Category: fox-news/person/hunter-biden

House investigators heading to prison to interview ex-Hunter Biden biz associate amid impeachment inquiry

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Congressional investigators are set to interview Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate, Jason Galanis, in prison on Friday to gather information on the Biden family’s business dealings and any "access" to then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Staff from the House Oversight and Judiciary committees are expected to travel to an Alabama prison, where Galanis is serving a 14-year prison sentence for securities fraud.

JAMES BIDEN SAYS HIS BROTHER 'HAS NEVER HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT' OR ANY 'FINANCIAL INTEREST' IN BUSINESS VENTURES

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan in November requested an interview with Galanis through the Bureau of Prisons.

Comer cited a Wall Street Journal report that "discusses the allegation of the ‘access’ Hunter Biden could provide while his father was vice president, with Mr. Galanis writing in 2014 that Hunter ‘will change your access forever,’" Comer wrote in the letter, requesting that investigators have the chance to "question Galanis about his firsthand knowledge of Hunter Biden’s influence peddling."

"The committees’ investigation requires that we obtain this information," Comer wrote. "Accordingly, we request the Federal Bureau of Prisons make Mr. Galanis available for a transcribed interview with Committee counsel."

Galanis formerly did business with both Hunter Biden and Devon Archer.

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

Galanis pleaded guilty to securities fraud based on bonds issued by a company affiliated with a Native American tribe in South Dakota. The funds were reportedly supposed to be used for certain projects but were instead used for his personal finances. He was sentenced in 2017 to 14 years.

Devon Archer was tied to the scheme and convicted in 2018 for defrauding the Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means. 

Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. 

BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES

Archer testified before the committees last year that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Biden, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times, and he said Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand." Archer was on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings along with Hunter Biden.

Galanis' expected testimony comes after James Biden testified that his brother, President Biden, "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures.

James Biden's testimony came days after his former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, testified before the committee, telling congressional investigators that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business ventures and testifying that he personally met with him. 

Days before Bobulinski's testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm his brother and son did business with.

After Walker's testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son."

Hunter Biden is expected to sit for his deposition on Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, the president last week called for the House impeachment inquiry to be dropped, calling it "an outrageous effort from the beginning."

James Biden ‘contradicted’ himself during testimony on brother’s involvement in family business: GOP lawmakers

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GOP lawmakers on Wednesday accused James Biden of contradicting himself during testimony about his brother’s supposed business dealings with the family. 

The president’s brother initially said he was not part of a deal with his nephew Hunter Biden and business associates Rob Walker, Tony Bobulinski, and James Gilliar, according to a source familiar with the interview. 

But when presented with an agreement with his signature on it, Biden changed his story, saying he did not recall signing the agreement, the source said. 

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaking to reporters after the interview said it was "interesting" and that Biden had "contradicted himself." 

That conclusion was shared by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who told reporters: "Let me say this. So there are a lot of things that Mr. Biden is saying that are directly contradicted by documents." 

The lawmakers’ comments come after James Biden’s voluntary private interview on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into his brother, President Joe Biden. 

JAMES BIDEN ARRIVES ON CAPITAL HILL TO TESTIFY IN BROTHER'S IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

"I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures. Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities," the president's younger brother said. "None."

The interview with both Republican and Democratic staff as well as lawmakers lasted more than eight hours. During several breaks, Republicans came out and told reporters, without citing details, that James Biden's responses contradicted his opening statement and that he had made efforts to avoid directly answering investigators' questions.

The interview with James Biden was the latest in a series that GOP lawmakers have conducted recently as they seek to rebuild momentum for an impeachment process surrounding the Biden family's overseas finances that has stalled in recent months.

Wednesday’s testimony comes after a central claim of the GOP investigation was undermined by federal prosecutors, who last week indicted an FBI informant who claimed there was a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving the president, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.

But Republicans argue that the informant was just one part of their broader investigation and say they intend to push ahead. "It doesn't change the fundamental facts," Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said.

The impeachment inquiry, which began in September under the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, has included the recent depositions of several former Biden family associates. 

