[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1969-S1971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Biden Family

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today, Senator Johnson and I will 
present our third speech on the Biden investigation series.
  Today, we will focus on James Biden, the President's brother. Hunter 
Biden wasn't the only Biden family member who had connections to the 
Chinese communist regime. James Biden did as well.
  Before we begin our discussion, I think we will need to mention the 
main company once again, the Chinese company that goes by the initials 
CEFC.
  In the first two speeches, Senator Johnson and I established the 
connection between CEFC and the communist Chinese Government. We 
established the connection between CEFC and Hudson West III. We then 
established the connection with Hunter Biden's Owasco, Hudson West III, 
and CEFC.
  We showed that Hunter Biden and James Biden actively assisted CEFC as 
it worked to expand its footprint and its holdings in the global and 
U.S. energy sector. Today, we will add James Biden's Lion Hall Group to 
the list of Biden family companies connected to the communist regime.
  In my and Senator Johnson's September 2020 report, we showed that 
Hunter Biden and James Biden and their aligned firms received 
approximately $4.8 million from Hudson West III from August 2017 to 
September 2018. During that same timeframe, Hunter Biden's Owasco sent 
20 or so wires to James Biden's Lion Hall Group. Those 20 wires totaled 
just about $1.4 million.
  The liberal media and our Democratic colleagues originally tried to 
claim that Senator Johnson and my findings were Russian disinformation.
  Last week, the Washington Post reported the following:

       Over the course of 14 months, the Chinese energy 
     conglomerate--

  Here, parenthetically, they are referring to CEFC--

     and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities controlled 
     by Hunter Biden and his uncle, according to government 
     records, court documents and newly disclosed bank statements, 
     as well as emails contained on a copy of a laptop hard drive 
     that purportedly once belonged to Hunter Biden.

  The Post also reported this:

       During that time period, about $1.4 million was transferred 
     from Hunter's account to the Lion Hall Group, the consulting 
     firm that James Biden ran, according to other government 
     records reviewed by The Post.

  Senator Johnson and I were right 2 years ago. We knew it then, but it 
has been a long road to defend our work product.
  The liberal media and our Democratic colleagues aggressively tried to 
make the case that we were peddling Russian disinformation. What will 
the liberal media and my Democratic colleagues say now in light of last 
week's Washington Post article that substantiated the work Senator 
Johnson and I have been doing? We still haven't received any apology 
from our Democratic colleagues for their false claims against us these 
past several years. They haven't apologized to the American people. And 
I am not going to hold my breath.
  When will the big-time media in Washington awaken to respect my 
reputation for the thorough investigative and oversight work that I do 
as a Senator? And it is also my constitutional responsibility to do 
exactly that.
  Now, we have more records to discuss today. Today, Senator Johnson 
and I will show you financial transfers direct from Hudson West III to 
the Lion Hall Group. In other words, in these transfers, Hunter Biden's 
Owasco isn't the middleman.
  Let's look at the first poster here. This is a January 2018 bank 
statement from Hudson West III. Now, there is a lot going on here, so I 
will just mention several items.
  First, we have two examples of more wire transfers from Hudson West 
III for $165,000. The underlying wire data, which Senator Johnson and I 
will make public this very day, shows that money went to Hunter Biden's 
Owasco. That money was for the August 2017 LLC agreement, which by its 
terms saw James Biden become a manager of Hudson West III. That 
agreement sent $100,000 to Hunter Biden and $65,000 to James Biden 
every month. Those transactions occurred after the $5 million wire from 
Northern International Capital to Hudson West III on August 2017. 
Northern International was connected to Ye Jianming, who was connected 
to the communist regime.
  We explained all that in our second speech just last Tuesday.
  Second, this statement shows several examples of wires from Hudson 
West III to CEFC. As Senator Johnson and I have established, that 
company is an arm of the communist Chinese regime. This new record 
shows how closely connected Hudson West III was with CEFC while Hunter 
Biden and James Biden received money from Hudson West III.
  Third, we have a January 17, 2018, wire to Lion Hall Group. That 
happens to be James Biden's company. James Biden received $18,000 from 
Hudson West III the same month that company sent money to CEFC. This is 
just one example of many.
  Accordingly, the official bank record makes clear the financial 
connections between and among James Biden and the communist Chinese 
elements.

