Prepared Floor Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
United States Senate
The Biden Family Investigation – Part 2
March 29, 2022
Today, we
will give our second speech in our Biden Investigation series.
Once
again, we’re going to make public and describe new financial records relating
to Hunter Biden and his connections to the communist Chinese government.
Most of
that focus will be on his connections to CEFC, a company that’s effectively an
arm of the Chinese Government.
But
first, we must go back to 2015.
At that
time, Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma and was paid tens of
thousands of dollars each month. Its owner was a corrupt Russia-aligned
Ukrainian oligarch. But, that’s not all that Hunter Biden was up to.
In that
year, CEFC International announced an agreement with Northern International
Capital Holdings.
Northern
International is incorporated in China. It’s involved in the energy
sector.
One of
Ye Jianming’s companies was the majority shareholder for CEFC International.
Northern
International purchased $123 million worth of CEFC’s shares binding the two
companies together.
We must
also mention Hudson West Three and its financial connections to CEFC.
Hunter
Biden was an investor and a manager for Hudson West Three. He was tasked
with advancing its interests.
Hudson
West Three also involved Chinese nationals connected to the communist regime,
such as Gongwen Dong, whom I talked about yesterday.
Now,
let’s look at this first poster. And I should note that Senator Johnson
and I will make these documents public in full. We’re providing snapshots
for these speeches.
Here, we
have one portion of an LLC Agreement from a bank. It shows the companies
that have bound themselves together: Hudson West Five, Hudson West Three and
Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm.
Now,
let’s turn to the second poster. The paragraph at the top shows the
purpose for which the LLC Agreement exists.
So, what
this tells us is that Hunter Biden and James Biden linked up with companies
connected to the communist regime to assist them with finding projects for
global and domestic infrastructure and energy.
And as
we know from my and Senator Johnson’s report from last Congress, some energy
project explorations between the Biden Family and China were here in the United
States.
One example
is a multi-million-dollar natural gas project in Louisiana.
Let’s
move to the next paragraph at the bottom, which defines the word “Affiliate” in
the Agreement.
“For the
avoidance of doubt, CEFC China Energy Company Limited or any of its Affiliates
shall be deemed as an Affiliate of Hudson.”
Accordingly,
this Agreement between Hunter Biden’s firm and Hudson West Three and Five
directly connects Hunter Biden to CEFC.
So, was
this agreement executed?
Let’s
look at this third poster, which contains a signature block executing the
agreement.
Here you
see Hunter Biden’s signature with Gongwen Dong. As previously noted,
Gongwen was an associate of Ye Jianming. Both men were connected to the
communist regime including its military elements.
Notably,
Hunter Biden worked for Ye Jianming to get him involved in the natural gas
project in Louisiana. It eventually fell through.
Now,
let’s bring up a fourth poster labeled a Joinder Agreement relating to the LLC
Agreement.
Again,
Hunter Biden is signing with Gongwen Dong with respect to the LLC
Agreement.
Accordingly,
we can now conclude the following: Hunter Biden was financially connected to CEFC, a
company that was an arm of the communist Chinese regime, for the purpose of
advancing its energy interests.
This
Agreement shows two additional findings: First, Hunter Biden’s responsibility
to advance Hudson West Three’s interests as of August 2, 2017. Second, Hunter Biden’s close association
with Hudson West Three, CEFC and its affiliates as of August 2, 2017.
That
date is important, as you’ll soon see.
Let’s
turn to the fifth poster. Look at the top.
This is
a bank record showing an August 8,
2017, wire transfer from Northern International Capital to Hudson West
Three for $5 million.
This is $5
million from a company connected to Ye Jianming and CEFC and its affiliates,
which are essentially arms of the communist Chinese regime.
And that
transfer took place after Hunter Biden became closely involved with Hudson West
Three as the LLC Agreement shows.
So, what
was the money for? As noted, Hunter Biden was working with Chinese
nationals linked to the communist regime to help them explore energy projects.
Now,
look at the bottom of this poster.
This is
a paragraph from the LLC Agreement. It shows that Hunter Biden will be
paid $100,000 per month. James Biden will be paid $65,000 per month. And Hunter
Biden will be paid a one-time retainer fee of $500,000.
Again,
this is money connected to Hudson West Three. A company connected to CEFC
and Gongwen Dong. Both are connected to the communist Chinese regime.
