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Hunter Biden: What was he doing in Ukraine and China?
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wsjam...@gmail.com
Jan 13, 2021, 5:20:09 AM1/13/21
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Hunter Biden and his father, President-elect Joe Biden, have
been frequently attacked by President Trump and his associates
of wrongdoing in regards to Ukraine and China, which they both
deny.
The issue has resurfaced following news that Hunter Biden's tax
affairs are under investigation by federal prosecutors in
Delaware.
During the election campaign, the New York Post reported on an
alleged email in which an adviser from a Ukrainian energy
company, Burisma, apparently thanked Hunter for inviting him to
meet his father, Joe Biden.
Asked about the allegations, Joe Biden told a reporter it was a
"smear campaign". No criminal activity has been proven, and no
evidence has emerged that Mr Biden did anything to intentionally
benefit his son.
Claims of influence-peddling are common in Washington DC and Mr
Trump's children have also been accused of conflicts of interest
in lucrative business deals overseas. They, too, deny wrongdoing.
What did the New York Post say?
The New York Post story focused on an email from April 2015, in
which an adviser to Burisma, Vadym Pozharskyi, apparently
thanked Hunter Biden for inviting him to meet his father in
Washington.
Hunter, Joe Biden's second son, was a director on the board of
Burisma - a Ukrainian-owned private energy company while his
father was the Obama administration's pointman on US-Ukrainian
relations. Hunter was one of several foreigners on its board.
The New York Post article did not provide evidence that the
meeting ever took place. The Biden election campaign said there
was no record of any such meeting on the former vice-president's
"official schedule" from the time.
But in a statement to Politico, the campaign also acknowledged
that Mr Biden could have had an "informal interaction" with the
Burisma adviser that did not appear on his official schedule,
though it said any such encounter would have been "cursory".
"Investigations by the press, during impeachment, and even by
two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was decried as
'not legitimate' and political by a GOP colleague, have all
reached the same conclusion: that Joe Biden carried out official
US policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing," said
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr Biden.
Mr Biden's team has also decried the New York Post story as
"Russian disinformation", though it did not say the emails were
bogus.
The New York Post article has been shared by President Trump and
his allies. Two of his former advisers, Steve Bannon and Rudy
Giuliani, were involved in providing the story and the hard
drive containing the alleged emails, to the newspaper.
Mr Giuliani says the messages were found on a laptop that Hunter
dropped off at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019.
Sceptics have noted that Mr Giuliani travelled in December 2019
to Kyiv where he met Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, whom the
US Treasury has designated as a longtime Kremlin agent. Mr
Giuliani has acknowledged trying dig up dirt on the Bidens in
Ukraine.
But the US Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe,
said in a recent interview with Fox Business that the purported
emails were not connected to a Russian disinformation effort.
Other US media say they have been unable to verify the
authenticity of the emails. Hunter has neither confirmed nor
denied that he dropped off a laptop at the location.
Hunter joined Burisma in 2014, and remained on the board until
April 2019, when he decided to leave.
Twitter and Facebook's action over Joe Biden article reignites
bias claims
What are the Bidens accused of in China?
The New York Post cited a purported email from Hunter Biden in
August 2017 indicating he was receiving a $10m annual fee from a
Chinese billionaire for "introductions alone", though it is
unclear who was involved in the alleged introductions.
Another purported email, which Fox News said it had confirmed,
reportedly refers to a deal pursued by Hunter involving China's
largest private energy firm. It is said to include a cryptic
mention of "10 held by H for the big guy".
Fox News cited unnamed sources as saying "the big guy" in the
purported email was a reference to Joe Biden. This message is
said to be from May 2017. Both emails would date from when the
former US vice-president was a private citizen.
A former business associate of Hunter has come forward to say he
can confirm the allegations.
Tony Bobulinski told Fox News that, contrary to Joe Biden's
statements that he had nothing to do with his son's business
affairs, Hunter "frequently referenced asking him for his sign-
off or advice on various potential deals" in China.
Mr Bobulinski, who is reportedly a US Navy veteran, separately
told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that he met on two occasions with
Joe Biden to discuss business deals with China, the first time
in May 2017 when the former vice-president was a private citizen.
He claims he asked Joe Biden's brother, James, whether the
family was concerned about possible scrutiny of the former vice-
president's involvement in a potential business deal with a
Chinese entity. Mr Bobulinski told Fox News that James Biden
replied: "Plausible deniability."
Mr Bobulinski was invited by Mr Trump to be his guest at the
final presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee on 22 October.
What is known about Hunter's dealings in China?
In 2013, Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two with his father, who
was then vice-president, on an official visit to Beijing, where
the younger Biden met investment banker Jonathan Li.