  To the liberal media and my Democratic colleagues, this official bank 
record--is that Russian disinformation, as you accused us of spreading?
  Now let's go to the second poster. This is a Hudson West III bank 
record from April 2018. Here, you see wire transfers from Coldharbour 
Capital. That company was connected to Mervyn Yan, who was an associate 
of Ye Jianming and Gongwen Dong.
  As Senator Johnson and I have already established, all of them are 
connected to the communist regime. These are the players in the game 
that I mentioned in the first speech last Monday, and now we have 
established that they appear repeatedly in bank records with high-
dollar transfers.
  These transfers aren't by accident--no way. There is clearly a scheme 
here.

[[Page S1970]]

There is a plan among and between all these individuals and their 
respective companies, which then begs the question, has the Justice 
Department acquired these records? If so, what has the Justice 
Department done about these records?
  Moving to the next transaction, there is another $165,000 wire. 
Again, that relates back to the LLC agreement that connected Hunter and 
James Biden to the Chinese firm CEFC and its projects in the energy 
sector. Then you have a $34,000 wire to James Biden's Lion Hall Group 
from Hudson West III.
  So what was this all about? Let's take a look, then, at the third 
poster. Look at the sixth line from the bottom. I want to quote. It 
says ``office expense and reimbursement.'' That is the same reason 
given for the first poster that I showed you.
  We will make all these records public this very day.
  For those of you who may still doubt my and Senator Johnson's 
oversight work, I am going to present one last transaction to bring all 
of this home.
  Look at the fourth poster. In my and Senator Johnson's September 2020 
report, we found that James Biden and Hunter Biden went on a $99,000 
global spending spree courtesy of whom? Another Chinese person I have 
mentioned so many times in these three speeches--Gongwen Dong. The 
spending spree included airline tickets, purchases at Apple stores, 
hotels, and restaurants. This bank record next to me shows a $99,000 
transaction in September 2017, but that is not all that we have.
  Let's turn to the final poster. This is No. 5. This is a credit card 
authorization form for $99,000. Look at the bottom. There is a 
signature block with Hunter Biden and Gongwen Dong.
  To the liberal press and my Democratic colleagues, are these official 
records Russian disinformation?
  So what is the point of all these records? Not only have Senator 
Johnson and I illustrated through new records that Hunter Biden was 
financially connected to the communist regime, these records show James 
Biden was as well. These new records show direct financial links 
between companies connected to the communist regime and James Biden 
through Lion Hall Group. These new records support the findings in our 
report to the last Congress.
  Remember, those records were put out in September and November of 
2020, and everybody was saying it was Russian disinformation. Forget 
the facts. Forget the evidence. Forget the investigative journalism. 
The liberal media wanted to provide cover for then-Candidate Joe Biden. 
They did whatever they could to smear our investigations.
  With these new records, there can be no doubt that James Biden was 
financially connected to corporations and individuals with extensive 
links to communist China and that he and Hunter Biden were in it 
together, working to help a Chinese Government-linked energy company 
pursue deals and expand its reach in the energy sector.
  Now, it is Senator Johnson's turn.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I thank Senator Grassley.
  What Senator Grassley and I have showed over the course of six 
speeches are the actual bank records of financial transactions tying 
President Biden's son Hunter and his brother James to businesses that 
are essentially arms of the communist Chinese regime. But the Biden 
