Hunter Biden advised dad Joe’s VP office on China, Africa trip, further stripping prez’s denials: emails
WASHINGTON — First son Hunter Biden advised then-Vice President Joe Biden’s office on who to invite for state occasions involving China, as well as where to visit on a trip to Africa, emails reviewed by The Post show.
A heavily redacted trove of messages was released by the National Archives on Wednesday — with uncensored emails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop filling in some of the blanks. The emails cast more doubt on the elder Biden’s blanket denial that he ever discussed his offspring’s overseas business interests.
Three entirely redacted emails refer in the subject line to a “China Lunch” in apparent connection with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao’s January 2011 state visit to Washington, while three others pertain to “Nairobi ideas” ahead of Joe Biden’s visit to Kenya in June 2010.
The emails were acknowledged but “withheld in full” in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking communications between Joe Biden’s office, Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden, with whom Hunter partnered on many ventures.
The China and Nairobi-focused emails were redacted in their entirety, with the Archives citing a “p5” exception under the Freedom of Information Act. The exception shields “confidential communications requesting or submitting advice, between the President and the President’s advisers, or between such advisers.”
The “China Lunch” email thread on Nov. 19, 2010, was archived because it includes Evan Ryan and Michele Smith, then of the vice president’s office. Ryan currently is President Biden’s cabinet secretary and is married to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
One day before those emails were sent, Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin emailed the then-second son regarding a Chinese state dinner two months in the future, which would feature a “traditional VP/SecState Lunch,” to which Schwerin suggested inviting close Biden family business associates including Jim Bulger and Jeff Cooper.
“Michele called and said they would like some suggested names for the lunch. They have 30 spots for the VP’s personal list,” Schwerin wrote.
“Your Dad has 22 spots already allocated, but if someone fits into a ‘business leader,’ ‘elected official’, ‘think tank’ type, they could be added beyond the 8 remaining personal spots. She is asking [fellow second son and then-Delaware Attorney General] Beau [Biden] if he has suggestions as well.”
Schwerin added: “Some thoughts – what about President Harris of Widener [University]? They are desperately trying to get into China with that Confucious [sic] Institute. Could also think about Father Pilarz of Scranton (soon to be Marquette) they are also interested in China. Jim Bulger (or someone from his group)? Greg Penner? Gavin Newsom? Cooper? David Boren? Anyone from Labor?”
Two emails bearing the subject line “China Lunch” — matching the redacted thread’s title — appeared on Hunter’s laptop showing Schwerin writing to Hunter, “Here are my thoughts: Greg Penner Jim Harris, President Widener Jeff Cooper Also consider: Someone from Amtrak (Boardman/Carper?).”
Cooper, a wealthy asbestos litigation attorney, was a close business associate of Hunter and James Biden and was involved in a 2006 attempt by Hunter and James to take over a New York investment bank, into which Cooper’s law firm invested $1 million. Bulger, meanwhile, was involved with Hunter and James Biden’s China ventures.
In a Nov. 18 email to Schwerin, Hunter writes, “Greg Penner is great idea” and recommends that an invite also be extended “if Devon is there also,” appearing to refer to his since-convicted associate Devon Archer, with whom he joined the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma, which paid him up to $1 million per year as his father assumed the Obama administration’s Ukraine portfolio.
Less than a week later, Archer, who has since been convicted of defrauding an American Indian tribe, emailed Hunter a list of “sovereign targets.”
“What are your off the cuff thoughts on foreign target countries? Based on both your core relationships and your gut on likelihood of success? ….For me its: China[,] Turkey[,] Mexico[,] Argentina[,] India[,] Columbia[,] Israel[,] Norway, Serbia, Singapore, Korea, Canada[,] Germany & Australia [and] Gulf Region,” Archer wrote.
One laptop email titled “China Lunch” showed Schwerin emailing Smith: “Michele- Working on a few other names, which we can get you early next week but one suggestion Hunter has is Greg Penner. Greg Penner is General Partner of Madrone Capital Partners and on the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart. We can get you more info as needed. Just let me know.”
None of the “China Lunch” emails from the laptop trove match the timestamps of the three listed in the Archives redactions, though one that cc-ed Hunter could match if the sender and recipient were in different time zones.
The “Nairobi Ideas” chain, meanwhile, featured three emails in early June 2010 involving Anthony Bernal, who worked at the time for the vice president’s office and who currently is a key adviser to first lady Jill Biden.
Although they are redacted in their entirety, emails with the same title appear from late May 2010 in the laptop trove. The laptop thread of that title was started by former diplomat David Lane, then associated with U2 singer Bono’s One Campaign against poverty, who recommended to Hunter on May 30, 2010, “three interesting ideas for Nairobi.”
Lane proposed visiting a hospital, a slum and meeting with Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner John Githongo.
“These all look great,” Hunter replied to Lane on June 1. “I am running them by OVP [Office of the Vice President] Staff to see what fits schedule wise and see what if anything similar they are already planning. As soon as I can get my hands on a draft schedule ill send it over. Also, I tried to by [sic] that book but it has not been released yet. Thanks.”
The Nairobi-focused emails with the same title that were released by the Archives include one message from Hunter to Bernal dated June 3. On June 5, Bernal forwarded the recommendations in two different threats — one to recipients who were redacted due to being “personal email address[es]” and another to Annmarie Tomasini, who then worked for the vice president’s office and worked as President Biden’s director of Oval Office Operations.
The Archives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Hunter Biden’s legal team and White House representatives also did not immediately respond.
The America First Legal Foundation, founded by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller, filed the FOIA lawsuit and previously submitted a complaint to the Justice Department accusing Hunter of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by corresponding with the VP’s office about Burisma.
Hunter is under investigation by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss for alleged tax fraud, money laundering and FARA violations linked to his foreign income.
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who supervised the five-year-old investigation for more than three years, on Friday testified to the House Ways and Means Committee about an alleged coverup featuring “preferential treatment” and false testimony to Congress by Attorney General Merrick Garland about Weiss’ ability to independently bring charges.
