Sen. Bob Menendez Aide Asked Hunter and His Partner to Invite Joe Biden to 2010 Event

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 31: Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) pose
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Wendell Husebø

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) chief of staff in 2010 asked Hunter Biden and his business partner, Eric Schwerin, to invite then-Vice President Joe Biden to an annual economic summit, forgoing typical channels to Joe Biden’s White House office, emails unearthed from Hunter Biden’s laptop show.

The emails depict just how close Hunter Biden and his associate were to Joe Biden, who claimed to never speak about business with his son.

Schwerin emailed Hunter Biden on April 7, 2010, about a call he received from Menendez’s chief of staff, Danny O’Brien, regarding an event Menendez wanted Joe Biden to attend, according to an email unearthed by non-for-profit Marco Polo. The email came days after O’Brien was turned down by Joe Biden’s official office.

On May 4, Joe Biden’s scheduling department emailed Menedez and O’Brien, declining the offer to attend the Spain Council’s Annual Forum:

Dear Senator Menendez and Mr. O’Brien,
Thank you for inviting Vice President Biden to keynote the United States – Spain Council’s Annual Forum on July 23-25, 2010.
Vice President Biden values each and every invitation he receives.  The constraints of his schedule, however and the volume of requests are such that the majority must be declined.  It is with sincere regret that the Vice President will be unable to keynote the forum.
Thank you for your interest in including the Vice President in your plans, and we appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
The Office of the Vice President
Office of Scheduling

O’Brien emailed Schwerin on May 6 after O’Brien emailed a revised request to the White House for Joe Biden’s attendance:

Eric:
Please see the revised request I just sent in to the Vice President’s office. Any chance you could forward it to Hunter? Ambassador Solomont was in yesterday and will be broaching the matter with the Vice President when they meet in Madrid later this week.
Danny.
On May 7, Schwerin forwarded the request to Hunter Biden:

Danny O’Brien called.  Sen. Menendez is U.S. Chair of the above group.  Spanish members include CEOs of the major banks – Banco Santander, etc, Iberdrola, Spanish Rail, etc.  Amb. Solomont is a big supporter and JRB went to speak to group in Boca when a Senator.

Having their annual meeting in DC in July.  Spanish Foreign Minister attends.  Danny wants to explore with you possibility of getting VP to host event at NAVOBs for group.  Maybe even an appearance at a reception at a hotel.  I’ll get more info and we can discuss with Danny next week.  I think Solomont mentioned your interest in Spain and that is why Danny is calling us.
Sounds interesting.  Let’s discuss.  Probably don’t want to mention to Transatlantic in case we can’t deliver though I guess.
Two months later, O’Brien followed up with Hunter Biden about the meeting:

Hunter:

I hope you and the family are well. If you have a chance can you give me a call? The Senator and I are still trying to get the Vice President to speak at the US-Spain Council’s annual forum here in Washington, DC, on July 24th. Word from the VP’s staff is that what was expected to be a very busy schedule around the time of the Forum – July 24th – is  now showing some possibility of flexibility.

I would like to get your reaction to the idea of the Vice President delivering the keynote address at the closing dinner of the Forum. If you can call, I’d greatly appreciate it. My work number is 202-224-4712, cell is 202-244-8674.

Thanks and regards. And, please send my regards to Beau.

Danny.

The two agreed to speak later about the meeting. “Of course- call tomorrow if anything changes,” Hunter Biden replied.

It does not appear that Joe Biden attended the event:

According to the organization’s website, the United States-Spain Council creates economic investment opportunities for both nations via bilateral trade. The forum permits business and government leaders to foster relationships.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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