James Biden says his brother ‘has never had any involvement’ or any ‘financial interest’ in business ventures

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FIRST ON FOX: James Biden testified Wednesday that his brother, President Biden, "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures, Fox News Digital has learned.

The president’s brother arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

Fox News Digital obtained the first brother’s opening statement.

"I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures," James Biden said in his opening statement. "Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None."

James Biden went on to defend his brother, the president, saying that because of his "intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else," James Biden said. "In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships—and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother."

He added: "Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying."

James Biden stressed that Joe Biden "played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits" from his work with Chinese energy company CEFC, or the healthcare company Americore.

"With my appearance here today, the Committees will have the information to conclude that the negative and destructive assumptions about me and my relationship with my brother Joe are wrong," James Biden said.

So far in the investigation into Biden family businesses, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."

Comer said the committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by "selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world."

Republicans have also focused on a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled "loan repayment." 

"On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account — not their business bank account," Comer continued. "And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden."

"Americore — a distressed company — loaned money to James Biden, who then sent it to Joe Biden," Comer said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

James Biden to testify in brother’s impeachment inquiry behind closed doors

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James Biden is expected to testify in the impeachment inquiry against his older brother, President Biden behind closed doors on Wednesday morning.

The president’s brother is set to appear for a deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Wednesday at 10 a.m.

JOE BIDEN RECEIVED $40K IN 'LAUNDERED CHINA MONEY' FROM BROTHER IN 2017, COMER SAYS

James Biden, also referred to as Jim Biden, had been subpoenaed in November to appear for a deposition as part of the impeachment inquiry — prior to it being formalized by the full House.

James Biden was involved in the Biden family business ventures with his nephew, Hunter Biden.

So far, during the investigation, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."

Comer said the committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by "selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world."

James Biden is expected to be questioned on whether Joe Biden was involved in the family's foreign business ventures.

James Biden is also expected to be questioned on "loan repayment" checks — one for $200,000 and another for $40,000 — that he wrote to the president.

JAMES BIDEN GIVEN LOAN, DIDN'T PROVIDE SERVICES TO AMERICORE DESPITE PROMISES TO USE LAST NAME, TRUSTEE SAYS

Comer said his panel had uncovered evidence that the president, in 2018, received a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled "loan repayment." 

Comer said that James Biden "received $600,000 in loans from Americore — a financially distressed and failing rural hospital operator." 

"On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account — not their business bank account," he continued. "And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden."

Comer said James Biden "wrote this check to Joe Biden as a ‘loan repayment.’"

"Americore — a distressed company — loaned money to James Biden, who then sent it to Joe Biden," Comer said.

The White House said the committee found that as a private citizen, the president loaned his brother his own money when his brother needed it, and after reviewing bank records, there is a record that he was repaid. 

Comer also said the president received another $40,000 "loan repayment" from James Biden, which the chairman described as "laundered China money."

COMER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT $200K 'DIRECT PAYMENT' FROM JAMES BIDEN TO JOE BIDEN IN 2018

Comer said the "money trail" began in July 2017 when Hunter Biden demanded a $10 million payment from a CEFC associate. In a WhatsApp message, he claimed "he was sitting with his father and that the Biden network would turn on his associate if he didn’t pony up the money," Comer explained.

Hunter Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure "you will regret not following my direction."

Hunter requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings. 

"I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. "And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction."

Zhao responded, in part, "CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family."

Comer, citing bank records he and his committee have obtained, said that on Aug. 8, 2017, the $5 million in funds were sent to Hudson West III, a joint-venture established by Hunter Biden and CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. The same day, Hudson West III sent $400,000 to Owasco, P.C.— a separate entity controlled and owned by Hunter Biden, Comer said.

BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES

Days later, on Aug. 14, 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Lion Hall Group, a company owned by James Biden and his wife Sara Biden. By Aug. 28, 2017, Comer said Sara Biden withdrew $50,000 in cash from Lion Hall Group and later deposited it into her and James Biden’s personal checking account.

