New records reveal that then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca exchanged over 1,000 emails during his time as the No. 2 most powerful politician in the world.
The latest document dump of emails from 2011 to 2013 between Rosemont Seneca and the VP’s office reveals that there was no clear separation between Hunter’s private business dealings and the ‘official business’ of the Obama-Biden administration. It also directly contradicts the president’s repeated claim over the years that he was never involved with or aware of his son’s shady business dealings.
The emails show that Rosemont Seneca ‘frequently used the Biden name to gain access to and favors from the White House,’ according to ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, which obtained the emails.
They detail how Hunter leveraged his position and access to his father to arrange for his business partners to attend various White House tours, state dinners, luncheons and other official events.
In one exchange from 2013, a Rosemont Seneca staffer directly emailed the vice president’s office in order to arrange a White House Christmas tour for Hunter’s associates saying it would be a ‘Big favor for Hunter.’
The emails show that Rosemont Seneca ‘frequently used the Biden name to gain access to and favors from the White House’
A request came in from lobbyist Doug Davenport to Hunter’s former business partner Eric Schwerin, saying he was in a ‘bad spot’ and needed to help out his ‘guy from Apple’ with getting a White House tour.
“I know it is WAY short notice, but I would owe you my life if you could tell me any way possible to get my hands on some public tour tix for this Friday? Or am I just way out of line???”
Schwerin then looped in Rosemont Seneca employee Katie, asking her to ‘check in with our friends over there’ to see if the last-minute tour could be arranged.
Katie then emailed VP Biden staffers using their official ‘@ovp.eop.gov’ accounts asking for the tickets as a favor to Hunter.
Another exchange shows Hunter helping his associate Josh Targoff from the Third Point nail down an exclusive West Wing tour.
Additional correspondence reveals then-VP Joe was forwarded an external invitation from Hunter to attend an event by the UCLA Berkle Center for International Relations. Hunter also received numerous asks for his father’s autographs on photographs, among other requests.
Emails also show the close connection between the Rosemont Seneca staff and the then-vice president’s staff.
‘Welcome to the team!’ Rosemont Seneca employee Katie cheerfully welcomed a new vice president correspondence director in August 2013 via the email exchange.
‘These records further confirm that there was never a wall between the Office of the Vice President and Hunter Biden; in fact, there was extensive commingling between them,’ said a press release by AFL.
Conservative legal group America First Legal released the documents obtained from the National Archives via an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit late Wednesday.
The White House asserted ‘executive privilege’ in order to withhold the release of 200 emails in their entirety, saying their release would disclose ‘confidential advice between the President and his advisors.’
Earlier this week, a bombshell letter from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) revealed that Biden may have used pseudonyms in nearly 5,400 emails, electronic records and documents when he was vice president.
The aliases ‘Robin Ware, Robert L. Peters, and JRB Ware’ were all pseudonyms the 80-year-old president was known to utilize while serving as vice president.
The White House has insisted Biden was never in business with his son, and vice presidents and high-level government officials often use pseudonyms to prevent being inundated with spam and emails from the public.
At the time, the Obama administration dismissed criticism the communications were ‘secret’ because they were all archived.
But the sheer volume of emails raises questions over whether then-VP Biden broke the ‘absolute wall’ he said he maintained between the ‘the personal and private, and the government.’
House Oversight Chairman James Comer has said that despite requesting information about the pseudonyms months ago, the committee has gotten ‘virtually nothing back’ from NARA.
Also this week, Republicans ramped up their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings following bombshell reports that Hunter traveled to at least 15 countries with his dad then-Vice President Joe on Air Force Two.
They accuse then-VP Biden of having ‘abused’ his taxpayer-funded office ‘to enrich his family’ by flying Hunter all over the world to meet with his business associates, according to a letter to the National Archives obtained by DailyMail.com Wednesday.
Hunter tagged along with his powerful father during official vice president trips between 2009 and 2017 to Asia, Europe, Africa, Mexico and Canada spanning at least 15 different countries, according to a recent report by Fox News.
During the trips, Hunter would reportedly meet with his international business associates and potential clients. He also apparently offered short ‘handshake’ meetings providing his partners direct access to his father on several occasions.
Hunter traveled to at least 15 countries with his dad then-Vice President Joe on Air Force Two according to reports
Then-Vice President Joe Biden waves as he walks out of Air Force Two with his granddaughter Finnegan Biden and son Hunter Biden on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China
Vice President Joe Biden, left, accompanied by from second left, daughter Ashley Biden, and sons Beau Biden and Hunter Biden, walked down the steps of Air Force Two upon their arrival at Lexington Blue Grass Airport, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
‘Then-Vice President Biden’s misuse of Air Force Two and Marine Two is indicative of yet another way in which the President has abused his various offices of public trust and wasted taxpayer money to benefit his family’s enterprise, which consisted of nothing more than access to Joe Biden himself,’ the Republicans accuse.
They are demanding all Air Force Two flight records and emails sent from the White House to Biden family members during the Obama-Biden administration.
They point to an instance recounted by Hunter’s ex-business partner Devon Archer during sworn testimony in which he said then-VP Biden met with one of Hunter’s Chinese associates in Beijing in December 2013 – on a trip the first son was also on.
Archer told Congress that Jonathan Li – a prominent Chinese businessman and CEO of investment fund BHR – met with then-VP Biden during that trip for a short coffee meeting.
‘Jonathan Li and President Biden had coffee’ when he was in Beijing, testified Archer earlier this month. So there was a level of ‘familiarity’ between the men, he said.
Republicans say that shortly after that meeting, BHR’s business license was approved and Hunter became a board member.
Li had also separately had asked Hunter and his associates for assistance with getting his children accepted to prominent U.S. colleges.
Archer also testified that the ‘Biden brand’ helped keep Ukrainian firm Burisma from going bankrupt, and revealed Joe was on the phone or present in-person at least 20 times while his son, who called him ‘my guy.’
Republicans claim Archer’s testimony added to mounting evidence that the then-vice president was involved in Hunter’s overseas deals that raked in millions from nations including China and Romania.
The House Oversight Committee Republicans reiterate their ‘concerns’ that foreign nationals ‘sought access and influence by engaging in lucrative business relationships with high-profile political figures’ immediate family members,’ including members of the Biden family.
The letter signed by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was directed to Archivist of the Untied States Colleen Shogan because the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the ‘custodian agency of Vice-Presidential records.’
The documents and communications requested extend to Hunter’s associates Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer and Jeffrey Cooper between 2009 and 2017.
DailyMail.com reached out to NARA for a response to the Republican-led letter and a spokesperson said Comer’s ‘request’ has been received.
‘NARA has received the request from Chairman Comer, and will respond in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA’s implementing regulations, and the governing Executive Order.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk