ICYMI: Whistleblower Docs Show Burisma Hired Hunter Biden for His “Political Weight” and Carefully Navigated His Appointment to Protect Joe Biden
A series of spreadsheets and emails included within the over 700 pages of whistleblower documents released by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) last month show an alarming pattern of meetings between senior White House staff, Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer, and Hunter Biden in the same year then-Vice President Biden made an unprecedented three official visits to Ukraine.
At the same time those meetings occurred, Archer was negotiating Hunter Biden’s position on the board of directors of Burisma – a Ukrainian company – whose executives implied his value to their company was his influence with his father. They even acknowledged the sensitive optics surrounding his appointment to the company’s board, and discussed the need to make his appointment public only after then-Vice President Biden’s first official trip to Ukraine concluded.
April 15, 2014: Devon Archer meets with Vice President Biden at the White House.
April 16, 2014: Hunter Biden has coffee with Greg Schultz, Senior Advisor to Vice President Biden. Later that same day, Hunter Biden meets with Devon Archer at the White House.
April 17, 2014: A Burisma executive emails Devon Archer stating, as it relates to Hunter Biden, “I do believe we have to reach a reasonable balance here” and acknowledged they were relying on Hunter Biden’s influence with his father and would take into account how to use “the political weight of our Directors… carefully and strategically.”
The email went on to say they would list Hunter Biden on their website “after his father left our country” and underlined how Burisma could not, “hide our directors.”
April 21, 2014: Then-Vice President Joe Biden travels to Ukraine.
May 12, 2014 : Hunter Biden appointed to Burisma’s board of directors.
May 13, 2014: According to emails obtained from the Hunter Biden laptop, Eric Schwerin, another Hunter Biden business associate, directed a photo of Joe Biden and Devon Archer that was taken at the April 15th White House meeting be removed from Burisma’s website at the request of the Vice President’s General Counsel.
June 7, 2014: Then-Vice President Joe Biden travels to Ukraine for a second time to attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
September 24, 2014: Devon Archer forwards an email to Hunter Biden discussing the need to “alert U.S. officials who might be able to influence Ukraine to not adopt such harmful measures.”
October 27, 2014: Hunter Biden receives an email from a U.S. government official stating, “Secretary of State may be calling you soon.”
November 20, 2014: Then-Vice President Biden visits Ukraine for a third time.
December 17, 2014: Eric Schwerin emails Hunter Biden to request then-Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s email address.
Chairman Smith said, “It is hard to believe the timing of Hunter Biden’s appointment to the board of Burisma and his father’s multiple official visits to Ukraine are mere coincidence. House Republicans are determined to get to the bottom of the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme, and the American people have a right to know if then-Vice President Biden used his official government position to help his family’s overseas business operations.
“Thanks to the IRS whistleblowers we know President Biden lied when he said he had no knowledge and was not involved in his son’s business dealings. It now appears he in fact benefited. We will continue to follow the facts in this investigation and present the truth to the American people.”
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