On Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting certain materials the Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained during its investigation of Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, a close business associate of Hunter Biden and the former head of an organization backed by CEFC China Energy (CEFC).
In 2019, Ho was sentenced to three years in prison by a U.S. judge for bribing officials in Chad and Uganda in exchange for contracts for CEFC. Hunter Biden was closely connected to Ho and has a lengthy and well-documented business relationship with CEFC, which resulted in Biden receiving millions of dollars without providing an identifiable product or service. Additionally, Ho paid Hunter Biden $1 million to serve as his legal counsel, though it is not clear what work Mr. Biden actually performed—especially because Mr. Biden is not a licensed attorney in New York.
Excerpts of the letter to Garland:
“On December 5, 2018, Mr. Ho was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, money laundering, and conspiracy for paying millions of dollars in bribes to top government officials in Chad and Uganda to secure oil rights for CEFC China Energy (CEFC). At the time, Mr. Ho was the head of a U.S.-based non-governmental organization funded by CEFC. On March 25, 2019, the federal court sentenced Mr. Ho to three years in prison and fined him $400,000.6 On June 8, 2020, Mr. Ho was released from prison and deported to Hong Kong. The last activity in Mr. Ho’s case appears to have occurred on June 28, 2021, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined Mr. Ho’s request to hear his appeal.
“Information obtained by the Committees indicate that prosecutors sought to keep the Biden name out of Mr. Ho’s trial. First, as the Oversight Committee previously noted, prosecutors in Mr. Ho’s case seemingly redacted Hunter Biden’s name from evidence used at trial. During Mr. Ho’s trial, former president of the United Nations General Assembly Vuk Jeremic testified that following his term as president, he worked as a consultant for CEFC, which involved ‘opening doors’ for CEFC by ‘introducing company executives to the business or political leadership of various countries.’ As part of this work, in December 2015, Mr. Jeremic ‘attempted to introduce Chairman Ye and CEFC to Hunter Biden and his associates.’ During the trial, a prosecutor requested that the judge redact from an email between Ho and Jeremic that DOJ intended to introduce into evidence the name of ‘an individual that Mr. Jeremic was willing to bring to a dinner with the chairman Mr. Ye.’ Specifically, the prosecutor argued that not redacting the name of that individual ‘could introduce a political dimension to this case that [prosecutors] don’t think is worth dealing with.’ The judge sustained the redaction. Other communications and documents obtained by the Committees strongly suggest that the individual in question was Hunter Biden.
“In the years immediately preceding Mr. Ho’s trial and during his trial, Hunter Biden was closely connected to both Mr. Ho and CEFC. Mr. Biden’s business relationship with CEFC is lengthy and well-documented, and resulted in Mr. Biden receiving millions of dollars without providing an identifiable product or service. Additionally, Mr. Ho paid Hunter Biden $1 million to serve as his legal counsel, though it is not clear what work Mr. Biden actually performed—especially since Mr. Biden is not a licensed attorney in New York—aside from hiring another law firm to represent Mr. Ho. Mr. Biden reportedly agreed to represent Mr. Ho after CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming expressed ‘concern that U.S. law-enforcement agencies were investigating one of his associates, Patrick Ho.’ Additionally, Mr. Ho’s criminal activity was conducted as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. An alleged infrastructure development program, the Belt and Road Initiative has ‘the ultimate goal of advancing Chinese global dominance,’ and represents a major threat to America’s national security. Concerningly, despite this threat, evidence suggests that CEFC was paying Mr. Biden and James Biden for ‘use of the Biden name to promote China’s Belt and Road Initiative around the world[.]’
“Of particular relevance to the Committees is the fact that President Biden was at least aware of, if not directly involved in, his family’s influence peddling. Most notably, the Oversight Committee obtained bank records showing that President Biden received a $40,000 check from his sister-in-law Sara Biden purportedly for a ‘loan repayment.’ This payment was funded by a Chinese company closely affiliated with CEFC as part of a joint business venture between the Biden family and CEFC.
“Further, the Committees have obtained numerous communications and documents contradicting the White House’s claim that Mr. Biden’s foreign business entanglements ‘don’t involve the president.’ For instance, on May 13, 2017, James Gilliar, one of Mr. Biden’s business associates, emailed Mr. Biden and two other business associates, Tony Bobulinski and Rob Walker, about an equity split in a joint business venture with CEFC, which would include ’10 held by H for the big guy?’ Bobulinski has publicly confirmed ‘the big guy’ referred to President Biden. On July 30, 2017, Hunter Biden messaged a CEFC associate, ‘I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. . . . [I]f I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than [CEFC executives] I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.’ When the CEFC associate responded that he received the message, Hunter Biden reiterated that he was ‘sitting here waiting for the call with [his] father.’ On August 3, 2017, Hunter Biden told a CEFC associate that ‘[t]he Biden’s [sic] are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership[].’
“As such, the Committees are requesting that you provide us with (1) the unredacted email between Vuk Jeremic and Patrick Ho regarding ‘an individual that Mr. Jeremic was willing to bring to a dinner with the chairman Mr. Ye,’ and (2) the contents of Patrick Ho’s seized iPad.
“As discussed above, this material is directly relevant to the House’s impeachment inquiry. Congress’s authority to access information is broadest during an impeachment investigation, a fact that even Presidents and other Executive Branch officials have traditionally recognized. Indeed, conducting an impeachment inquiry based on anything less than all pertinent evidence would be an affront to the Constitution and irreparably damage public faith in the impeachment process.”
Read the full letter to Attorney General Garland here.