"A few days later, Sara Biden cut a check to Joe Biden for $40,000," Comer said, referring to the Sept. 3, 2017, check his committee obtained. "The memo line of the check said, ‘loan repayment.’"

James Biden's expected testimony comes days after his former business associate Tony Bobulinski testified before the committee, telling congressional investigators that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business ventures, and testifying that he personally met with him. 

Days before Bobulinski's testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm his brother and son did business with. 

After Walker's testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son." 

Meanwhile, the president, last week, called for the House impeachment inquiry to be dropped, calling it "an outrageous effort from the beginning." 

FBI informant who lied about the Bidens’ ties to Ukrainian energy company had high-level Russian contacts: DOJ

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A former FBI informant charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme between a Ukrainian energy company and the Bidens had contacts with Russian intelligence officials, prosecutors said Tuesday. 

In court filings, prosecutors said Alexander Smirnov admitted during an interview before his arrest last week that "officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story" about the president’s son, Hunter Biden. They said Smirnov's contacts with Russian officials were recent and extensive, and said Smirnov had planned to meet with one official during an upcoming overseas trip.

They said Smirnov has had numerous contacts with a person he described as the "son of a former high-ranking government official" and "someone with ties to a particular Russian intelligence service." They said there is a serious risk that Smirnov could flee overseas to avoid facing trial.

Prosecutors revealed the alleged contact as they urged a judge to keep Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. 

HUNTER BIDEN WAS PAID $100K A MONTH THROUGH CHINESE FIRM VENTURE, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIED

Smirnov, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, is charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016. 

Smirnov had only routine business dealings with the company starting in 2017 and made the bribery allegations after he "expressed bias" against Joe Biden while he was a presidential candidate, prosecutors said. Special Counsel David Weiss said Smirnov’s lies were aimed at affecting the 2024 presidential election. 

Smirnov is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. The charges were filed in Los Angeles, where he lived for 16 years before relocating to Las Vegas two years ago.

Smirnov was due in court later Tuesday in Las Vegas. He has been in custody at a facility in rural Pahrump, about an hour drive west of Las Vegas, since his arrest last week at the airport while returning from overseas.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Smirnov to be released from custody on electronic GPS monitoring while he awaits trial. He must stay in Clark County, Nevada, and is prohibited from applying for a new passport.

Before his arrest, Smirnov had been scheduled to leave the U.S. for a months-long, multi-country trip that – by his own admission – involved meetings with officials of foreign intelligence agencies and governments, prosecutors said. 

Ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld had argued for Smirnov's release while he awaits trial "so he can effectively fight the power of the government."

Smirnov's claims have been central to the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark what is now a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Democrats called for an end to the probe after the indictment came down last week, while Republicans distanced the inquiry from Smirnov's claims and said they would continue to "follow the facts."

Hunter Biden is expected to give a deposition next week.

The Burisma allegations became a flashpoint in Congress as Republicans pursuing investigations of President Biden and his family demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations. They acknowledged they couldn't confirm if the allegations were true.

Fox News' David Spunt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Biden calls for an end to impeachment inquiry after indictment of FBI informant: ‘Outrageous effort’

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President Biden called for House Republicans to drop their impeachment inquiry against him, saying on Friday that it has been "an outrageous effort from the beginning." 

The president’s comments came after the indictment of FBI informant who alleged that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden had been paid millions of dollars in exchange for their help firing the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating Burisma Holdings.

"He is lying, and it should be dropped," Biden said after a reporter asked about the indicted FBI informant.

House Republicans told Fox News Digital that their impeachment inquiry has much more evidence that does not rely on the indicted FBI source.

FBI INFORMANT CHARGED WITH GIVING FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN IN 2020

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Alexander Smirnov, 43, with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record during FBI interviews. 

According to the indictment, Smirnov gave "false derogatory information" to the FBI despite "repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information and that he must not fabricate evidence." 

The indictment says that Smirnov had told an FBI agent in March 2017 that he had had a phone call with Burisma’s owner concerning the firm potentially acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange. 

