Sen. Grassley: We're following the Hunter Biden money, and we want answers
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., on pressing for details of Hunter Biden’s business deals and the potential involvement of President Biden
FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Republicans are demanding information from the FBI about Hunter Biden's business partner's ties to the Chinese Communist Party and her successful infiltration into President Biden's family's affairs, which they say jeopardizes national security.
James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray Wednesday morning stating that committee Republicans have documents that "reveal Hunter Biden’s business partner and close personal associate was linked to the Communist Party of China (CCP), her employer before the Biden family."
Republicans say Hunter's partner, JiaQi "Jackie" Bao, provided the president's son information on how to purchase natural gas in the U.S. and sell it to China. In addition, they say documents show that Bao had access to the Biden family's financial information and worked closely with CCP agents.
"After infiltrating the Biden family, Bao urged Hunter to encourage Joe Biden to run for president months before he announced and then supplied the Biden family campaign advice related to China," Comer's letter said.
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"Media reports and documents reviewed by Committee Republicans suggest that Bao and Hunter’s relationship extended beyond professional obligations — a common tactic employed by Chinese intelligence agents. Committee Republicans are concerned Hunter Biden may have been compromised by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and foreign intelligence services (FIS). Due to the interconnected nature of the Biden family’s finances and business dealings, this type of access would jeopardize U.S. national security," Comer added.
The letter said Bao's degree from Tsinghua University is alarming because it is "recruiting hub for China's intelligence service." In addition, she worked for the PRC's National Development and Reform Commission.
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Republicans say they have documents showing that Bao, who was working with employees linked to the CCP, connected with Hunter once he started communicating with CEFC China Energy, a top Chinese energy company.
The letter cited one email from Bao to Hunter that said, "my job is to make sure our interest is protected" regarding a potential energy purchase.
In addition, Bao gave Hunter maps of gas producing areas within the U.S., which the Republicans say helped "execute financial transactions." Although the Biden-CEFC collaboration was "cut short" in 2018, when the Chinese partners in the venture were arrested for bribery, Bao made an effort to remain close to Hunter.
Federal investigators are weighing whether to charge Hunter Biden with various tax and foreign lobbying violations, false statements and more, with a former official telling Fox News at the start of October that an outcome to the case could be "imminent." (Kevin Lamarque)
"Bao’s efforts to remain close to the Biden family following the CEFC venture collapse raises serious concerns about Bao's motives and plans with the Biden family," the letter said. "Specifically, did the CCP push Bao to ensure that the Bidens continued selling American LNG to China? If so, this presents an alarming national security threat."
Additionally, Comer said the lawmakers are concerned that Special Agent Timothy Thibault "ignored information about the role Bao played in the Biden family business and whether national security was compromised."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said he is worried that Thibault may have improperly influenced the criminal investigation into Hunter.
"In fact, the information I have received reveals that Thibault's political partisanship went much deeper than the inappropriate social media posts," Grassley wrote in a July letter to the Justice Department and the FBI. "Instead, it impacted his official decision-making on sensitive public corruption investigations. Equally concerning is that, based on Justice Department and FBI policies, Thibault's partisanship likely affected investigations briefed to, and approved by, senior Justice Department and FBI officials."
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray Wednesday morning. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Additionally, new whistleblower documents reveal that President Biden "was aware of Hunter Biden’s business arrangements and may have been involved in some of them," Grassley said last week, suggesting that the FBI has "voluminous evidence" related to the potential criminality of those ventures.
The letter from Comer concludes by demanding a series of documents and communications related to Bao, Hunter and Thibault.
The letter ended by warning that the threat of a foreign intelligence services agent gaining access to a presidential family's sensitive information is "too great to ignore."
The FBI confirmed it had received the letter but did not have further comment.
Federal investigators are weighing whether to charge Hunter Biden with various tax and foreign lobbying violations, false statements and more. A former official told Fox News at the start of October that an outcome to the case could be "imminent."
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