and criminally charged in a scheme to defraud investors and a tribal entity of millions of dollars. 286
Starting Jan. 25, 2016, Burisma began sending regular payments for Biden to his Washington law firm, Owasco PC (Owasco). 287
Owasco was incorporated on Jan. 19, 2006, lists an agent address in Washington, and lists its executing officer and governor as Robert Hunter Biden. 288
Payments from Burisma to Owasco continued throughout most of 2016 and ceased eight days after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8, 2016 presidential election. 289
Between Jan. 25, 2016, and Nov. 16, 2016, Burisma sent nine wires totaling $752,054.99 to Owasco with each of the nine transactions listing “Owasco, PC/Robert Biden” as the recipient. 290
Of the nine, two payments were for $83,333.33, five were for $83,333, one was for $84,992.33, and one was for $83,731. 291
The records acquired by the Committees show the last documented payment was made on Nov. 16, 2016. 292
Biden continued to serve on Burisma’s board of directors until April 2019. 293
In addition to being the owner of Burisma, Zlochevsky made at least two large cash transfers to Burisma during the time that Archer and Biden served on its board of directors. 294
On April 30, 2014, around the dates when Archer and Hunter Biden first joined Burisma’s board of directors, Zlochevsky wired $12.3 million from another one of his companies, Brociti Investments Limited (Brociti), to Burisma. 295
Brociti is based in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is registered in Limassol, Cyprus. 296
Zlochevsky sent another wire from Brociti to Burisma on April 20, 2015, in the amount of $212,000. 297
It’s unclear exactly how much, if any, of the funds wired by Zlochevsky on April 30, 2014, and April 20, 2015, were used to cover the payments made from Burisma to Rosemont Seneca, Owasco, and Boies Schiller.
However, these transactions, including those to Biden and his companies, were identified for potential financial criminal activity.
268 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.).
269 See id.
270 Betsy McCaughey, Joe Biden Must Explain His Ukraine Dealings, REAL CLEAR POLITICS (Jan. 29, 2020),
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/artic ... 42255.html.
271 Press Release, The White House Off. of the Vice President, Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at a Meeting with Ukrainian Legislators (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... egislators; see also Press Release, The White House Off. Of the Vice President, Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Apr. 22, 2014),
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... ister-arse.
272 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, US Financier and Board Member Devon Archer on Maximizing Growth for Burisma Holdings (Apr. 22, 2014), https://burisma-group.com/eng/news/us-f ... -holdings/.
273 Susan Crabtree, Joe Biden emerges as Obama’s trusty sidekick, WASHINGTON EXAMINER (Apr. 25, 2014),
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/joe- ... y-sidekick.
274 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.); see also George Mesires, A Statement on behalf of Hunter Biden, dated October 13, 2019, MEDIUM (Oct. 13, 2019), https://medium.com/@george.mesires/a-st ... 0bc11087ab.
275 Id.
276 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden joins the team of Burisma Holdings (May 12, 2014), https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00 ... -SD984.pdf.
277 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
278 Id.
279 See Kenneth P. Vogel and Iuliia Mendel, Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies, THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 1, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/p ... raine.html.
280 George Mesires, A Statement on behalf of Hunter Biden, dated October 13, 2019, MEDIUM (Oct. 13, 2019),
https://medium.com/@george.mesires/a-st ... 0bc11087ab.
281 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden joins the team of Burisma Holdings (May 12, 2014), https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00 ... -SD984.pdf.
282 Id.
283 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 3 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 4 (on file with Comms.).
284 Id.
285 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.).
286 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Just., Seven Defendants Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Defrauding A Native American Tribe And Investors Of Over $60 Million (May 11, 2016), https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/se ... -tribe-and.
287 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
288 See Owasco P.C., OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us ... ID_2684079. Owasco P.C. was incorporated in January 2006; Eric Schwerin was a governor and executing officer, and Hunter Biden was an agent. In December 2019, both Schwerin and Hunter Biden rescinded those affiliations with Owasco. See Events for Owasco P.C., OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us ... 079/events.
289 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.).
290 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
291 Id.
292 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.).
293 Kenneth P. Vogel and Iuliia Mendel, Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies, THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 1, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/p ... raine.html.
294 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
295 Id.
296 Lobbying registration, ML Strategies, https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?ev ... ngTypeID=1.
297 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.)
