Biden administration releases bombshell evidence on Hunter trying to use the government in lucrative foreign deals ... after Joe dropped out
Hunter Biden wanted help from the U.S. government to secure a profitable energy deal while his father was vice president, but the documents revealing this scheme suspiciously came to light just days after the elder Biden canceled his campaign.
Those very documents were at the center of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for years, the New York Times reports, but were only made available shortly after the president decided not to run for office.
They unveil that Hunter Biden, while sitting on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, and then the sitting vice president's son, wrote at least one letter to the U.S. ambassador to Italy, John R. Phillips, for help.
Hunter wanted to get in contact with the president of Tuscany, a region in central Italy where Burisma sought to arrange a geothermal energy venture, clearly working to forward the company's interests in the area.
Now, just days after Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid, the State Department's timing of releasing the long-awaited files is raising questions.
Hunter Biden sent at least one letter to the U.S. ambassador in Italy requesting help for a Ukrainian gas company that he sat on the board of to forward their goal of pursing a geothermal project in the country
'Less than a week after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, the State Department finally released records showing Hunter Biden sought U.S. government help to land a Burisma deal when his father was VP,' the House Oversight Committee posted on X. 'Coincidence?'
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley similarly posted: 'We learn this only after Joe Biden has been put out to pasture. Total coincidence, I’m sure.'
Another Senate Republican, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, wrote: 'Not surprisingly, Burisma didn’t pay Hunter Biden $1 million/year for his oil-and-gas expertise.'
'During the 2020 election, establishment media and 51 former intelligence officials said Biden corruption evidence was Russian disinformation,' he continued, adding it was 'the epitome of election interference.'
A White House spokesperson denied the president knew about the outreach his son made to the embassy in Italy.
And Phillips, the U.S. ambassador Italy at the time, told the New York Times he did not recall Hunter Biden writing to him about Burisma, admitting he received many letters during his tenure.
However, it is still unclear if the U.S. Embassy in Italy attempted to help Burisma in their effort to secure permitting for the Tuscany project.
The prevailing sentiment among critics was not as much anger over the younger Biden's soliciting help for foreign deals as his father was the second most powerful person in the country, but rather the timing of the document's release.
A spokesperson said that President Joe Biden did not know of his son's letter to the embassy in Italy regarding Burisma and its geothermal plans
The U.S. ambassador to Italy's residence called Villa Taverna. Phillips, the ambassador at the time, said he did not remember receiving a letter from Hunter Biden, but conceded he received lots of correspondence at the time
According to the Times, they initially filed a FOIA in June 2021 to the State Department requesting documents pertaining to Hunter.
Then, after eight months without a response from the agency, the outlet decided to sue.
Another 18 or so months later passed before the State Department released thousands of pages related to the request.
The thing was, according to the report, none of the many documents turned over had anything to do with Hunter Biden's request to the U.S. government for help.
Dissatisfied with the results of the over two year long process at that point, the New York Times told the department they wanted a more through search.
Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma in 2014 and was paid millions for his role in the company despite not having a background in the gas or energy industries
Hunter Biden has been the subject of many Congressional probes since his father took office as Republicans have repeatedly tried to highlight his foreign business dealings as shady
The paper argued that the agency did not turn over pertinent files that were already publicly circulating after the publishing of Hunter Biden's infamous laptop in 2020, indicating their fulfillment of the FOIA was faulty.
Apparently listening to the Times, the report indicated that the department resumed their search for Hunter's correspondence with the U.S. embassy in Rome.
Few documents were turned over even after the paper's persistence, that is, until President Biden decided to not run for a second term.
The week after Joe Biden bowed out of the race the State Department gave the Times what they had been asking for for years - the crucial communications between Hunter and U.S. government officials.
Speaking to the Times a spokesperson for the department suggested the timing of the documents release was coincidental.
The contents of the correspondence indicate that Hunter Biden wrote to the Tuscany regional president around the same time he emailed the U.S. ambassador to Italy.
This shop is where Hunter Biden notoriously left his laptop before its contents were published ahead of the 2020 election
Still, the copy of the letter appears to have been entirely redacted by the State Department, thwarting the journalist's efforts to uncover what was discussed in detail there within.
The agency claimed the redactions were meant to protect individual's privacy, attorney client privilege or private governmental process.
According to a source involved in the Tuscany project, the venture failed before before anyone even began drilling.