business ventures include activities in many more countries than just 
China.
  In our September and November 2020 reports, we showed a vast web of 
Biden family foreign financial entanglements that were largely ignored 
by the media and falsely labeled ``Russian disinformation'' by our 
Democratic colleagues. As outrageous as the suppression of our reports 
and the false attacks were, perhaps the most egregious behavior came 
from 51 former intelligence Agency officials who lent their names and 
reputations to an effort designed to convince the American public that 
Hunter Biden's laptop had ``all the classic earmarks of a Russian 
information operation.''
  Without any evidence backing their assertion, they engaged in their 
own information operation by signing a public letter right before the 
election. Their letter was actual disinformation, coming from what are 
supposed to be trusted former members of our U.S. intelligence 
Agencies. They should all be ashamed and held accountable for spreading 
this disinformation. By signing that disinformation letter, they 
reinforced false claims that the records on the laptop were not 
legitimate.
  By casting doubt on evidence of the Bidens' corrupt practices, these 
former intelligence officials interfered in the 2020 election to a far 
greater extent than Russia could have ever hoped to achieve. Their 
willing accomplices in the press amplified this disinformation letter 
and, by doing so, were equally guilty of egregious election 
interference.
  In August 2020, I wrote a public letter detailing the history, 
purpose, and goals of my oversight and investigations. In that letter, 
I laid out the timeline of Joe and Hunter Biden's involvement in 
Ukraine. The timeline is very revealing.
  It starts in February 2014. That was the month of the Revolution of 
Dignity in Ukraine. Two months later, on April 16, 2014, then-Vice 
President Biden met with his son's business partner Devon Archer, now a 
convicted felon, at the White House.
  I just want to pause and just let that sink in a little bit. Devon 
Archer is now a convicted felon. He got a meeting in the White House 
with the Vice President of the United States. That is kind of a big 
deal.
  The press didn't ask many questions. Five days after that meeting in 
the White House, April 21, Joe Biden visited Ukraine, and the media 
described him as the ``public face of the administration's handling of 
Ukraine.'' The next day, on April 22, Devon Archer joined the board of 
Burisma. What a coincidence.
  On April 28, 6 days later, British officials seized $23 million from 
the London bank accounts of Burisma's owner Mykola Zlochevsky. Let that 
sink in a little bit. Six days after Devon Archer joined the board of 
Burisma, a day after Vice President Biden visited Ukraine, which was 5 
days after he met with Devon Archer in the White House, British 
officials seized $23 million from the corrupt owner of Burisma.
  On May 13, 2014, 3 weeks later, Hunter Biden joined the board of 
Burisma. What a coincidence.
  Because of the findings in our reports and the excellent 
investigative journalism on the part of John Solomon, we also know that 
Hunter was involved with Yelena Baturina, the corrupt and now-
sanctioned wife of the former mayor of Moscow, during the exact same 
period of time.
  On February 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca 
Thornton, an investment firm cofounded by Hunter Biden.
  Between April 4 and April 5, 2014--again, the same month that Joe 
Biden met with Devon Archer in the White House and Devon became a 
member of the board of Burisma--Hunter Biden and Devon Archer sent 
emails about meeting with Baturina, potentially relating to a business 
deal in Chelsea, NY.
  On April 13, 2014, 9 days before Devon Archer joined the board of 
Burisma, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer discussed a potential deal 
involving Baturina. Archer wrote that Baturina ``confirmed green light 
to fund deposit.'' Archer continued:

       Just spent two hours on the phone with Kiev. I am confident 
     at this point this is a good if not life changing deal if the 
     Ukraine doesn't collapse in the meantime.

  It is quite interesting to see how much significant activity 
involving the Bidens and corrupt actors in Russia and Ukraine occurred 
within a 6-week period, only 2 months after the Ukrainian Revolution of 
Dignity. It sure looks like they intended to cash in on the turmoil in 
Ukraine.
  In my August 2020 letter, I listed a number of questions about then-
Vice President Biden's interaction with Hunter Biden's business partner 
and other family members' foreign financial dealings. In making this 
letter public, my hope was that the press, the very uninquisitive 
press, would begin to ask then-Presidential candidate Joe Biden these 
important and legitimate questions.

  It should come as no surprise that the corporate media was completely 
uninterested and failed to conduct any investigative journalism. Nearly 
2 years after I wrote this public letter, the mainstream media has 
still not

[[Page S1971]]

adequately pressed President Biden for answers to these very legitimate 
questions; for example, No. 1: Why did Joe Biden meet with Devon Archer 
at the White House on April 16, 2014? What did they discuss? Did they 
discuss anything related to Ukraine, Hunter Biden, or Burisma?
  No. 2, was Joe Biden aware that Devon Archer joined the board of 
Burisma 6 days after that meeting, 1 day after he visited Ukraine?
  No. 3, does Joe Biden believe Burisma and its owner are corrupt?
  No. 4, when did Joe Biden first become aware that Hunter Biden also 
joined the board of Burisma?
  No. 5, when did Joe Biden first become aware of how much money Hunter 
Biden was being compensated by Burisma? Senator Grassley and my report 
showed it was close to $4 million.
  No. 6, what does Joe Biden know about Hunter or James Biden's 
dealings with China?
  No. 7, what does Joe Biden know about financial benefits his brother 
and sister-in-law have obtained because of their relationships to him?
  Investigative reporter John Solomon has added a few more questions to 
my list, including: No. 1, what, if anything, did Joe Biden know about 
his son's dealings with Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina?
  No. 2, a 2017 series of memos referred to a Chinese business deal 
that involved Hunter Biden and included a 10-percent equity for the 
``big guy.'' What did Joe Biden know about this specific deal, and who 
was the ``big guy''?
  No. 3, emails on Hunter Biden's laptop, now in the possession of the 
FBI, refer to shared accounts or bills between Joe Biden and Hunter. 
Did Hunter ever give Joe Biden any money, gift, or financial benefit 
from Hunter's business dealings?
  After a long-overdue analysis, the New York Times and the Washington 
Post have finally admitted that records from Hunter's laptop are 
authentic, which means--although they will never admit this--that 
Senator Grassley and I were right, and they were wrong.
  It is interesting to read how limited and muted their mea culpas are. 
My guess is that they learned a lot from their coverage of Nixon's 
Watergate scandal coverup. They learned that when you have been caught 
in a coverup--and that is what has happened here--you try to limit the 
damage by telling a little bit of the truth. In the intelligence world, 
this strategy is called a ``limited hangout.'' The Watergate 
coconspirators called it a ``modified limited hangout.''
  Regardless of what you call it, what the New York Times and the 
Washington Post are doing is not telling the whole truth. I doubt they 
ever will. But just in case they decide to pursue the truth with a 
little bit more rigor, they can use the above list of relevant 
questions as a good starting point for what they should be asking 
President Biden.
  For our part, Senator Grassley and I will continue to ask tough 
questions, review more information and records, and transparently 
provide that information to the American public. We intend to pursue 
and uncover the truth.
  I will now turn the floor back over to Senator Grassley for his 
closing remarks.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I thank Senator Johnson. I will just 
quickly say that the journalists in this town have an obligation to 
investigate. They ave an obligation to uncover the facts and the 
evidence. They have failed time and again.
  What has been reported recently is simply the tip of the iceberg. The 
question now is: Instead of accusing us of peddling Russian 
disinformation, will the media actually engage in true investigative 
journalism? Will the media act with intellectual honesty, or will the 
media continue to cover all this up for the Biden administration?
  Now, Congress has a constitutional responsibility to engage in 
oversight of the executive branch. The Biden administration has been 
totally unresponsive to our oversight requests; specifically, requests 
that relate to the Biden criminal case.
  Is Nicholas McQuaid recused from the Hunter Biden case? No answer 
from the Department. Does the Department possess FISA information on 
Patrick Ho, Hunter Biden's associate? The Department told a Federal 
court they do. They told me and Senator Johnson that they aren't sure. 
Can you imagine that?
  When Hunter Biden communicated with Patrick Ho, were his 
communications captured by our intelligence community? Is the Biden 
administration intentionally withholding this material from Congress 
out of fear of what we will find?
  In light of the Biden administration's total failure to respond to 
our questions, these are legitimate questions to ask. The Biden Justice 
Department's actions have cast a cloud over the case. The American 
people are rightly skeptical of the impact it may have on it.
  Transparency brings accountability. This week, Senator Johnson and I 
have done what we can to bring transparency to our oversight work for 
the American people. We will continue to do so.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.