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
a. Burisma Holdings Limited
On April 15, 2014, Burisma Holdings (Burisma), a Ukrainian private oil and gas company owned by corrupt Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky, sent two wires totaling $112,758.15 to Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC. 268
Rosemont Seneca Bohai is an apparent shell entity owned by Hunter Biden’s long-time business associate, Devon Archer, which was first registered in Delaware on Feb. 13, 2014. 269
According to Real Clear Politics, on the following day, April 16, 2014, Archer visited Vice President Biden at the White House. 270
One week later, on April 22, 2014, Vice President Biden appeared with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsemy Yasenyuk and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea. 271
That same day, Burisma announced that Archer had joined its board of directors. 272
In the wake of Vice President Biden’s visit, the press described him as “the public face of the administration’s handling of Ukraine.” 273
The earliest payment from Burisma related to Hunter Biden appears to have been made to Boies, Schiller, and Flexner LLP (Boies Schiller), the Washington law firm where he was employed as a counsel in 2014. 274
On May 7, 2014, mere weeks after Vice President Biden took lead of the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy, Burisma sent Boies Schiller a payment of $250,000. 275
Approximately one week later, on May 12, 2014, Hunter Biden joined Archer on Burisma’s board of directors. 276
Burisma made a second payment to Boies Schiller on Sept. 16, 2014, in the amount of $33,039.77. 277
Both the May 7 and Sept. 16 payments state in the transaction notes that they were “for Legal and Consulting Services.” 278
Payments from Burisma to Boies Schiller have been the subject of past news reporting. 279
According to Hunter Biden’s attorney, George Mesires, at Biden’s urging, Boies Schiller performed the following services for Burisma: [E]ngaged Nardello & Co., a leading global investigative firm, to assess, among other things, Burisma’s corporate structure and government practices.
Burisma agreed to pay the legal expenses of Boies Schiller to support Hunter in developing corporate reform initiatives. 280
However, according to statements made at the time by both Hunter Biden and Burisma, these were Hunter Biden’s responsibilities as a member of Burisma’s board of directors.
In a press release issued on May 12, 2014, Biden stated: I believe that my assistance in consulting the Company on matters of transparency, corporate governance and responsibility, international expansion and other priorities will contribute to the economy and benefit the people of Ukraine. 281
Alan Apter, the chairman of Burisma’s board of directors, also said “the company’s strategy is aimed at the strongest concentration of professional staff and the introduction of best corporate practices, and we’re delighted that Mr. Biden is joining us to help us achieve these goals.” 282
It is unclear whether any of the funds sent from Burisma to Boies Schiller were used to pay for services that Hunter Biden was supposed to provide to Burisma as a member of the board.
Additionally, if Burisma was paying Boies Schiller for consulting services provided by third-party firm Nardello & Co, as Mesires has indicated, it remains unclear why Hunter Biden did not provide or arrange those services himself, on his own time, in exchange for the compensation he was receiving from Burisma as a member of the board.
Between May 15, 2014 and Feb. 12, 2016, Burisma sent another 48 wires to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, totaling $3,489,490.78. 283
Of the 48 transactions, 39 are described as “Consulting Services” and 39 of the 48 are in the amount of $83,333.33, with the last of the payments occurring on Feb. 12, 2016. 284
Between June 5, 2014, and Oct. 5, 2015, Rosemont Seneca Bohai sent 38 wires totaling $701,979 to three of Hunter Biden’s bank accounts. 285
These transfers may represent the final step in the flow of funds from Burisma to Rosemont Seneca Bohai to Biden during this period.
The nature of the payment arrangement between Biden and Burisma appears to have changed over time.
In May 2016, Hunter Biden’s business partner, Archer, and five others were arrested and criminally charged in a scheme to defraud investors and a tribal entity of millions of dollars. 286
Starting Jan. 25, 2016, Burisma began sending regular payments for Biden to his Washington law firm, Owasco PC (Owasco). 287
Owasco was incorporated on Jan. 19, 2006, lists an agent address in Washington, and lists its executing officer and governor as Robert Hunter Biden. 288
Payments from Burisma to Owasco continued throughout most of 2016 and ceased eight days after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8, 2016 presidential election. 289
Between Jan. 25, 2016, and Nov. 16, 2016, Burisma sent nine wires totaling $752,054.99 to Owasco with each of the nine transactions listing “Owasco, PC/Robert Biden” as the recipient. 290
Of the nine, two payments were for $83,333.33, five were for $83,333, one was for $84,992.33, and one was for $83,731. 291
The records acquired by the Committees show the last documented payment was made on Nov. 16, 2016. 292
Biden continued to serve on Burisma’s board of directors until April 2019. 293
In addition to being the owner of Burisma, Zlochevsky made at least two large cash transfers to Burisma during the time that Archer and Biden served on its board of directors. 294
On April 30, 2014, around the dates when Archer and Hunter Biden first joined Burisma’s board of directors, Zlochevsky wired $12.3 million from another one of his companies, Brociti Investments Limited (Brociti), to Burisma. 295
Brociti is based in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is registered in Limassol, Cyprus. 296
Zlochevsky sent another wire from Brociti to Burisma on April 20, 2015, in the amount of $212,000. 297
It’s unclear exactly how much, if any, of the funds wired by Zlochevsky on April 30, 2014, and April 20, 2015, were used to cover the payments made from Burisma to Rosemont Seneca, Owasco, and Boies Schiller.