We can
now conclude this with respect to James Biden: James Biden was financially connected to CEFC, a company that
was an arm of the communist Chinese regime, for the purpose of advancing its
energy interests.
After
this LLC Agreement was signed, money flowed from CEFC and its shareholder into
the bank account of Hudson West Three, including the five million from Northern
International.
This LLC
Agreement was the trigger point for high-dollar financial transactions
involving Hunter and James Biden.
Now,
let’s turn to poster six at the top.
This is
a Hudson West Three bank record that shows a wire transfer on August 31, 2017,
for $165,000.
Notably,
this is the
same month as the $5 million wire from Northern
International. It’s also the same month Hunter Biden
signed the August 2, 2017, LLC Agreement.
This
wire is to Wells Fargo Clearing Services.
Now look
at the bottom of this poster. Senator Johnson and I have acquired more
than just the bank statement. We’ve acquired underlying wire data.
Look at the fourth line from the bottom.
“Further
credit to Owasco PC.” The underlying wire data shows that it went to
Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm.
Senator
Johnson and I have years of bank records that show multiple one hundred and $65,000
wire transfers from Hudson West Three to Owasco.
There
were also wire transfers for other amounts, some more and some less. Most
likely, some of those payments were for expenses under the LLC Agreement.
So, you
have an August 2, 2017, LLC
agreement with Hudson West Three and Owasco noting $100,000 a month to Hunter
Biden; $65,000 to James Biden.
Then you
have an August 8, 2017, wire
transfer of $5 million from Northern International to Hudson West
Three.
After
that August 8 wire, you see years of wire transfers from Hudson West Three to
Hunter Biden’s company. The majority of them for $165,000. The
exact amount due under the LLC Agreement.
Based on
the timing of the transactions, Hunter Biden’s and James Biden’s payments under
the LLC Agreement came from that $5 million wire.
A wire,
mind you, that came from a company connected to Ye Jianming and CEFC, which was
an arm of the Chinese Government.
These
years of records show that Hunter Biden and James Biden were more connected to
the communist regime’s elements than had been previously known.
These
records place them at the center of Hudson West Three, Gongwen Dong and CEFC.
This is
a finding that Senator Johnson and I made public in our Biden Reports last
Congress.
So, I
say this to the liberal media and our Democratic colleagues who tried to smear
our work all those years and accused us of peddling Russian disinformation: Are these official
bank records Russian disinformation?
To our
Democratic colleagues and the liberal media, we deserve an answer. Because you
made several efforts to smear our reputation as we were starting this
investigation two or three years ago.
Now, I’m
going to turn it over to Senator Johnson to discuss Patrick Ho related records
that we’ve acquired.
Thank
you, Senator Grassley.
As my
colleague, the senior Senator from Iowa, has shown, Hunter Biden and James
Biden received millions of dollars from companies connected to the communist
Chinese regime. But, frankly, it’s worse than that. These companies were
effectively an arm of the Chinese Government.
This
isn’t Russian disinformation. These are hard facts backed up by bank records of
actual financial transactions that prove just how connected the Bidens were,
and now how compromised President Biden probably is.
I’ll use
this series of transactions to prove my point.
This is
a bank record showing a $1 million wire transfer into the account of Hudson
West Three from CEFC on November 2, 2017.
As
Senator Grassley and I have already established, CEFC is effectively an arm of
the communist Chinese regime.
It’s
also important to note that at the time of this transfer, in November 2017, Hunter Biden was already invested in and providing
management for Hudson West Three.
So a
company that was effectively an arm of the Chinese government transferred $1
million in November 2017 to a company that Hunter Biden is managing and is
invested in.
Now, let’s bring up the second record.
Focus on the one million dollar wire out on March 22, 2018.
Again,
this is a record from Hudson West Three’s bank account. Like the previous
record, this is showing the transfer of $1 million, but this time the money is
being transferred out of Hudson West Three and to Owasco, another one of Hunter
Biden’s firms. This transfer took place on March 22, 2018, a little less than
five months after the one million dollar transfer from CEFC to Hudson West
Three.
Hunter
is transferring $1 million between two firms he manages and has ownership in.
So what is the purpose of these two $1 million transfers?
This
next record seems to answer that question.
