The company at the heart of the controversy is CEFC China Energy, which was part of China’s “Belt and Road” foreign influence campaign at the time and is linked to the CCP; it is now defunct.
The transfer in question could be the first verifiable instance of Joe receiving part of his family’s foreign income. The money came from Joe’s brother James and James’ wife Sara and was part of a complex financial transaction that took place within weeks of his son Hunter threatening a CEFC employee via text message.
On July 30, 2017, Hunter pressured businessman Henry Zhao via WhatsApp while negotiating a six-figure business deal, saying: “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”
He added: “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, 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.”
His pressure worked; Zhao responded that “CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family,” and a wire transfer of $5 million was sent to a joint venture set up by Hunter and a CEFC associate on August 8. The entity, known as Hudson West III, sent $400,000 on the same day to an entity controlled by Hunter.
Then, on August 14, Hunter wired $150,000 to a company owned by James and Sara known as Lion Hall Group. On August 28, Sara withdrew $50,000 in cash from the account, which she then deposited into a personal checking account belonging to her and James. On September 3, the money made its way to Joe’s bank account in a check from James, who partnered with Hunter in the deal, labeled “loan repayment.” Bank records show that CEFC paid James and Hunter more than $6.1 million in 2017 and 2018.
According to the memo, this shows that the money flowed directly from CEFC to Joe Biden. Moreover, Joe had allegedly met with James and Hunter’s CEFC associates in May 2017 and was referred to in emails as “the big guy” who would need a 10 percent cut.
Democrats claim the money was loan repayment but can't provide proof
The House Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) claimed that James had been repaying a loan of $200,000 that he had received from Joe, but he was unable to provide proof that such a loan existed.
However, Comer maintains that even if that is the case, James was repaying the loan by cashing in on Joe’s influence. If Hunter hadn’t threatened the CEFC associate and used his father’s name as leverage, James wouldn’t have had the money to repay a loan, if it existed in the first place.
In a video posted on X, Comer said: “Remember when Joe Biden told the American people that his son didn’t make money in China? Well, not only did he lie about his son Hunter making money in China, but it also turns out that $40,000 in laundered China money landed in Joe Biden’s bank account in the form of a personal check.”
The House Oversight Committee has vowed to keep investigating and hold Biden accountable for his corrupt business dealings.
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