However, these transactions, including those to Biden and his companies, were identified for potential financial criminal activity.
268 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.).
269 See id.
270 Betsy McCaughey, Joe Biden Must Explain His Ukraine Dealings, REAL CLEAR POLITICS (Jan. 29, 2020),
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/artic ... 42255.html.
271 Press Release, The White House Off. of the Vice President, Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at a Meeting with Ukrainian Legislators (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... egislators; see also Press Release, The White House Off. Of the Vice President, Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Apr. 22, 2014),
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... ister-arse.
272 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, US Financier and Board Member Devon Archer on Maximizing Growth for Burisma Holdings (Apr. 22, 2014), https://burisma-group.com/eng/news/us-f ... -holdings/.
273 Susan Crabtree, Joe Biden emerges as Obama’s trusty sidekick, WASHINGTON EXAMINER (Apr. 25, 2014),
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/joe- ... y-sidekick.
274 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.); see also George Mesires, A Statement on behalf of Hunter Biden, dated October 13, 2019, MEDIUM (Oct. 13, 2019), https://medium.com/@george.mesires/a-st ... 0bc11087ab.
275 Id.
276 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden joins the team of Burisma Holdings (May 12, 2014), https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00 ... -SD984.pdf.
277 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
278 Id.
279 See Kenneth P. Vogel and Iuliia Mendel, Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies, THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 1, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/p ... raine.html.
280 George Mesires, A Statement on behalf of Hunter Biden, dated October 13, 2019, MEDIUM (Oct. 13, 2019),
https://medium.com/@george.mesires/a-st ... 0bc11087ab.
281 Press Release, Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden joins the team of Burisma Holdings (May 12, 2014), https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00 ... -SD984.pdf.
282 Id.
283 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 3 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 4 (on file with Comms.).
284 Id.
285 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 1 (on file with Comms.).
286 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Just., Seven Defendants Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Defrauding A Native American Tribe And Investors Of Over $60 Million (May 11, 2016), https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/se ... -tribe-and.
287 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
288 See Owasco P.C., OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us ... ID_2684079. Owasco P.C. was incorporated in January 2006; Eric Schwerin was a governor and executing officer, and Hunter Biden was an agent. In December 2019, both Schwerin and Hunter Biden rescinded those affiliations with Owasco. See Events for Owasco P.C., OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us ... 079/events.
289 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.).
290 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.); CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
291 Id.
292 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 5 (on file with Comms.).
293 Kenneth P. Vogel and Iuliia Mendel, Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies, THE NEW YORK TIMES (May 1, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/p ... raine.html.
294 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.).
295 Id.
296 Lobbying registration, ML Strategies, https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?ev ... ngTypeID=1.
297 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 2 (on file with Comms.)
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
b. Russia
Hunter Biden and his associate, Archer, had a financial relationship with Russian businesswoman Elena Baturina.
Baturina is the former wife of the late Yuri Luzhkov, who was the mayor of Moscow and was fired in 2010 by then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations. 298
Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor. 299
According to reporting, “Luzhkov used his position as mayor to approve over 20 real estate projects that were built by a Baturina-owned construction company and ultimately generated multibillion-ruble profits for his family.” 300
In addition, a Russian investigation led to a criminal case against the former head of the Bank of Moscow, Andrey Borodin, who “allegedly used money from the Moscow City Budget to lend money to shell companies, which ultimately transferred $443 million to Baturina.” 301
On Feb. 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC (Rosemont Seneca Thornton) bank account for a “Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.”
302
Rosemont Seneca Thornton is an investment firm co-founded by Hunter Biden that was incorporated on May 28, 2013 in Wilmington, Del. 303
According to The Financial Times, Rosemont Seneca Thornton is a consortium that consists of Rosemont Seneca Partners and the Thornton Group, a Massachusetts-based firm. 304
In June 2009, Biden co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Archer and Christopher Heinz. 305
The Thornton Group’s website states that it has offices in Boston and Beijing, lists Rosemont Seneca Partners among its list of alliances and clients, and includes photographs from multiple events attended by Hunter Biden. 306
Separately, between May 6, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015, Baturina sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC (BAK USA). 307
Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA. 308
The 11 transactions all listed “Loan Agreement” in the payment details section. 309
BAK USA was a startup technology company headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., that produced tablet computers in cooperation with unnamed Chinese business partners. 310
BAK USA filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2019, with a reported loss of $39 million. 311
These transactions were identified because of Baturina’s reported criminal activity.