In reporting this conversation to the FBI agent, Smirnov said that Hunter Biden was a board member of Burisma, though that was publicly known. 

In June 2020, Smirnov is accused of having told the FBI, for the first time, about two meetings he had had four to five years earlier, in which executives associated with Burisma had supposedly admitted that they had hired Hunter Biden to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." 

During this meeting, the indictment alleges that Smirnov said the executives had paid $5 million to each of the Bidens while Joe Biden was still in office. The indictment alleges that Smirnov falsely claimed that the Bidens had been paid so that Hunter Biden, with his dad’s help, could take care of a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, into Burisma. 

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

The allegations were recorded on an FBI FD-1023 form, which is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI. 

The FD-1023 form containing the allegations last year became a key document in the House investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley were approached by a whistleblower last summer who alleged that the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020 — that explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source alleging that Biden, while serving as vice president, had been involved in a multi-million-dollar scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

On Friday, Biden was asked about the indictment of Smirnov—and whether it should bring the impeachment inquiry to an end.

"He is lying, and it should be dropped," Biden said, referring to Smirnov’s allegations and the impeachment inquiry. "It’s just been a — it's been an outrageous effort from the beginning."

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell, earlier Friday, said the same: "For months we have warned that Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts. We were right, and the air is out of their balloon," Lowell said in a statement. "This is just another instance of Chairmen Comer and Jordan peddling falsehoods based on dishonest, uncredible allegations and witnesses."

But Comer, who is leading the impeachment inquiry, said that the FBI's FD-1023 form containing Smirnov’s is not being used in an impeachment inquiry against the president. 

SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AT HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

The impeachment inquiry, he said, "is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings." 

"We have over $30 million reasons to continue this investigation and not one of those reasons relies on the corrupt FBI or an informant. Bank records don’t lie," Comer told Fox News Digital on Friday. "Bank records and witness testimony reveal Joe Biden knew about and participated in his family’s business schemes, and he has repeatedly lied to the American people about these facts."

Comer added: "The American people demand the truth and accountability for any wrongdoing. We will continue to follow the facts to propose legislation to reform federal ethics laws and to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted."

Coming up in the impeachment inquiry is testimony from the president's brother, Jim Biden, on February 21, and a deposition of Hunter Biden on February 28. Both testimonies will take place behind closed doors. 

Smirnov is accused of repeating some of his false claims during an interview with FBI agents in September 2023, while changing other bits of information, and promoting a new false narrative after claiming to have met with Russian officials. 

If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.   

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

FBI informant charged with giving false information about Hunter Biden in 2020

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Special Counsel David Weiss has charged an FBI informant with giving false information after he alleged that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were paid millions in exchange for their help firing the Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. 

Alexander Smirnov, 43, is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record during FBI interviews. 

Prosecutors say Smirnov was arrested at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada Wednesday after a federal grand jury returned an indictment. He was scheduled to appear in federal court in the District of Nevada later Thursday. 

According to the indictment, Smirnov gave "false derogatory information" to the FBI despite "repeated admonishments that he must provide truthful information and that he must not fabricate evidence." 

The indictment says Smirnov told an FBI agent in March 2017 that he had a phone call with Burisma’s owner concerning the firm potentially acquiring a U.S. company and making an initial public offering (IPO) on a U.S.-based stock exchange. 

In reporting this conversation to the FBI agent, Smirnov said Hunter Biden was a board member of Burisma, though this was publicly known. 

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

In June 2020, Smirnov is accused of having told the FBI, for the first time, about two meetings he had four to five years prior, in which executives associated with Burisma supposedly admitted that they hired Hunter Biden to "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." 

During this meeting, the indictment alleges that Smirnov said the executives paid $5 million to each of the Bidens while Joe Biden was still in office. The indictment alleges that Smirnov falsely claimed the Bidens were paid so that Hunter Biden, with his dad’s help, could take care of a criminal investigation being conducted by the then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, into Burisma. 

