By Samantha Flom
Hunter Biden demanded $10 million from a Chinese energy firm linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), promising services from “the Bidens” in return, according to WhatsApp messages disclosed by a whistleblower.
A summary of the messages was released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee as part of an IRS whistleblower’s redacted testimony (pdf) before the committee.
In his Aug. 3, 2017, exchange with CEFC China Energy executive Gongwen “Kevin” Dong, Hunter Biden took an exasperated tone, evidently dissatisfied with Dong’s haggling over compensation.
“Very simple,” he wrote. “10 M per annum budget to use to further the interest of the JV [joint venture]. This move to 5M is completely new to me and is not acceptable obviously.”
The venture the two were discussing was likely SinoHawk LLC, a U.S. company incorporated by Ye Jianming, Hunter Biden, James Biden, and Biden associates Tony Bobulinski, James Gilliar, and Rob Walker.
Hunter Biden went on to outline how expenses would be determined by his firm, Owasco P.C., in consultation with Hudson West III, a company he co-founded with Ye, founder of CEFC and chairman of its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee.
“If the Chairman doesn’t value this relationship is being worth at least 5M, then I’m just baffled,” he said, requesting that they put the matter of compensation “to bed tonight” and move forward.
“I am tired of this, Kevin,” he added. “I can make $5M salary at any law firm in America. If you think this is about money, it’s not. The Biden’s are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership. Please let’s not quibble over peanuts.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Hunter Biden’s attorney.
SinoHawk Holdings
Formed through a web of corporate entities, SinoHawk was half-owned by Hudson West IV, a limited liability corporation controlled by Ye, and half-owned by Hunter Biden and his partners through Oneida Holdings LLC.
According to October 2017 texts Hunter Biden sent to his then-partner Bobulinski, he enjoyed a cozy relationship with Ye.
“I’ve been talking to the Chairman on a regular basis,” he said. “I was his first guest in his new apartment/ he cooked me lunch himself and we ate in the kitchen together.”
Biden added that Ye had hired him as his attorney in the United States and that he was helping the chairman with “a number of personal issues,” including staff visas and “more sensitive things.”
Bobulinski, the CEO of SinoHawk, had spent months trying to find out why Ye hadn’t wired the promised $10 million in funding to the company’s account. He asked Biden in the exchange if he had addressed the matter with Ye.
Biden, referencing various “deals” Bobulinski was supposedly working on, said he had not discussed those with Ye. He added that he’d assumed Bobulinski “lost interest as we haven’t spoken for so long.”
Bobulinski, unhappy with that response, said: “I lost interest? Really? They were supposed to fund $10 MM USD into Sinohawk accounts. U know that, so not much for games!”
Missing Funds Located
In 2020, a Republican-led Senate probe of Hunter Biden’s business dealings found that he’d conducted business with multiple Chinese nationals linked to the Chinese Communist government and the People’s Liberation Army, including Ye and Dong.
According to the Senate report (pdf), just days after Biden’s WhatsApp exchange with Dong, Hudson West III received a wire of $5 million from CEFC Infrastructure Investment.
“Starting on Aug. 8, the same day the $5 million was received, and continuing through Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent frequent payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm,” the report notes. “These payments, which were described as consulting fees, reached $4,790,375.25 in just over a year.”
In September 2017, Biden and Dong applied for a credit line. The credit cards linked to the accounts would later be used by Biden, his uncle James Biden, and James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, to purchase $100,000 in luxury items, including airline tickets and Apple products.
Years later, when Bobulinski learned of the payments, he lashed out at James Biden via text.
“Hope you and family are well, safe and healthy. You can imagine my shock when reading the report yesterday put out by the Senate committee. The fact that you and HB were lying to Rob, James and I while accepting $5 MM from Cefc is infuriating,” Bobulinski wrote, using Hunter Biden’s initials.
“And so disappointing based on the years of work that James, Rob and team invested to get things done.”
Bobulinski has since become a key witness in investigations surrounding the Biden family’s business dealings.
Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses for failing to pay his taxes.
He was also charged with a felony firearms offense for unlawful possession of a firearm as an illicit drug user, but he will enter a pretrial diversion program in an attempt to avoid conviction on that charge.
The plea deal will likely result in no prison time.
Ivan Pentchoukov and Seamus Bruner contributed to this report.