298 David Filipov, Yuri Luzhkov, transformative Moscow Mayor, dies at 83, THE WASHINGTON POST (Dec. 10, 2019),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ob ... story.html; Christian Eriksson and Margot Gibbs, Russia’s richest woman quits role at London Mayor’s charity after Finance Uncovered investigation, FINANCED UNCOVERED (Sept. 26, 2019),
https://www.financeuncovered.org/invest ... corruption.
299 Id.
300 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
301 Id.
302 Id.
303 Rosemont Seneca Thornton, LLC, OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/5341255; see also Aime
Williams, Sun Yu, and Roman Olearchyk, Hunter Biden’s web of interests, FINANCIAL TIMES (Oct. 9, 2019),
https://www.ft.com/content/3904f888-e8e ... 065ef5fc55.
304 Aime Williams, Sun Yu, and Roman Olearchyk, Hunter Biden’s web of interests, FINANCIAL TIMES (Oct. 9, 2019),
https://www.ft.com/content/3904f888-e8e ... 065ef5fc55.
305 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019),
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... s-campaign.
306 Contact, Thornton Group, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/contact.html; Alliances/Clients, Thornton Group, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html; Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282; Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group meets with senior financial holding executives from Taiwan (May 24, 2011), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=288; CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
307 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
308 Id.
309 Id.
310 Samantha Christmann, Microsoft contract is a boon for Buffalo tablet-maker BAK USA, BUFFALO NEWS (Mar. 16, 2016),
https://buffalonews.com/business/local/ ... 9c9cd.html.
311 Local News, Former tablet maker BAK USA reports more than $39 million loss in Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, WKBW BUFFALO (Apr. 11, 2019), https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/fo ... llion-loss
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
b. Russia
Hunter Biden and his associate, Archer, had a financial relationship with Russian businesswoman Elena Baturina.
Baturina is the former wife of the late Yuri Luzhkov, who was the mayor of Moscow and was fired in 2010 by then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev over corruption allegations. 298
Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor. 299
According to reporting, “Luzhkov used his position as mayor to approve over 20 real estate projects that were built by a Baturina-owned construction company and ultimately generated multibillion-ruble profits for his family.” 300
In addition, a Russian investigation led to a criminal case against the former head of the Bank of Moscow, Andrey Borodin, who “allegedly used money from the Moscow City Budget to lend money to shell companies, which ultimately transferred $443 million to Baturina.” 301
On Feb. 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC (Rosemont Seneca Thornton) bank account for a “Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.”
302
Rosemont Seneca Thornton is an investment firm co-founded by Hunter Biden that was incorporated on May 28, 2013 in Wilmington, Del. 303
According to The Financial Times, Rosemont Seneca Thornton is a consortium that consists of Rosemont Seneca Partners and the Thornton Group, a Massachusetts-based firm. 304
In June 2009, Biden co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Archer and Christopher Heinz. 305
The Thornton Group’s website states that it has offices in Boston and Beijing, lists Rosemont Seneca Partners among its list of alliances and clients, and includes photographs from multiple events attended by Hunter Biden. 306
Separately, between May 6, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015, Baturina sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC (BAK USA). 307
Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA. 308
The 11 transactions all listed “Loan Agreement” in the payment details section. 309
BAK USA was a startup technology company headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., that produced tablet computers in cooperation with unnamed Chinese business partners. 310
BAK USA filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2019, with a reported loss of $39 million. 311
These transactions were identified because of Baturina’s reported criminal activity.
298 David Filipov, Yuri Luzhkov, transformative Moscow Mayor, dies at 83, THE WASHINGTON POST (Dec. 10, 2019),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ob ... story.html; Christian Eriksson and Margot Gibbs, Russia’s richest woman quits role at London Mayor’s charity after Finance Uncovered investigation, FINANCED UNCOVERED (Sept. 26, 2019),
https://www.financeuncovered.org/invest ... corruption.
299 Id.
300 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
301 Id.
302 Id.
303 Rosemont Seneca Thornton, LLC, OpenCorporates, https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/5341255; see also Aime
Williams, Sun Yu, and Roman Olearchyk, Hunter Biden’s web of interests, FINANCIAL TIMES (Oct. 9, 2019),
https://www.ft.com/content/3904f888-e8e ... 065ef5fc55.