The indictment alleges that this information given by Smirnov in June 2020 was a fabrication. Prosecutors say Smirnov did have contact with Burisma executives in 2017, but when Joe Biden was out of public office and had no ability to influence U.S. policy and after the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been fired in February 2016. 

The indictment alleges that Smirnov transformed his "routine and unextraordinary" business contacts with Burisma in 2017 and later bribery allegations against Joe Biden after expressing bias against him and his presidential candidacy. 

FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CHINESE HACKERS ARE ‘POISED TO ATTACK’ AS INFILTRATIONS REACH ‘FEVER PITCH’

Smirnov is accused of repeating some of his false claims during an interview with FBI agents in September 2023, while changing other bits of information, and promoting a new false narrative after claiming to have met with Russian officials. 

If convicted, Smirnov faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.   

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley were approached by a whistleblower last summer who alleged that the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form, dated June 30, 2020 — which explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source alleging Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a multi-million-dollar scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

The source told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source was used by the FBI for "at least several years" before the FD-1023 form, and was "found to be highly credible" by the FBI. 

Comer said Thursday that FBI Director Christopher Wray refused a request from him and Grassley last summer for the public release of the form because the bureau "claimed it would jeopardize the safety of a confidential human source who they claimed was invaluable to the FBI." 

Comer said the bureau informed him that the source was "credible and trusted, had worked with the FBI for over a decade, and have been paid six figures." 

"The FBI's actions in this matter are very concerning. The FBI had this form for years and it appears they did nothing to verify the troubling claims contained within the record until Congress became aware of and demanded access to them," Comer said. 

Comer said the FBI's FD-1023 form is not being used in an impeachment inquiry against the president. 

The impeachment inquiry, he said, "is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings." 

"Just this week, we had another witness confirm Joe Biden was the brand being sold by the Bidens around the world. President Biden continues to lie to the American people about this matter and the American people demand the truth and accountability for any wrongdoing. We will continue to follow the facts to propose legislation to reform federal ethics laws and to determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted."

The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

Tony Bobulinski attorney accuses Oversight Dems of ‘gaslighting,’ false smears against Hunter Biden associate

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An attorney for Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski accused House Democrats of "abusive conduct and disingenuous mischaracterizations" of his testimony on the Biden family's business dealings. 

In a letter to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member and lead Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Bobulinski's counsel Stefan Passantino asserted that Democrats were attempting to assassinate his client's character. 

"We are watching the death throes of a political narrative that will be shattered upon the imminent public release of Mr. Bobulinski’s testimony before the House Committees on Oversight and Judiciary yesterday," Passantino wrote. 

"The facts are before Congress and will soon be before the American people. Minority assassination of Mr. Bobulinski’s character and grotesque mischaracterizations of his words will only serve to highlight the gaslighting and vilification Mr. Bobulinski has endured since he reluctantly came forward almost four years ago to share with the public the facts of his business experience with the Biden family," the letter continues. 

JOE BIDEN IS ‘THE BIG GUY,’ TONY BOBULINSKI SAID DURING ‘UNSHAKEABLE’ TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"As the public will see soon enough, Mr. Bobulinski has the facts and the receipts, and no amount of character assassination will change that."

Bobulinski testified behind closed doors for more than eight hours on Tuesday as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. He is one of the Republicans' star witnesses, having worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC. 

Behind closed doors, sources said Bobulinski told the House Overisght and Judiciary Committees that he had "personally met" with Joe Biden in May 2017 in Los Angeles on the sidelines of the Milken Conference for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. 

Fox News Digital first reported on that meetings between Bobulinski and Biden in October 2020.

JOE BIDEN 'ENABLED' FAMILY TO SELL ACCESS TO 'DANGEROUS ADVERSARIES,' TONY BOBULINSKI TESTIFIES

Joe Biden, on May 3, 2017, spoke at the conference, hosting "A Conversation with the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden."

Just days after the May 2, 2017, meeting came the now-infamous May 13, 2017, email, which included a discussion of "remuneration packages" for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Biden as "Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC," in a reference to the now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co.

