A former partner of President Joe Biden’s son has told members of Congress that members of the Biden family were not paid by China until after the Obama administration ended.
Hunter Biden and associates started working with CEFC, a Chinese firm linked to the ruling communist party, in 2015.
But payments for the work did not start flowing until after President Biden in January 2017 departed as vice president, Rob Walker, the former partner of Hunter Biden, was said to have told members.
“Today’s interview confirmed Hunter Biden and his associates’ work with the Chinese government-linked energy company began over a year before Joe Biden left the vice presidency, but the Bidens and their associates held off being paid by the Chinese while Joe Biden was in office,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee, said in a Jan. 26 statement.
President Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017.
Mr. Walker, who testified behind closed doors, could not be reached.
In a prepared opening statement, Mr. Walker said that he spent years pursuing “legitimate business” with Mr. Biden and that President Biden “was never involved in any of the business activities we pursued.”
“Hunter made sure there was always a clear boundary between any business and his father,” Mr. Walker said.
The White House said that Mr. Walker’s testimony had refuted Republican claims about President Biden.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said that “Mr. Walker reaffirmed today what we already know by now: Joe Biden was not involved in, did not profit from, and took no official actions in relation to his family’s business dealings.”
Republicans in the House are interviewing former associates of Mr. Biden as part of an impeachment inquiry. Mr. Biden has not yet sat for questions in the probe.
Mr. Walker told FBI agents in 2020 that President Biden stopped in while Mr. Walker, Mr. Biden, and Chinese businessmen were eating lunch at the Four Seasons, according to a transcript given to Congress by IRS whistleblowers. Mr. Walker also said President Biden met with CEFC officials while still vice president.
The interview with Mr. Walker confirmed that the meeting happened, Mr. Comer said in a summary. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date.
Shortly after the Obama administration ended, a Chinese company paid Mr. Biden and associates $3 million “as a ‘thank you’ for the work they did while Joe Biden was in office,” Mr. Comer added. “Members of the Biden family received payments from the Chinese deal even though they did not work on it. This is the type of swampy influence peddling the American people want us to end.”
A spokesman for Mr. Comer did not respond when asked for more details about what Mr. Walker told members.
According to records obtained by Republicans that were released before, the $3 million payment came from State Energy HK Limited, a CEFC-linked company, in March 2017.
Of the $3 million, about $1 million was transferred to different bank accounts owned by Bidens, including accounts owned by Mr. Biden and Hallie Biden, Mr. Biden’s sister-in-law, the records show.
Mr. Biden sent some of the money to President Biden’s brother, and the president’s brother and his wife sent a portion of the funds to President Biden, labeling the payment as a loan repayment, according to a timeline compiled by Republicans.
The White House and an attorney for the president’s brother have defended the money transfers, saying they were legal.
Devon Archer, a former associate of Mr. Biden, told Congress in 2023 that President Biden joined multiple calls and meetings that involved foreign business persons, including Chinese ones, although he maintained business was not discussed in President Biden’s presence.
In messages given to the FBI by Tony Bobulinski, another former associate of Mr. Hunter Biden, and made public by the group Marco Polo, Mr. Biden referred to his father as “chairman,” according to Mr. Walker. Mr. Biden wrote at one point that “my chairman gave an emphatic NO” on a business proposal.
In another set of emails obtained by House Republicans, during a discussion in 2017 of who would receive money from the CEFC deal, one associate wrote, “10 held by H for the big guy?” Mr. Bobulinski said the “big guy” referred to President Biden. Another former associate wrote to Mr. Bobulinski in a message a week later, “don’t mention Joe being involved,” adding, “it’s only when u are face to face, I know u know that but they are paranoid.”
