The New York Times is suing the State Department for allegedly withholding correspondence mentioning Hunter Biden and his former business associates that was sent or received by officials at the US Embassy in Romania.
In its Manhattan federal suit, the Times said it made a pair of requests under the Freedom of Information Act last year but was told the records wouldn’t be provided before April 15, 2023, despite a statutory deadline of 20 business days.
The requests show the Times wants emails, memos and other records that involve Hunter Biden and crossed the desks of seven diplomats, including former US Ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm.
The first son’s former associates mentioned in the requests include Tony Bobulinski, who in October 2020 accused then-candidate Joe Biden of falsely claiming that he never discussed his son’s business dealings, saying, “I directly dealt with the Biden family, including Joe Biden.”
Hunter Biden — who was involved in extensive and controversial overseas business dealings when his dad was vice president — was hired in 2015 by a Romanian real estate tycoon facing corruption charges, the Times reported in 2019.
Hunter Biden later recruited former FBI Director Louis Freeh around the time that Gabriel Popoviciu was convicted in 2016, the Times said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
In April 2016, Freeh gave $100,000 to a trust for two of President Biden’s grandchildren — the son and daughter of the late Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden — amid discussions to “do future work” with Hunter Biden and potentially also his father, according to emails revealed by the Daily Mail last year.
Freeh conducted an independent review of Popoviciu’s corruption conviction before the Romanian Court of Appeals, but it was affirmed and he was sentenced in 2017 to seven years in prison.
Freeh also hired former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to work on the case, the Times reported, and its FOIA requests also seek records related to both of them.
The former business associates of Hunter Biden referenced in the FOIA requests also include Devon Archer and Eric Schwerin, with whom he was formerly a partner in the Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm.
All three of them — along with James Biden, one of President Biden’s younger brothers — were recently revealed to be the subject of a federal grand jury subpoena of JPMorgan Chase Bank for records of transactions involving the Bank of China.
The subpoena appears tied to the tax probe of Hunter Biden that he acknowledged in December 2020.
Archer, who’s awaiting sentencing in an unrelated fraud case, “has cooperated completely” in that investigation, his lawyer told The Post on Monday.
In a statement to Politico, which first reported on the suit against the State Department, a Times spokesperson said, “As a routine part of their reporting, New York Times journalists regularly seek potentially newsworthy information from a variety of sources, including from the U.S. government through FOIA requests.”
“We’re hopeful the government will promptly release any relevant documents, and as always we are prepared to pursue our request through a lawsuit if necessary. Just as we do on any line of reporting, we will assess the newsworthiness of the material once we receive it,” the spokesperson added.
The State Department declined to comment Tuesday.