The email includes a note that "Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate." A proposed equity split references "20" for "H" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" with no further details.

Bobulinski testified Tuesday that Joe Biden is "the big guy," a claim he has made since 2020. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who claimed that politics had influenced the yearslong federal investigation into Hunter Biden, have also said "the big guy" was known to be Joe Biden.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE'S TEXT MESSAGES INDICATE MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN

Bobulinski claims that Joe Biden was "the Brand" sold by Hunter Biden and other family members as part of a "foreign influence peddling operation." 

President Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son Hunter's business dealings. House Democrats have rallied behind the president, with Raskin claiming that Bobulinski "offers absolutely no testimony that indicates any criminal activity by President Biden . . . or evidence that President Biden was involved in Hunter Biden's businesses."

In the letter, Passantino said Raskin's statement is "categorically false" and pushed back against other claims made by House Democrats, insisting that a soon-to-be-released transcript of Bobulinksi's testimony will prove them wrong. 

"Equally concerning are the false allegations impugning Mr. Bobulinski’s character and statements about law enforcement. Unlike those making these accusations, Mr. Bobulinski has a proud and exemplary history of serving this country in the military and his patriotism cannot be questioned," Passantino wrote.

BOBULINSKI OFFERED TO TESTIFY AT HUNTER BIDEN GRAND JURY BUT 'NEVER HEARD BACK': SOURCE

"As the transcript will show, Mr. Bobulinski did NOT accuse the FBI of lying about his voluntary statements before them in October 2020. The transcript will show that when Mr. Bobulinski was asked by the Minority about second-hand accounts of his words rather than asking him direct questions, Mr. Bobulinski simply corrected errors in the FBI’s internal 302 report about his statements.

"As Mr. Bobulinski testified yesterday, these errors could have been corrected years ago if Mr. Bobulinski had been shown the FBI’s internal summary or if ANY government agency had reached out to us at the time," the letter states.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for House Oversight Democrats pointed to several statements from committee members questioning Bobulinski's credibility as a witness. Democrats have urged the committee to release the transcript of his testimony after Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., accused them of "witness intimidation." 

"Let’s read between the lines here: we asked questions on the very real credibility issues with your witness," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, posted on X. "If his claims can’t stand up to the most basic scrutiny, that’s on you." 

"Hey Chairman Comer. You invited a sham witness and we asked basic questions — his lack of credibility is on you! Why not release the transcript?" posted Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. 

President BIden's brother, Jim Biden, will be the next witness to testify to the committee as part of the impeachment inquiry on February 21. Hunter Biden is expected to appear for his deposition on February 28.

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Joe Biden is ‘the big guy,’ Tony Bobulinski said during ‘unshakeable’ testimony amid impeachment inquiry

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Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski testified that Joe Biden is "the Big Guy" and said the president "continues to lie" to the American people about his involvement in his son’s business dealings.

Bobulinski, who worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC, and said he met with Joe Biden in 2017, provided "unshakeable" testimony behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Tuesday.

JOE BIDEN 'ENABLED' FAMILY TO SELL ACCESS TO 'DANGEROUS ADVERSARIES,' TONY BOBULINSKI TESTIFIES

His testimony, which came as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, lasted for more than eight hours.

A source familiar with his testimony told Fox News Digital that he testified that he "personally met" with Biden in May 2017 in Los Angeles on the sidelines of the Milken Conference for somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour.

Fox News Digital first reported on that meetings between Bobulinski and Biden in October 2020.

Joe Biden, on May 3, 2017, spoke at the conference, hosting "A Conversation with the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden." 

Just days after the May 2, 2017, meeting, the now-infamous May 13, 2017, email, which included a discussion of "remuneration packages" for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Biden as "Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC," in a reference to now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co.

The email includes a note that "Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate." A proposed equity split references "20" for "H" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" with no further details.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE'S TEXT MESSAGES INDICATE MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN

Bobulinski testified Tuesday that Joe Biden is "the big guy."