304 Aime Williams, Sun Yu, and Roman Olearchyk, Hunter Biden’s web of interests, FINANCIAL TIMES (Oct. 9, 2019),
https://www.ft.com/content/3904f888-e8e ... 065ef5fc55.
305 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019),
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... s-campaign.
306 Contact, Thornton Group, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/contact.html; Alliances/Clients, Thornton Group, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html; Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282; Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group meets with senior financial holding executives from Taiwan (May 24, 2011), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=288; CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
307 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 6 (on file with Comms.).
308 Id.
309 Id.
310 Samantha Christmann, Microsoft contract is a boon for Buffalo tablet-maker BAK USA, BUFFALO NEWS (Mar. 16, 2016),
https://buffalonews.com/business/local/ ... 9c9cd.html.
311 Local News, Former tablet maker BAK USA reports more than $39 million loss in Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, WKBW BUFFALO (Apr. 11, 2019), https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/fo ... llion-loss
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
c. Kazakhstan
On April 22, 2014, Vice President Joe Biden appeared with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsemy Yasenyuk and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea. 312
The same day, Novatus Holding PTE. LTD. (Novatus Holding), a private holding company in Singapore, used a Latvian bank to wire $142,300 to Archer’s company, Rosemont Seneca Bohai. 313
The currency transaction report states, “For Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC, … For a Car.” 314
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission report, Kenges Rakishev of Kazakhstan is the sole shareholder of Novatus Holding and has a business address associated with a company in Kazakhstan called SAT & Company. 315
Rakishev is the son-in-law of now-retired Kazakhstan politician, Imangali Tasmagambetov. 316
At the time that Rakishev sent the money to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, Tasmagambetov was serving as the mayor of Astana (now called Nur-Sultan), the capital city of Kazakhstan. 317
Tasmagambetov is reportedly a longtime confidant of then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev. 318
Tasmagambetov has since served as prime minister of Kazakhstan as well as Kazakh ambassador to Russia. 319
At the time of Vice President Biden’s visit to Kyiv, there were divided opinions in Kazakhstan over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the international situation had produced tension in the region generally. 320
Nazarbayev’s government reportedly shifted positions over time, and Nazarbayev reportedly made some statements supportive of Russia’s actions. 321
Given Rakishev’s close connection to political leadership in Kazakhstan, the tense political situation, Hunter Biden’s longstanding relationship with Archer and involvement in transactions with Rosemont Seneca Bohai, and the fact that the payment was timed perfectly with Vice President Biden’s visit to Kyiv to discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Crimea, the April 22, 2014 payment from Rakishev to Rosemont Seneca Bohai raises serious questions.
It is unclear why a foreign company, Novatus Holding, would purchase a $142,300 car for Rosemont Seneca Bohai when the company does not deal in vehicles.
312 Press Release, The White House Off. of the Vice President, Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at a Meeting with Ukrainian Legislators (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... egislators; see also Press Release, The White House Off. Of the Vice President, Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... ister-arse.
313 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 4 (on file with Comms.).
314 Id.
315 U.S. SEC. AND EXCH. COMM’N, Schedule 13D, Net Element International, Inc.,
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... dsc13d.htm.
316 Olzhas Auyezov, Kazakh Leader Promotes Daughter, Confident in Reshuffle, REUTERS (Sept. 13, 2016),
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kaza ... SKCN11J1JR; see also Dmitry Solovyov and Mariya Gordeyeva, Kazkommertsbank finalizes deal to buy stake in BTA Bank, REUTERS (Feb. 6, 2014), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazk ... VD20140206.
317 Joshua Kucera, Kazakhstan’s Defense Minister Fired After Six Months On Job, EURASIANET (Oct. 24, 2014),
https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstans-defe ... ths-on-job .
318 Olzhas Auyezov, Kazakh Leader Promotes Daughter, Confident in Reshuffle, REUTERS (Sept. 13, 2016),
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kaza ... SKCN11J1JR.
319 Galiya Khassenkhanova, Kazakh President reshuffles key government positions, THE ASTANA TIMES (Dec. 19, 2019),
https://astanatimes.com/2019/12/kazakh- ... positions/.
320 Ryskeldi Satke, Kazakhstan Opposition Fears Ukraine’s “Russian Spring”, THE DIPLOMAT (Apr. 12, 2014),
https://thediplomat.com/2014/04/kazakhs ... an-spring/.
