Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was hired by Ukrainian energy company Burisma to enhance the company’s brand and impress potential clients, according to testimony from Hunter’s former business partner, Devon Archer. Speaking at a congressional hearing, Archer revealed that Hunter was brought on board by Burisma in 2014, while his father was serving as vice president of the United States.
Invoices found on Hunter’s laptop in 2020 showed that he received a monthly salary of $83,333 until his father left office in 2017, and up to $50,000 until his resignation in 2019. It is noteworthy that Hunter had no previous experience in the energy sector.
Archer, testifying before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, explained that Hunter’s role at Burisma was to bolster the company’s brand and create connections with Washington. He disclosed that during meetings with Chinese, French, and Russian businesspeople, Hunter would call his father on speakerphone in an attempt to showcase Burisma’s ties to the US government. Archer emphasized the importance of Washington connections for the company’s survival, stating that Burisma “would have gone under if not for ‘the brand.'”
Furthermore, Archer revealed that Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky pressured Hunter to seek assistance from Washington regarding a corruption investigation by Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin in 2015. Archer testified that Hunter complied with Zlochevsky’s request and made a call to an unknown contact in Washington during one of the meetings.
Shokin was eventually removed from office in 2016 following pressure from Joe Biden, who threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from then-Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko if Shokin was not fired. Joe Biden has denied any involvement in his son’s business dealings, although files from Hunter’s laptop suggest that clients paid him for access to his father. Archer’s testimony further contradicts the president’s denial, but Democrats at the hearing insisted that the phone calls between Hunter and Joe Biden were harmless and lacked any substantive discussion on business dealings.
The controversy surrounding Burisma deepened when an FBI document, obtained by the Oversight Committee and released by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, revealed that Burisma’s founder claimed to have been coerced into making a $10 million bribe to Hunter and Joe Biden. Zlochevsky stated that he had recordings to support his allegations.
President Joe Biden has dismissed the bribery allegations as baseless, referring to them as “a bunch of malarkey” and questioning the existence of any money changing hands. Despite these claims, the testimony from Hunter’s former business partner and the evidence found on Hunter’s laptop continue to raise questions about the extent of the Biden family’s involvement with Burisma and their business dealings in Ukraine.
The ongoing scrutiny has put pressure on the Biden administration, with critics calling for a more thorough investigation and transparency regarding the relationship between Hunter and Burisma. As the controversy unfolds, it remains to be seen how it will impact the Biden presidency and the administration’s efforts to rebuild trust and tackle pressing domestic and international challenges.
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