Bobulinski has, since 2020, said "the big guy" was Joe Biden. But IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who claimed that politics had influenced the yearslong federal investigation into Hunter Biden, also said "the big guy" was known to be Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, Bobulinski testified that from his "direct personal experience," it is "clear" that Joe Biden was "'the Brand' being sold by the Biden family.’"

"His family’s foreign influence peddling operation—from China to Ukraine and elsewhere—sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government," Bobulinski said in his opening statement, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

"Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability," Bobulinski said. "The only reason any of these international business transactions took place—with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family—was because Joe Biden was in high office."

Bobulinski added: "The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period."

Bobulinski served in the U.S. Navy’s Naval Nuclear Power Training Command as a decorated master training specialist instructor; the Command’s chief technology officer, holding "Q security clearance" from the Energy Department and from the National Security Agency; and later served as a direct input officer for the command in his final Navy Fitness Report.

Another source familiar with Bobulinski’s testimony told Fox News Digital that he told committee investigators that Jim Biden, the president’s brother, was never concerned about the optics of Joe Biden’s involvement in the family’s foreign business dealings, saying he could claim "plausible deniability."

Bobulinski also told congressional lawmakers that he was never approached by the Justice Department, or Special Counsel David Weiss, to answer questions or provide testimony on anything related to the Bidens. 

"Tony Bobulinski articulated under oath that Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ the Bidens sold to enrich the family," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in a statement after Bobulinski’s testimony. "Joe Biden not only knew about his family’s dealings with a Chinese Communist Party linked energy company, but he also enabled them and participated in them. Tony Bobulinski testified he believes Joe Biden committed wrongdoing and continues to lie to the American people about his participation in his family’s influence peddling schemes."

BOBULINSKI OFFERED TO TESTIFY AT HUNTER BIDEN GRAND JURY BUT 'NEVER HEARD BACK': SOURCE

Comer went on to say Bobulinski "was unshakeable in his testimony today, providing facts Democrats didn’t want to hear."

"As such, Democrats put on a shameful display as they yelled at Mr. Bobulinski, cut him off, belittled him, and threatened him,

"Comer said, blasting his Democratic colleagues for  "behavior that I’ve frankly never seen before in a transcribed interview."

Comer said he will "soon release the transcript to provide the American people with transparency about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s shady schemes and Democrats’ efforts to smear him for blowing the whistle."

But the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Bobulinski "offers absolutely no testimony that indicates any criminal activity by President Biden… or evidence that President Biden was involved in Hunter Biden's businesses."

Meanwhile, as Bobulinski left Capitol Hill Tuesday, he turned to reporters and said: "It was a great day for the American people."

Next up before the committee as part of the impeachment inquiry is the president’s brother, Jim Biden, on Feb. 21. Hunter Biden is expected to appear for his deposition on Feb. 28.

Joe Biden ‘enabled’ family to sell access to ‘dangerous adversaries,’ Tony Bobulinski testifies

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden "enabled" his son Hunter to sell access to the United States’ "most dangerous adversaries," including the Chinese Communist Party, Russia and more, the first son’s ex-business associate Tony Bobulinski is expected to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry Tuesday.

Bobulinski, who worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC, and said he met with Joe Biden in 2017, is testifying behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Tuesday. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Bobulinski’s prepared opening statement.

HUNTER BIDEN'S EX-ASSOCIATE TONY BOBULINSKI HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL THIS WEEK TO TESTIFY IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Bobulinski will testify that from his "direct personal experience," it is "clear" that Joe Biden was "'the Brand' being sold by the Biden family.’"

"His family’s foreign influence peddling operation—from China to Ukraine and elsewhere—sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government," Bobulinski will testify.

"Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability," Bobulinski will say. "The only reason any of these international business transactions took place—with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family—was because Joe Biden was in high office."

Bobulinski will add: "The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period."

Bobulinski is also expected to raise "possible violations by Joe Biden of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the Foreign Corrupt practices Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)."

