Chairmen Jordan and Comer Question Whether VP Biden Received Defensive Briefings Related to His Family's Influence Peddling

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent letters to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Chris Wray and Office of the Director of the National Intelligence (ODNI) Director Avril Haines seeking documents and information to understand if, because of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings and his vulnerabilities, Joe Biden was given 'defensive' briefings to discuss potential foreign interference either during his time as Vice President or while he was a presidential candidate.

The Committees have uncovered evidence showing that President Biden was aware of, and involved in, his family's influence peddling scheme. Despite this, President Biden has publicly denied his knowledge of and involvement in that scheme. The Biden family, including Hunter Biden, received millions of dollars from foreign companies and nationals while Joe Biden was Vice President. 
 
Excerpts of the letter to Director Wray:
 
"Shortly after Vice President Joe Biden left office, an entity affiliated with CEFC China Energy (CEFC), a now-defunct Chinese conglomerate with close ties with the Chinese Communist Party, wired $3 million to an account controlled/owned by one of Hunter Biden's business associates. Over a three-month period, the Biden family then received just over $1 million of that amount. After another CEFC-entity wired $1 million to Hunter Biden's entity, a bank investigator raised concerns that the 'frequency of payments appear erratic' and 'millions in fees are being paid but does not appear to have any services rendered by Owasco PC,' which was Hunter Biden’s entity. The bank investigator also cautioned that '[m]ore recent negative news indicate China [is] targeting children of politicians and purchase of political influence through ‘sweetheart deals.'

"On July 19, 2023, the Judiciary Committee conducted a transcribed interview of Nikki Floris, the Intelligence Analyst in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Washington Field Office's Intelligence Division. Floris explained that ODNI utilizes a 'Notification Framework' to determine when a defensive briefing is purportedly warranted. After intelligence is received, any analyst can 'nominate [the intelligence] to the Credibility Assessment Group,' or the 'CAG,' which determines the credibility of that intelligence. If it 'is indicative of potential foreign interference or influence in the election,' the information then goes to the 'experts group' to decide if a defensive briefing is necessary. If the briefing is necessary, the FBI, rather than ODNI, delivers the briefing, even if the underlying intelligence is 'not FBI information.' Floris’s testimony made clear that 'ODNI owns this whole process . . . .'"

Read the full letter to Director Wray here. 

Read the full letter to Director Haines here.

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