321 Id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
c. Kazakhstan
On April 22, 2014, Vice President Joe Biden appeared with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsemy Yasenyuk and addressed Ukrainian legislators in Kyiv regarding Russia’s actions in Crimea. 312
The same day, Novatus Holding PTE. LTD. (Novatus Holding), a private holding company in Singapore, used a Latvian bank to wire $142,300 to Archer’s company, Rosemont Seneca Bohai. 313
The currency transaction report states, “For Rosemont Seneca Bohai LLC, … For a Car.” 314
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission report, Kenges Rakishev of Kazakhstan is the sole shareholder of Novatus Holding and has a business address associated with a company in Kazakhstan called SAT & Company. 315
Rakishev is the son-in-law of now-retired Kazakhstan politician, Imangali Tasmagambetov. 316
At the time that Rakishev sent the money to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, Tasmagambetov was serving as the mayor of Astana (now called Nur-Sultan), the capital city of Kazakhstan. 317
Tasmagambetov is reportedly a longtime confidant of then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev. 318
Tasmagambetov has since served as prime minister of Kazakhstan as well as Kazakh ambassador to Russia. 319
At the time of Vice President Biden’s visit to Kyiv, there were divided opinions in Kazakhstan over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the international situation had produced tension in the region generally. 320
Nazarbayev’s government reportedly shifted positions over time, and Nazarbayev reportedly made some statements supportive of Russia’s actions. 321
Given Rakishev’s close connection to political leadership in Kazakhstan, the tense political situation, Hunter Biden’s longstanding relationship with Archer and involvement in transactions with Rosemont Seneca Bohai, and the fact that the payment was timed perfectly with Vice President Biden’s visit to Kyiv to discuss U.S. sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Crimea, the April 22, 2014 payment from Rakishev to Rosemont Seneca Bohai raises serious questions.
It is unclear why a foreign company, Novatus Holding, would purchase a $142,300 car for Rosemont Seneca Bohai when the company does not deal in vehicles.
312 Press Release, The White House Off. of the Vice President, Remarks by Vice President Joe Biden at a Meeting with Ukrainian Legislators (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... egislators; see also Press Release, The White House Off. Of the Vice President, Remarks to the Press by Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Apr. 22, 2014), https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/th ... ister-arse.
313 CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 4 (on file with Comms.).
314 Id.
315 U.S. SEC. AND EXCH. COMM’N, Schedule 13D, Net Element International, Inc.,
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data ... dsc13d.htm.
316 Olzhas Auyezov, Kazakh Leader Promotes Daughter, Confident in Reshuffle, REUTERS (Sept. 13, 2016),
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kaza ... SKCN11J1JR; see also Dmitry Solovyov and Mariya Gordeyeva, Kazkommertsbank finalizes deal to buy stake in BTA Bank, REUTERS (Feb. 6, 2014), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kazk ... VD20140206.
317 Joshua Kucera, Kazakhstan’s Defense Minister Fired After Six Months On Job, EURASIANET (Oct. 24, 2014),
https://eurasianet.org/kazakhstans-defe ... ths-on-job .
318 Olzhas Auyezov, Kazakh Leader Promotes Daughter, Confident in Reshuffle, REUTERS (Sept. 13, 2016),
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kaza ... SKCN11J1JR.
319 Galiya Khassenkhanova, Kazakh President reshuffles key government positions, THE ASTANA TIMES (Dec. 19, 2019),
https://astanatimes.com/2019/12/kazakh- ... positions/.
320 Ryskeldi Satke, Kazakhstan Opposition Fears Ukraine’s “Russian Spring”, THE DIPLOMAT (Apr. 12, 2014),
https://thediplomat.com/2014/04/kazakhs ... an-spring/.
321 Id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
d. China
Hunter Biden and Devon Archer engaged in numerous financial transactions with Chinese nationals who had deep connections to the Communist Chinese government.
These Chinese nationals included Ye Jianming, founder of CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd (CEFC) and chairman of the board for its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee (CE Fund).
They also included Gongwen Dong, who was Ye Jianming’s associate and reportedly executed transactions for his companies.
Ye’s connections to the Communist government are extensive and, as explained below, he has been previous affiliations with the People’s Liberation Army.
Based on the information received by the Committees, Ye was also financially connected to Vice President Biden’s brother, James Biden.
Thus, there exists a vast web of corporate connections and financial transactions between and among the Biden family and Chinese nationals.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
d. China
Hunter Biden and Devon Archer engaged in numerous financial transactions with Chinese nationals who had deep connections to the Communist Chinese government.
These Chinese nationals included Ye Jianming, founder of CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd (CEFC) and chairman of the board for its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee (CE Fund).
They also included Gongwen Dong, who was Ye Jianming’s associate and reportedly executed transactions for his companies.
Ye’s connections to the Communist government are extensive and, as explained below, he has been previous affiliations with the People’s Liberation Army.
Based on the information received by the Committees, Ye was also financially connected to Vice President Biden’s brother, James Biden.
