by Nick Pope
According to a report in The New York Times, Hunter Biden reportedly approached U.S. officials for help with an energy deal in Italy when his father was vice president and he worked for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
The documents, which the Biden administration did not release until after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, reportedly show that Biden Hunter wrote a letter to the US ambassador to Italy in 2016, in which he asked the US government for assistance in connection with the project planned by Burisma, According to to the NYT. Hunter Biden reportedly wanted the ambassador to help him arrange a meeting between Burisma and the president of Tuscany, an Italian region where the company hoped to develop a geothermal energy project.
According to a report in the Times, U.S. officials were apparently concerned that the then-vice president’s son had approached the embassy asking for help for a foreign corporation.
MSNBC: Hunter Biden attended White House meetings. photo: twitter.com/a1MhPL68uj
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 3, 2024
“I want to be careful not to overpromise,” wrote a Commerce Department official at the Rome embassy who responded to Hunter Biden, according to the NYT. “This is a Ukrainian company and, strictly to protect itself, [the U.S. government] should not actively work for the Italian government without going through the process [Department of Commerce] “Advocacy Center.”
Hunter Biden reportedly attempted to contact the embassy at the request of Burismawho had difficulty getting Tuscan officials to approve its plans, a businessman involved in the scandal told the NYT. Ultimately, the Tuscan project never came to fruition.
The Department of Commerce Advocacy Center is a program designed to help U.S. companies navigate business deals with foreign governments, according to the NYT. Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abe Lowelldisputes the notion that his client’s actions were improper.
“No meeting took place, no project was implemented, nothing was requested in the U.S., only an introduction in Italy,” Lowell said in a statement provided to the NYT. Lowell further characterized Hunter Biden’s communication as an “appropriate request” and added that his client had “asked various people” about the possibility of a meeting between the company and the Tuscan government.
At the time, Vice President Joe Biden was unaware that his son had reportedly contacted the embassy on behalf of Burisma, the White House told the NYT. The State Department has not yet released the text of Hunter Biden’s letter.
Burisma hired Hunter Biden served on its board in 2014, paying him about $80,000 a month for his services, despite the fact that he had never been to Ukraine and had no experience in the natural gas industry. The company significantly reduced his compensation after former President Donald Trump took office in early 2017.
Hunter Biden and his father were accused by Republican lawmakers engaging in a extensive influence-peddling scheme while Joe Biden was vice president. House Republicans and prosecutors have investigated Hunter Biden’s dealings with business interests in various ways China, Romania, Kazakhstan AND Ukraineand lawmakers said the Biden family and their associates received millions dollars from foreign entities through a elaborate network of shell companies, According to to the House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee.
The president’s son is scheduled to appear in court in California next month, where he will face felony and federal tax charges with which he has already been charged. he begged innocent. In June, the jury convicted Hunter Biden charged with three federal crimes in Delaware related to his decision to buy a handgun in 2018 while he was addicted to drugs.
The White House and Lowell’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Nick Pope is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Hunter and Joe Biden” by Louise Palanker.CC BY-SA 2.0.
