Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter Wednesday to the Justice Department and intelligence community asking that documents be handed over to Congress on any information tying Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, to Chinese government-connected foreign nationals he did business with.
The top Republicans’ letter was sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines asking for any documents which contain details on Hunter Biden’s financial ties to several Chinese business people.
“As you know, we have been reviewing financial transactions and connections between and among members of the Biden family and foreign nationals connected to the communist Chinese government, including its military and intelligence services,” the Republicans wrote. “Hunter Biden had a close and personal relationship with Ye Jianming, who reportedly had links to the communist regime’s People’s Liberation Army.”
Text messages from 2017 showed the two communicated on a “regular basis,” and the pair had a “standing once a week call,” they wrote. “Hunter Biden had a close association with Gongwen Dong and Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, who were also business associates of Ye’s.”
The Senators continued to explain why it is important for Congress to access these documents:
In December 2017, Patrick Ho was charged and in December 2018 was convicted of international bribery and money laundering offenses stemming from his work for Ye’s China Energy Fund Committee, a subsidiary of Ye’s CEFC China Energy, a company with extensive links to the communist regime. After his arrest, his first call was reportedly to James Biden, President Biden’s brother. Hunter Biden reportedly represented Patrick Ho for a period of time and received at least $1 million in payment. According to recent reporting and a federal government filing, the federal government obtained at least one Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant relating to Patrick Ho, indicating his potential counterintelligence threat to the United States. Indeed, Hunter Biden was well aware of Patrick Ho’s links to the communist Chinese government, specifically its intelligence services. According to records reportedly released from Hunter Biden’s laptop, Hunter Biden allegedly said the following:
“I have another New York Times reporter calling about my representation of Patrick Ho – the f***ing spy chief of China who started the company that my partner, who is worth $323 billion, founded and is now missing.”
Moreover, news reports made publicly available a September 21, 2017, email from Hunter Biden to an office manager that asked for keys to be made available to then-former Vice President Biden, James Biden, and “Gongwen Dong (Chairman Ye CEFC emissary)” and referred to them as “office mates.” Hunter Biden also requested that the office sign reflect “The Biden Foundation” and “Hudson West (CEFC US).” If accurate, the sharing of office space with Chinese nationals and entities linked to the communist regime and its military demands additional explanation.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and Johnson, the ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said it is important for Congress to understand the relationship among Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong, and Patrick Ho, as well as their relationship with the “communist Chinese government, CEFC China Energy, and their activities in the United States, including those relating to the Biden family.”
The senators asked that all unclassified material be sent directly to the committees on which they are members.
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