Biden Family
Floor Speech
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Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I thank Senator Grassley.
What Senator Grassley and I have showed over the course of six speeches are the actual bank records of financial transactions tying President Biden's son Hunter and his brother James to businesses that are essentially arms of the communist Chinese regime. But the Biden business ventures include activities in many more countries than just China.
In our September and November 2020 reports, we showed a vast web of Biden family foreign financial entanglements that were largely ignored by the media and falsely labeled ``Russian disinformation'' by our Democratic colleagues. As outrageous as the suppression of our reports and the false attacks were, perhaps the most egregious behavior came from 51 former intelligence Agency officials who lent their names and reputations to an effort designed to convince the American public that Hunter Biden's laptop had ``all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.''
Without any evidence backing their assertion, they engaged in their own information operation by signing a public letter right before the election. Their letter was actual disinformation, coming from what are supposed to be trusted former members of our U.S. intelligence Agencies. They should all be ashamed and held accountable for spreading this disinformation. By signing that disinformation letter, they reinforced false claims that the records on the laptop were not legitimate.
By casting doubt on evidence of the Bidens' corrupt practices, these former intelligence officials interfered in the 2020 election to a far greater extent than Russia could have ever hoped to achieve. Their willing accomplices in the press amplified this disinformation letter and, by doing so, were equally guilty of egregious election interference.
In August 2020, I wrote a public letter detailing the history, purpose, and goals of my oversight and investigations. In that letter, I laid out the timeline of Joe and Hunter Biden's involvement in Ukraine. The timeline is very revealing.
It starts in February 2014. That was the month of the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. Two months later, on April 16, 2014, then-Vice President Biden met with his son's business partner Devon Archer, now a convicted felon, at the White House.
I just want to pause and just let that sink in a little bit. Devon Archer is now a convicted felon. He got a meeting in the White House with the Vice President of the United States. That is kind of a big deal.
The press didn't ask many questions. Five days after that meeting in the White House, April 21, Joe Biden visited Ukraine, and the media described him as the ``public face of the administration's handling of Ukraine.'' The next day, on April 22, Devon Archer joined the board of Burisma. What a coincidence.
On April 28, 6 days later, British officials seized $23 million from the London bank accounts of Burisma's owner Mykola Zlochevsky. Let that sink in a little bit. Six days after Devon Archer joined the board of Burisma, a day after Vice President Biden visited Ukraine, which was 5 days after he met with Devon Archer in the White House, British officials seized $23 million from the corrupt owner of Burisma.
On May 13, 2014, 3 weeks later, Hunter Biden joined the board of Burisma. What a coincidence.
Because of the findings in our reports and the excellent investigative journalism on the part of John Solomon, we also know that Hunter was involved with Yelena Baturina, the corrupt and now- sanctioned wife of the former mayor of Moscow, during the exact same period of time.
On February 14, 2014, Baturina wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca Thornton, an investment firm cofounded by Hunter Biden.
Between April 4 and April 5, 2014--again, the same month that Joe Biden met with Devon Archer in the White House and Devon became a member of the board of Burisma--Hunter Biden and Devon Archer sent emails about meeting with Baturina, potentially relating to a business deal in Chelsea, NY.
On April 13, 2014, 9 days before Devon Archer joined the board of Burisma, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer discussed a potential deal involving Baturina. Archer wrote that Baturina ``confirmed green light to fund deposit.'' Archer continued:
Just spent two hours on the phone with Kiev. I am confident at this point this is a good if not life changing deal if the Ukraine doesn't collapse in the meantime.
It is quite interesting to see how much significant activity involving the Bidens and corrupt actors in Russia and Ukraine occurred within a 6-week period, only 2 months after the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity. It sure looks like they intended to cash in on the turmoil in Ukraine.
In my August 2020 letter, I listed a number of questions about then- Vice President Biden's interaction with Hunter Biden's business partner and other family members' foreign financial dealings. In making this letter public, my hope was that the press, the very uninquisitive press, would begin to ask then-Presidential candidate Joe Biden these important and legitimate questions.
It should come as no surprise that the corporate media was completely uninterested and failed to conduct any investigative journalism. Nearly 2 years after I wrote this public letter, the mainstream media has still not adequately pressed President Biden for answers to these very legitimate questions; for example, No. 1: Why did Joe Biden meet with Devon Archer at the White House on April 16, 2014? What did they discuss? Did they discuss anything related to Ukraine, Hunter Biden, or Burisma?
No. 2, was Joe Biden aware that Devon Archer joined the board of Burisma 6 days after that meeting, 1 day after he visited Ukraine?
No. 3, does Joe Biden believe Burisma and its owner are corrupt?
No. 4, when did Joe Biden first become aware that Hunter Biden also joined the board of Burisma?
No. 5, when did Joe Biden first become aware of how much money Hunter Biden was being compensated by Burisma? Senator Grassley and my report showed it was close to $4 million.
No. 6, what does Joe Biden know about Hunter or James Biden's dealings with China?
No. 7, what does Joe Biden know about financial benefits his brother and sister-in-law have obtained because of their relationships to him?
Investigative reporter John Solomon has added a few more questions to my list, including: No. 1, what, if anything, did Joe Biden know about his son's dealings with Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina?
No. 2, a 2017 series of memos referred to a Chinese business deal that involved Hunter Biden and included a 10-percent equity for the ``big guy.'' What did Joe Biden know about this specific deal, and who was the ``big guy''?
No. 3, emails on Hunter Biden's laptop, now in the possession of the FBI, refer to shared accounts or bills between Joe Biden and Hunter. Did Hunter ever give Joe Biden any money, gift, or financial benefit from Hunter's business dealings?
After a long-overdue analysis, the New York Times and the Washington Post have finally admitted that records from Hunter's laptop are authentic, which means--although they will never admit this--that Senator Grassley and I were right, and they were wrong.
It is interesting to read how limited and muted their mea culpas are. My guess is that they learned a lot from their coverage of Nixon's Watergate scandal coverup. They learned that when you have been caught in a coverup--and that is what has happened here--you try to limit the damage by telling a little bit of the truth. In the intelligence world, this strategy is called a ``limited hangout.'' The Watergate coconspirators called it a ``modified limited hangout.''
Regardless of what you call it, what the New York Times and the Washington Post are doing is not telling the whole truth. I doubt they ever will. But just in case they decide to pursue the truth with a little bit more rigor, they can use the above list of relevant questions as a good starting point for what they should be asking President Biden.
For our part, Senator Grassley and I will continue to ask tough questions, review more information and records, and transparently provide that information to the American public. We intend to pursue and uncover the truth.
I will now turn the floor back over to Senator Grassley for his closing remarks.
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