Thus, there exists a vast web of corporate connections and financial transactions between and among the Biden family and Chinese nationals.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE
Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
d. China, continued ...
i. Hunter Biden Has Extensive Financial Connections to the Chinese Government.
Hunter Biden has extensive connections to Chinese businesses and Chinese foreign nationals that are linked to the Communist government.
Those contacts bore financial fruit when his father was vice president and after he left office.
For example, in June 2009, Hunter Biden had co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Archer and Heinz. 322
During 2010-2011, as a representative of Rosemont Seneca, Hunter Biden networked with representatives from Chinese state-owned enterprises and representatives of the Boston-based Thornton Group, which today describes itself as “a cross-border capital intermediary.” 323
On its current website, the Thornton Group includes among its alliances and clients a variety of Chinese state-owned enterprises, including actors linked to Ye Jianming and his associates. 324
Ye Jianming is a Chinese businessman and a frequent figure in Hunter Biden’s financial dealings in China.
Based on public reports that were available in 2015, when his contact with Biden began to ramp up, Ye was a founder of CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd (CEFC) and served as chairman of the board for its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee (CE Fund). 325
CEFC had a reported income estimated at $33.4 billion, according to 2013 figures that were available at the time. 326
Although CEFC reportedly remained a private company until state-owned enterprises assumed control of it in 2018, reporting in 2017 indicated that it received financing from the China Development Bank, “hired a number of former top officials from state-owned energy companies” and had “layers of Communist Party committees across its subsidiaries — more than at many private Chinese companies.” 327
Thus, it had significant connections to the Communist government and its subsidiaries had associations with the Thornton Group.
For example, according to the Thornton Group’s website, its list of Chinese partners currently includes: the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of Beijing, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, the CAIFC, the China Electricity Council, CITIC Group, China Life, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the China Railway Construction Corporation, the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development, the Chinese International Economy Cooperation Association, the China Mining Association, the government-owned Founder Group, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, and Peking University. 328
A Thornton Group press release dated April 12, 2010, provides an example of an early event in China involving Rosemont Seneca Partners and the Thornton Group.
It states the following:
Thornton Group and its US partner Rosemont Seneca Chairman Hunter Biden (the second son of the US Vice President Joe Biden) and other high-level officials visited Chinese financial institutions and fund companies from April 7th to 9th. Including China Investment Co., Ltd., National Council of Social Security Funds, China Life Asset Management Co., Ltd., Postal Savings Bank of China, Hillhouse Capital and Founder Group, etc., aiming to further deepen mutual understanding and explore the possibility of commercial cooperation and opportunity.
The Chinese companies and financial institutions visited expressed a warm welcome to Thornton Group and Rosemont Seneca, and hoped to strengthen exchanges, in-depth discussions and reach cooperation.
The delegation was led by James Bulger, Chairman of Thornton Group, and Lin Junliang, Chief Executive Officer, to visit and meet Chinese personnel including: Gao Xiqing, General Manager and Chief Investment Officer of China Investment Corporation, Equity Assets Department (Industrial Investment Department) of the National Council of Social Security Fund person in charge Ji Guoqiang, Vice President Cui Yong of China Life Asset Management Co. Ltd., Peng Zuogang, General Manager of Postal Savings Bank of China, Zhang Lei, Founder of Hillhouse Capital, Wei Xin, Chairman of Founder Group, and Xia Yangjun, Vice President of Founder Group. 329
Pictures from the event posted by the Thornton Group show Hunter Biden standing with the chairman of the Founder Group, general manager of the China Investment Corporation, the vice president of the China Life Asset Management Company, the general manager of the Postal Savings Bank, and others. 330
322 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019),
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... s-campaign.
323 See About Us, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html; see also Press Release, Thorton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282; Press Release, Thorton Group, Thornton Group meets with senior financial holding executives from Taiwan (May 24, 2011), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=288.
324 See Alliances/Clients, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html.
325 See J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/un ... iwan-12463.
326 See id.
327 Chen Aizhu and Jan Lopatka, China’s CEFC has big ambitions, but little known about ownership, funding, REUTERS (Jan. 12, 2017), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cefc ... SKBN14X0B5; see CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 7 (on file with Comms.).
328 Alliances/Clients, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html
329 Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282. (Translation provided by Google.).
330 See id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Majority Staff Report
XI. HUNTER BIDEN’S AND HIS FAMILY’S FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN, KAZAKH, AND CHINESE NATIONALS RAISE CRIMINAL CONCERNS AND EXTORTION THREATS.
d. China, continued ...
i. Hunter Biden Has Extensive Financial Connections to the Chinese Government.
Hunter Biden has extensive connections to Chinese businesses and Chinese foreign nationals that are linked to the Communist government.
