Staff Reports
Bank records and other documents analyzed by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee suggest that President Joe Biden received a $40,000 payment from his brother in 2017, which is believed to have originated from a Chinese-owned company. While the evidence does not establish conclusive proof that the funds were intended for President Biden, several pieces of circumstantial evidence raise suspicions. One such piece of evidence is a text message from Hunter Biden to his Chinese associates, in which he mentioned his father’s name just days before the money was transferred to his own account.
Although the White House did not comment on the matter, President Biden strongly denied benefiting from his family’s business ventures. Republican Representative James Comer, the chair of the Oversight Committee, accused the president of receiving “laundered China money,” but also acknowledged the possibility that the $40,000 was a loan repayment from his brother. However, Comer emphasized that it demonstrates how President Biden has benefited from his family’s monetization of his name, with the additional irony of the money originating from China.
— Kimberly Conway (@Kimberl82111287) November 3, 2023
In addition to the text message from Hunter Biden, the committee also obtained FBI interview summaries with Hunter Biden’s associates. These interviews detail how Hunter Biden formed a joint entity with a Chinese associate, with the purpose of receiving money in exchange for the influence associated with the Biden family name.
The analysis of bank records further supports the claim that the $40,000 payment may have involved funds from the Chinese firm. The Biden family accounts involved in the transaction were mostly empty or funded by other deposits from Chinese entities. It appears that the $5 million initial wire from CEFC China Energy was deposited into Hunter Biden’s joint venture account, which had been empty prior to the wire transfer. From there, $400,000 was moved to Hunter Biden’s professional corporation, which previously held just over $100,000, $100,000 of which came from another Chinese deposit. Following this, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden. The Biden family accounts involved saw very little additional activity, suggesting that the $40,000 check was sourced from the original $5 million payment.
The details revealed by the committee are connected to a failed business venture involving Hunter Biden and his associates. The venture had originally included a 10% stake for Hunter Biden, referred to as “the big guy,” but Hunter Biden ultimately abandoned that arrangement and established his own entity to receive the wire transfer from the CEFC-connected firm.
Republican Congressman Comer believes it’s “plausible” that the $40,000 was a loan repayment, as the president’s brother and sister-in-law would not have had the funds to write the check without the initial wire transfer. However, concerns are raised about President Biden’s involvement with the Chinese-linked company and the potential risk of future blackmail. The White House, on the other hand, sees this as just another distracting attempt by House Republicans to undermine the president and claims again that there is no evidence of wrongdoing. Recent polling shows that a majority of Americans, including a significant number of Democrats, believe President Biden may have acted unethically or illegally in relation to his family’s foreign business affairs.