Hunter told the New Yorker he just met Mr Li for "a cup of
coffee", but 12 days after the trip a private equity fund, BHR
Partners, was approved by the Chinese authorities. Mr Li was
chief executive and Hunter was a board member. He would hold a
10% stake.
BHR is backed by some of China's largest state banks and by
local governments, according to US media.
Hunter Biden's lawyer said he had joined the board in an unpaid
position "based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese
capital to international markets".
His lawyer also said his client did not acquire his financial
stake in BHR until 2017, after his father had left office in the
US.
Hunter resigned from the board of BHR in April 2020, but still
held his 10% stake in BHR as of July this year, according to the
company report.
Hunter Biden is in the news again after he said on 9 December
that his taxes were under investigation.
The inquiry is being conducted by federal prosecutors in
Delaware. US media quote sources saying it relates to business
dealings with foreign countries including China.
Mr Biden said he was confident he would be shown to have done no
wrong.
What are the Bidens accused of in Ukraine?
President Trump and his allies have accused Joe Biden of
wrongdoing because he pushed, while vice-president, for the
Ukrainian government to fire its top prosecutor, who was
investigating the company for which Hunter worked.
In 2016, Joe Biden called for the dismissal of the Ukrainian
prosecutor Viktor Shokin, whose office had Burisma and other
companies under investigation.
However, other Western leaders and major bodies that give
financial support to Ukraine also wanted the prosecutor
dismissed because they believed he was not active enough in
tackling corruption.
What else has the Biden campaign said?
Shortly before the final presidential debate, the Democrat's
camp released a statement denying wrongdoing.
"Joe Biden has never even considered being involved in business
with this family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever," said
the statement.
"He has never held stock in any such business arrangements nor
has any family member or any other person ever held stock for
him.
"What is true is that Tony Bobulinski admitted on the record to
Breitbart that he is angry that he was *not* able to go into
business with Hunter and James Biden [Joe Biden's brother]."
What did this have to do with impeachment?
In 2019, details emerged of a phone call President Trump had
made to the president of Ukraine, in which he had urged the
Ukrainian leader to investigate the Bidens.
President Trump's impeachment explained
This led to charges by the Democrats that Mr Trump was trying to
illegally pressure Ukraine to help damage his election rival,
resulting in impeachment by the House of Representatives.
Mr Trump denied he'd done anything wrong, and he was later
acquitted by the Republican-controlled US Senate.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-54553132
been frequently attacked by President Trump and his associates
of wrongdoing in regards to Ukraine and China, which they both
deny.
The issue has resurfaced following news that Hunter Biden's tax
affairs are under investigation by federal prosecutors in
Delaware.
During the election campaign, the New York Post reported on an
alleged email in which an adviser from a Ukrainian energy
company, Burisma, apparently thanked Hunter for inviting him to
meet his father, Joe Biden.
Asked about the allegations, Joe Biden told a reporter it was a
"smear campaign". No criminal activity has been proven, and no
evidence has emerged that Mr Biden did anything to intentionally
benefit his son.
Claims of influence-peddling are common in Washington DC and Mr
Trump's children have also been accused of conflicts of interest
in lucrative business deals overseas. They, too, deny wrongdoing.
What did the New York Post say?
The New York Post story focused on an email from April 2015, in
which an adviser to Burisma, Vadym Pozharskyi, apparently
thanked Hunter Biden for inviting him to meet his father in
Washington.
Hunter, Joe Biden's second son, was a director on the board of
Burisma - a Ukrainian-owned private energy company while his
father was the Obama administration's pointman on US-Ukrainian
relations. Hunter was one of several foreigners on its board.
The New York Post article did not provide evidence that the
meeting ever took place. The Biden election campaign said there
was no record of any such meeting on the former vice-president's
"official schedule" from the time.
But in a statement to Politico, the campaign also acknowledged
that Mr Biden could have had an "informal interaction" with the
Burisma adviser that did not appear on his official schedule,
though it said any such encounter would have been "cursory".
"Investigations by the press, during impeachment, and even by
two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was decried as
'not legitimate' and political by a GOP colleague, have all
reached the same conclusion: that Joe Biden carried out official
US policy toward Ukraine and engaged in no wrongdoing," said
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr Biden.
Mr Biden's team has also decried the New York Post story as
"Russian disinformation", though it did not say the emails were
bogus.
The New York Post article has been shared by President Trump and
his allies. Two of his former advisers, Steve Bannon and Rudy
Giuliani, were involved in providing the story and the hard
drive containing the alleged emails, to the newspaper.
Mr Giuliani says the messages were found on a laptop that Hunter
dropped off at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019.