Bobulinski is set to detail CEFC’s arrangement with the Biden family, stressing that it is a "surrogate" of the Chinese Communist Party.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE'S TEXT MESSAGES INDICATE MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN

"The Chinese Communist Party through its surrogate, China Energy Company Limited, or ‘CEFC’—a CCP-linked Chinese energy conglomerate—successfully sought to infiltrate and compromise Joe Biden and the Obama-Biden white House," Bobulinski will say, noting the work began in 2015 and continued through when Joe Biden left office in January 2017 through March of 2018.

Bobulinski will say CEFC’s "aggressive approach" to the Biden family began around the same time Joe Biden announced he would not run for president in 2016. Biden made that announcement in October 2015.

Bobulinski is also expected to call Hunter Biden "the Biden family’s weakest link."

Bobulinski is expected to testify that Joe Biden "was aware of the CEFC transaction, enabled it and had a constitutional responsibility and obligation to the American people to shut it down before it began."

"This is because CEFC had been identified as a known surrogate of the Chinese Communist Party by the U.S. Government and prosecutors in the Southern District of New York as far back as 2016, possibly earlier," Bobulinski will explain, noting that Biden "should have been aware that his own administration had red-flagged CEFC as a tool of the Chinese Communist Party." 

"This should have made any business transaction with CEFC a non-starter," Bobulinski will say.

BOBULINSKI OFFERED TO TESTIFY AT HUNTER BIDEN GRAND JURY BUT 'NEVER HEARD BACK': SOURCE

Meanwhile, Bobulinski will testify that he "personally met with Joe Biden in Los Angeles in May of 2017 multiple times to discuss the broad contours of our business dealings."

Fox News Digital first reported on those meetings between Bobulinski and Biden in October 2020.

"The only reason Joe Biden met with me privately during the Milken Institute Global Conference and seated me at his head table was because I was a business associate of the Biden family," Bobulinski will say.

Bobulinski will also explain that the Biden family members "were enriched to the tune of tens of millions of dollars from some of our most dangerous adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party and players from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Kazakhstan, and other foreign nations and entities." 

Bobulinski is also expected to say that the Biden family "knowingly and aggressively defrauded" him. 

Meanwhile, Bobulinski is expected to say that federal law enforcement has been "singularly unwilling to speak with me or hear the facts" he plans to share with the committee.

Bobulinski will say that he has "never" been contacted to testify in any federal investigation related to the Bidens, including with Special Counsel David Weiss’ team.

In October 2020, Bobulinski voluntarily went to the FBI’s Washington Field Office "with several phones containing years of encrypted communications between me and numerous members of the Biden family and their associates."

EXCLUSIVE: JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT

Bobulinski is set to begin by thanking the committee for giving him the opportunity to share the "facts and evidence" with the American people that he has "been trying to outline for over four years, all backed up and supported by emails, texts, documents, records, pictures, and other evidence."

Bobulinski served in the U.S. Navy’s Naval Nuclear Power Training Command as a decorated master training specialist instructor; the Command’s chief technology officer, holding "Q security clearance" from the Energy Department and from the National Security Agency; and later served as a direct input officer for the command in his final Navy Fitness Report.

"I am here today out of duty to God and country in a nonpartisan manner with only one party in mind, the party I served with honor and gratitude: the United States of America," Bobulinski will say, maintaining that he is "not a political person," while disclosing that he did make campaign contributions to Democrats, like Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., over the years.

Bobulinski first came forward with his story about Joe Biden’s alleged involvement in his family’s business deals weeks before the 2020 presidential election.

"For nearly four years, I have tried to tell the American people the truth about serious corruption at the very top of their government," Bobulinski will say, referring to the Bidens. "In return, I have been falsely accused of being a purveyor of ‘Russian disinformation’ and a political surrogate."

Bobulinski will say that his efforts "to inform the American people of the facts have been actively suppressed by both the United States Government and the so-called ‘mainstream media.’"

Bobulinski is expected to urge congressional investigators to "remove your partisan hats today and focus on one party: the United States of America." 

The White House, President Biden, and Hunter Biden have maintained that Joe Biden was not involved in the family’s business dealings.