This
record shows Owasco’s receipt of the March 22, 2018, $1 million transfer. It
also shows what the transfer is for on the OBI line. OBI is an abbreviation for
Originating Beneficiary Information. In this case, the OBI indicates the
transfer is being made for “Dr. Patrick Ho Chi Ping Representation.”
So, to
recap: on November 2, 2017 Patrick Ho’s company CEFC wired $1 million to Hunter Biden’s company, Hudson West Three.
On March 22, 2018, Hudson West Three wired $1 million to Owasco, another Hunter Biden company. The bank record clearly states the $1
million payment was being made for the purpose of representing Patrick Ho.
Represent
him for what?
Here’s
where things get interesting. We know that Patrick Ho was arrested by U.S.
authorities in November 2017 for iinternational bribery and money laundering
charges. Keep in mind that this arrest occurred in the same month that Patrick
Ho’s company, CEFC, is wiring $1 million to Hunter Biden’s company, Hudson West Three.
According
to the Department of Justice “Ho orchestrated and executed two bribery schemes
to pay top officials of Chad and Uganda in exchange for business advantages for
CEFC China, a Shanghai based multibillion-dollar conglomerate that operates in
multiple sectors, including oil, gas, and banking.”
Crimes
for which he was eventually convicted and sent to federal prison.
So, the
company that Patrick Ho was making bribes for sends $1 million to a company
Hunter Biden manages and is invested in. That company in turn transfers a
million dollars to another Hunter Biden company for the purpose of representing
Patrick Ho, who was eventually convicted of international bribery and money
laundering.
And guess
what Ho did around the same time he was arrested by the FBI for corruption and
bribery.
He
contacted James Biden. Ho’s decision to call the Biden family around the
same time he got arrested is revealing, particularly in light of the fact that
the same month a million dollars just happened to be transferred to Hunter
Biden’s company.
Hunter Biden isn’t a criminal defense
attorney. Patrick Ho was charged and convicted for bribery and related federal
offenses. So what kind of representation was Patrick Ho’s company paying Hunter
Biden’s firm to provide? Were they paying his firm for its legal expertise, or
for Hunter’s political connections?
In March
2021, Senator Grassley and I asked the Justice Department about Patrick Ho.
Why?
Because there’s a
federal court filing that says the Department has FISA records on Patrick Ho.
We requested those records. In response, the Department wouldn’t confirm whether they even
had his records. Unfortunately, the Attorney General refuses to clarify that
outrageous contradiction for Congress.
Oh, one
more tidbit. In a recently uncovered audio extracted from his laptop, Hunter
Biden referred to Patrick Ho as the “[expletive deleted] spy chief of China.”
This
quote alone tells you that Hunter Biden knew exactly who he was dealing with.
He was dealing with the expletive deleted spy chief of China. And that fact
should alert the media and our Democrat colleagues to seriously consider the
implications the Biden family’s vast web of foreign financial entanglements
have in the conduct of this administration’s foreign policy and our national
security.
In
October 2020, Senator Grassley and I requested to interview Hunter and James
Biden about their financial dealings. If they had nothing to hide they could
have volunteered to come in and sit for an interview. If there was an innocent
explanation for their foreign financial transactions, they could have used that
interview to clarify what those transactions were about.
Unfortunately,
rather than be transparent and forthcoming, they declined to speak to us. Their
silence speaks volumes.
Fortunately,
facts are stubborn things. As the Bidens, our Democrat colleagues, and the
media is learning, it is difficult to keep them hidden forever. Senator Grassley and I will continue to investigate the Biden
family’s foreign financial entanglements and provide the American people with
the truth to the best of our abilities.
Our
challenge is that the deep state does not give up its secrets easily. New
evidence of Biden family influence peddling is surfacing on a regular basis –
often coming from records from Hunter Biden’s laptop. The same laptop that the
media and deep state former intelligence agencies officials inferred was, you
guessed it, Russian disinformation.
But it
wasn’t Russian disinformation. Nor is any of the information we presented in
our reports and here on the floor of the Senate.
We may
never know all the details of the Biden family foreign entanglements, or the
full extent to which those entanglements compromise our current President. But
I’m pretty confident I know who does know – intelligence operatives in Russia,
China, Iran, and North Korea. Elements within U.S. intelligence agencies
probably also know, they’re just not going to tell us.
Senator
Grassley and I will return for a final speech on the Biden family’s foreign
financial entanglements.
Until
then, I yield the floor.
*****
Related Files:
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