Those contacts bore financial fruit when his father was vice president and after he left office.
For example, in June 2009, Hunter Biden had co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners with Archer and Heinz. 322
During 2010-2011, as a representative of Rosemont Seneca, Hunter Biden networked with representatives from Chinese state-owned enterprises and representatives of the Boston-based Thornton Group, which today describes itself as “a cross-border capital intermediary.” 323
On its current website, the Thornton Group includes among its alliances and clients a variety of Chinese state-owned enterprises, including actors linked to Ye Jianming and his associates. 324
Ye Jianming is a Chinese businessman and a frequent figure in Hunter Biden’s financial dealings in China.
Based on public reports that were available in 2015, when his contact with Biden began to ramp up, Ye was a founder of CEFC China Energy Co. Ltd (CEFC) and served as chairman of the board for its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee (CE Fund). 325
CEFC had a reported income estimated at $33.4 billion, according to 2013 figures that were available at the time. 326
Although CEFC reportedly remained a private company until state-owned enterprises assumed control of it in 2018, reporting in 2017 indicated that it received financing from the China Development Bank, “hired a number of former top officials from state-owned energy companies” and had “layers of Communist Party committees across its subsidiaries — more than at many private Chinese companies.” 327
Thus, it had significant connections to the Communist government and its subsidiaries had associations with the Thornton Group.
For example, according to the Thornton Group’s website, its list of Chinese partners currently includes: the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of Beijing, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, the CAIFC, the China Electricity Council, CITIC Group, China Life, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, the China Railway Construction Corporation, the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development, the Chinese International Economy Cooperation Association, the China Mining Association, the government-owned Founder Group, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, and Peking University. 328
A Thornton Group press release dated April 12, 2010, provides an example of an early event in China involving Rosemont Seneca Partners and the Thornton Group.
It states the following:
Thornton Group and its US partner Rosemont Seneca Chairman Hunter Biden (the second son of the US Vice President Joe Biden) and other high-level officials visited Chinese financial institutions and fund companies from April 7th to 9th. Including China Investment Co., Ltd., National Council of Social Security Funds, China Life Asset Management Co., Ltd., Postal Savings Bank of China, Hillhouse Capital and Founder Group, etc., aiming to further deepen mutual understanding and explore the possibility of commercial cooperation and opportunity.
The Chinese companies and financial institutions visited expressed a warm welcome to Thornton Group and Rosemont Seneca, and hoped to strengthen exchanges, in-depth discussions and reach cooperation.
The delegation was led by James Bulger, Chairman of Thornton Group, and Lin Junliang, Chief Executive Officer, to visit and meet Chinese personnel including: Gao Xiqing, General Manager and Chief Investment Officer of China Investment Corporation, Equity Assets Department (Industrial Investment Department) of the National Council of Social Security Fund person in charge Ji Guoqiang, Vice President Cui Yong of China Life Asset Management Co. Ltd., Peng Zuogang, General Manager of Postal Savings Bank of China, Zhang Lei, Founder of Hillhouse Capital, Wei Xin, Chairman of Founder Group, and Xia Yangjun, Vice President of Founder Group. 329
Pictures from the event posted by the Thornton Group show Hunter Biden standing with the chairman of the Founder Group, general manager of the China Investment Corporation, the vice president of the China Life Asset Management Company, the general manager of the Postal Savings Bank, and others. 330
322 Adam Entous, Will Hunter Biden Jeopardize his Father’s Campaign?, THE NEW YORKER (July 1, 2019),
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019 ... s-campaign.
323 See About Us, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html; see also Press Release, Thorton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282; Press Release, Thorton Group, Thornton Group meets with senior financial holding executives from Taiwan (May 24, 2011), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=288.
324 See Alliances/Clients, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html.
325 See J. Michael Cole, Unstoppable: China’s Secret Plan to Subvert Taiwan, THE NATIONAL INTEREST (Mar. 23, 2015), https://nationalinterest.org/feature/un ... iwan-12463.
326 See id.
327 Chen Aizhu and Jan Lopatka, China’s CEFC has big ambitions, but little known about ownership, funding, REUTERS (Jan. 12, 2017), https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cefc ... SKBN14X0B5; see CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENT 7 (on file with Comms.).
328 Alliances/Clients, Thornton, http://www.thorntonai.com/english/alliances.html
329 Press Release, Thornton Group, Thornton Group brings Rosemont Seneca executives to visit Chinas financial/fund industry executives (Apr. 12, 2010), http://www.thorntonai.com/english/newsc ... icleID=282. (Translation provided by Google.).
330 See id.
TO BE CONTINUED ...