The GOP has been chasing Hunter for years. But they may have finally gotten him.
And Hunter Biden could end up behind bars after these secret documents leaked.
Explosive federal records dropped Friday, revealing how Hunter Biden, the former first son, tapped into Obama-era connections—while his dad, Joe, was vice president—to score favors for Ukrainian energy giant Burisma Holdings, which shelled out a cool million bucks a year for his political clout.
Unveiled 73 days after Joe Biden’s presidency wrapped, the files expose Hunter, now 55, cozying up to the State Department to secure support for a Burisma geothermal project in Italy.
Back in July 2016, then-US Ambassador to Rome John Phillips got a nudge from Hunter and replied, designating an embassy subordinate to smooth the path for Burisma’s outreach to Tuscany’s then-regional president, Enrico Rossi.
“Dear Hunter, It seems like yesterday that you were in Rome. I hope this finds you well. Thank you for your letter. I know Enrico Rossi well and have a good working relationship with him,” Phillips wrote, as reported by the New York Times.
“I spoke to the Senior Commercial Officer at the Embassy, [name redacted], and though the amount of direct support we can provide to a Ukrainian company is limited, I’ve asked him to be the point of contact, see where our interests may overlap, and facilitate contact with Mr. Rossi.”
A month earlier, Hunter had reached out to the embassy, requesting “your support and guidance in arranging a meeting for representatives from Burisma with the President of Tuscany Region, Mr. Enrico Rossi,” adding, “It was great seeing you in Rome recently.”
Phillips told the Times he figured Hunter was referencing a three-day visit by then-VP Joe Biden to the ambassador’s residence in November 2015, with Hunter tagging along for part of it.
A Hunter Biden spokesperson insisted to the paper that the nod to his father’s trip was just “heartfelt appreciation for courtesy and comfort” from Phillips.
The leaked docs bolster GOP accusations of Hunter cashing in on influence peddling during his dad’s VP tenure, raking in big bucks from gigs in places like China and Ukraine—though the revelations hit after their political punch has faded.
Joe Biden, as president, swore he never mingled with Hunter or first brother James Biden’s overseas business cronies, despite photos, emails, and witness accounts showing him hobnobbing with their pals from Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and two Chinese government-tied outfits.
The elder Biden wiped his son’s slate clean with a December pardon for tax-fraud and gun charges, then in January tossed a preemptive pardon to other family members, including James.
House Republicans wrapped an impeachment probe into then-President Biden in August after he bailed on his re-election bid July 21, but dropped a report blasting him for power abuse and stonewalling their digs.
“This is yet another example of the Biden family’s playbook,” fumed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). “Then-Vice President Joe Biden lets Hunter hitch a ride on Air Force Two, where he cozies up to U.S. and foreign officials and cashes in on the Biden name.
“Time and again, Hunter Biden leveraged his father’s position to peddle influence to enrich the Biden family. It’s no surprise that Hunter Biden tried to exploit his last name with the U.S. Ambassador in Rome to assist a corrupt Ukrainian energy conglomerate,” Comer charged. “This appears to be a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and he should be held accountable.”
Burisma tapped Hunter for its board in early 2014 to help its pro-Russia oligarch boss, Mykola Zlochevsky, weather Ukraine’s anti-Moscow upheaval. Hunter spearheaded the geothermal arm to slap a green veneer on the natural gas outfit.
Despite zero industry chops, Hunter landed the gig right as his dad took the reins of Obama’s Ukraine policy—and the controversy-prone son has conceded he “probably not” have scored it with a different surname.
Lingering mysteries swirl around the Bidens’ Ukraine saga—like the exact timeline of Joe’s months-long push, using $1 billion in US loan guarantees, to boot Ukrainian prosecutor-general Viktor Shokin, whose office had probed Zlochevsky for self-dealing under ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.
Democrats claim Shokin’s investigation was dormant when he got the axe.
Yet Joe’s arm-twisting with US aid stunned fellow Obama officials, per earlier docs—and came hot on the heels of Hunter phoning his dad from a Dubai business summit with Zlochevsky and Burisma adviser Vadym Pozharskyi in December 2015, per ex-partner Devon Archer’s sworn account.
“Yikes. I don’t recall this coming up in our meeting with them on Tuesday,” National Security Council aide Eric Ciamarella emailed Jan. 21, 2016, noting “we were super impressed with the group” from Shokin’s office that hit DC.
Laptop files published by the New York Post in October 2020 showed Joe Biden wining and dining with Pozharskyi at DC’s Cafe Milano in April 2015—a meet the Biden campaign fuzzily denied, but Hunter confirmed in Congress last year.
Also murky: how deep Kyiv’s longtime mayor Vitali Klitschko was in with Burisma’s geothermal wing.
Klitschko, who met Joe Biden multiple times, was tagged in laptop docs as a “core shareholder” in the Italian project—fueling speculation.
A former associate told the New York Post Hunter would steer contacts to the ex-heavyweight champ, though Klitschko denies any involvement.
