Voicemail indicates Joe Biden knew of Hunter deals with ‘spy chief of China’
Joe Biden called his son Hunter in late 2018 to discuss a New York Times article detailing the younger Biden’s dealings with a Chinese oil tycoon accused of economic crimes — telling him, “I think you’re clear,” according to a report Monday.
The voicemail, discovered on a cellphone backup contained on Hunter Biden’s infamous discarded laptop, would appear to contradict President Biden’s continued denial that he ever talked with his disgraced 52-year-old son about his overseas business transactions — and was aware they could be improper.
“Hey pal, it’s Dad,” Joe Biden said, the Daily Mail reported. “It’s 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you get a chance, just give me a call. Nothing urgent. I just wanted to talk to you.”
Biden then made his intentions clear.
“I thought the article released online, it’s going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good,” Biden continued. “I think you’re clear. And anyway if you get a chance, give me a call, I love you.”
During a campaign appearance in Iowa in September 2019, Joe Biden said, “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” His former press secretary, Jen Psaki, and his chief of staff, Ron Klain, have both repeatedly echoed that sentiment.
The unearthed voice message renewed calls for a probe of the now-president’s handling and knowledge of his son’s overseas dealings.
“Joe Biden said he ‘never spoke’ with Hunter about his business dealings. That is simply not true. We need to know what Joe Biden knew and when he knew it,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, told The Post Monday.
“This voicemail is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the evidence mounting against the Biden Crime Family. When Republicans take back Congress, we will use our congressional power of oversight to uncover the truth for every American as a matter of national security.”
The Biden voicemail followed a Times report on Dec. 12, 2018, detailing Hunter’s dealings with Ye Jianming, a “fast-rising” Chinese oil tycoon who headed CEFC China Energy Company in 2016 before being arrested two years later amid allegations of economic crimes.
The Post reported in April that Ye, who was named No. 2 on the Forbes “40 Under 40” list in 2016, has not been seen since his arrest and many of the now-bankrupt company’s assets were seized by the government.
In October 2020, emails first obtained by The Post showed that one of Hunter Biden’s business partners, James Gilliar, outlined the proposed percentage distribution of equity in the company.
The plan included a proposed 10 percent share for Hunter for “the big guy,” an apparent reference to Joe Biden, who was then the Democratic candidate for president, according to another former Hunter Biden partner, US Navy veteran Tony Bobulinksi.
“I have heard Joe Biden say he has never discussed his dealings with Hunter,” Bobulinski has said. “That is false.”
But files from Hunter’s abandoned laptop show he struck a deal worth millions with CEFC after touting his deep and monied family connections. One of Ye’s top lieutenants, Patrick Ho, was also convicted in New York of bribing African officials to help Iran evade oil sanctions.
The Times reported in 2018 that Ho called Joe’s brother James Biden following his arrest, but James told the newspaper he believed the call was actually meant for Hunter Biden. James Biden said he passed on his nephew’s contact info, according to the report.
“There is nothing else I have to say,” James Biden told the newspaper in 2018. “I don’t want to be dragged into this anymore.”
Through an attorney, Hunter Biden declined to comment for the 2018 report, which indicated it was unclear whether he struck any business deals with CEFC or Ye.
But the newly discovered voicemail, found on a backup of Hunter’s iPhone XS stored on his laptop that The Post first revealed, seemingly contradicts President Biden’s repeated denials.
Hunter’s friends, meanwhile, ribbed him about James Biden’s comment to the Times linking him to Ho. Devon Archer, a former business partner sentenced to a year and a day in prison in February for defrauding a Native American tribe, texted him the next day, the Daily Mail reported.
“Nice quote from uncle jimmy,” Archer texted Hunter Biden. “I hope you thanked him for that.”
Hunter replied: “Took it totally out of context [actually] the text itself that it was said in. Either way yeah I’m delighted.”
Ho later contacted Hunter Biden and paid him a $1 million retainer to rep him as his attorney, according to the report.
Federal agents at the time were monitoring Ho as a potential spy for China and Hunter accidentally recorded himself referring to Ho as the “spy chief of China,” the Daily Mail reported.
“I have another New York Times reporter calling about my representation of the, literally, Dr. Patrick Ho — the f—king spy chief of China who started the company that my partner [Ye], who is worth $323 billion, founded and is now missing,” Hunter reportedly told a female friend in May 2018. “The richest man in the world is missing, who was my partner.”
The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
Text messages on Hunter’s laptop also reveal he began panicking when the New York Times started asking questions as to why Ho called James Biden looking for him.
Other messages also showed Hunter’s attorney, George Mesires, boasting about steering Times reporter David Barboza away from Hunter and James’ involvement with CEFC.
“Barboza said that there is ‘very little about Hunter’” in the story, Mesires wrote.
There was more good news, according to Mesires.
“No reference to Joe Biden specifically relative to CFEC’s efforts,” Mesires texted.
Hunter Biden later praised Mesires for his efforts, text messages show.
“You did an incredible job of keeping this basically to a big fat nothing,” Hunter told him in one message.
“At the end of the day, I think people jadedly say, ‘This is how the world works,’” Mesires replied.
Hunter Biden remains under federal investigation for possible tax fraud stemming from his overseas business dealings. House Republicans have said they want his longtime partner Eric Schwerin to turn over documents they believe link the president to those relationships.
Additional reporting by Callie Patteson