Sceptics have noted that Mr Giuliani travelled in December 2019
to Kyiv where he met Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, whom the
US Treasury has designated as a longtime Kremlin agent. Mr
Giuliani has acknowledged trying dig up dirt on the Bidens in
Ukraine.
But the US Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe,
said in a recent interview with Fox Business that the purported
emails were not connected to a Russian disinformation effort.
Other US media say they have been unable to verify the
authenticity of the emails. Hunter has neither confirmed nor
denied that he dropped off a laptop at the location.
Hunter joined Burisma in 2014, and remained on the board until
April 2019, when he decided to leave.
Twitter and Facebook's action over Joe Biden article reignites
bias claims
What are the Bidens accused of in China?
The New York Post cited a purported email from Hunter Biden in
August 2017 indicating he was receiving a $10m annual fee from a
Chinese billionaire for "introductions alone", though it is
unclear who was involved in the alleged introductions.
Another purported email, which Fox News said it had confirmed,
reportedly refers to a deal pursued by Hunter involving China's
largest private energy firm. It is said to include a cryptic
mention of "10 held by H for the big guy".
Fox News cited unnamed sources as saying "the big guy" in the
purported email was a reference to Joe Biden. This message is
said to be from May 2017. Both emails would date from when the
former US vice-president was a private citizen.
A former business associate of Hunter has come forward to say he
can confirm the allegations.
Tony Bobulinski told Fox News that, contrary to Joe Biden's
statements that he had nothing to do with his son's business
affairs, Hunter "frequently referenced asking him for his sign-
off or advice on various potential deals" in China.
Mr Bobulinski, who is reportedly a US Navy veteran, separately
told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that he met on two occasions with
Joe Biden to discuss business deals with China, the first time
in May 2017 when the former vice-president was a private citizen.
He claims he asked Joe Biden's brother, James, whether the
family was concerned about possible scrutiny of the former vice-
president's involvement in a potential business deal with a
Chinese entity. Mr Bobulinski told Fox News that James Biden
replied: "Plausible deniability."
Mr Bobulinski was invited by Mr Trump to be his guest at the
final presidential debate in Nashville, Tennessee on 22 October.
What is known about Hunter's dealings in China?
In 2013, Hunter flew aboard Air Force Two with his father, who
was then vice-president, on an official visit to Beijing, where
the younger Biden met investment banker Jonathan Li.
Hunter told the New Yorker he just met Mr Li for "a cup of
coffee", but 12 days after the trip a private equity fund, BHR
Partners, was approved by the Chinese authorities. Mr Li was
chief executive and Hunter was a board member. He would hold a
10% stake.
BHR is backed by some of China's largest state banks and by
local governments, according to US media.
Hunter Biden's lawyer said he had joined the board in an unpaid
position "based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese
capital to international markets".
His lawyer also said his client did not acquire his financial
stake in BHR until 2017, after his father had left office in the
US.
Hunter resigned from the board of BHR in April 2020, but still
held his 10% stake in BHR as of July this year, according to the
company report.
Hunter Biden is in the news again after he said on 9 December
that his taxes were under investigation.
The inquiry is being conducted by federal prosecutors in
Delaware. US media quote sources saying it relates to business
dealings with foreign countries including China.
Mr Biden said he was confident he would be shown to have done no
wrong.
What are the Bidens accused of in Ukraine?
President Trump and his allies have accused Joe Biden of
wrongdoing because he pushed, while vice-president, for the
Ukrainian government to fire its top prosecutor, who was
investigating the company for which Hunter worked.
In 2016, Joe Biden called for the dismissal of the Ukrainian
prosecutor Viktor Shokin, whose office had Burisma and other
companies under investigation.
However, other Western leaders and major bodies that give
financial support to Ukraine also wanted the prosecutor
dismissed because they believed he was not active enough in
tackling corruption.
What else has the Biden campaign said?
Shortly before the final presidential debate, the Democrat's
camp released a statement denying wrongdoing.
"Joe Biden has never even considered being involved in business
with this family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever," said
the statement.
"He has never held stock in any such business arrangements nor
has any family member or any other person ever held stock for
him.
"What is true is that Tony Bobulinski admitted on the record to
Breitbart that he is angry that he was *not* able to go into
business with Hunter and James Biden [Joe Biden's brother]."
What did this have to do with impeachment?
In 2019, details emerged of a phone call President Trump had
made to the president of Ukraine, in which he had urged the
Ukrainian leader to investigate the Bidens.
President Trump's impeachment explained
This led to charges by the Democrats that Mr Trump was trying to
illegally pressure Ukraine to help damage his election rival,
resulting in impeachment by the House of Representatives.
Mr Trump denied he'd done anything wrong, and he was later
acquitted by the Republican-controlled US Senate.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-54553132
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