Hunter Biden case is a ‘glaring mountain of contradiction’: Jonathan Turley
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley unpacks the latest in the Hunter Biden investigation on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Nearly a dozen current and former officials serving in the White House and Biden administration, including the president's national security adviser and the secretary of state, have extensive ties to Hunter Biden, who is accused by Republicans of selling access to his father, dating back over a decade.
A Fox News Digital analysis reveals the extent of Hunter's potential reach in the White House, while the embattled first son is expected to make his first court appearance on July 26 for two alleged misdemeanor tax violations and a felony gun charge.
The Justice Department announced last month that Hunter had entered a plea agreement in the case that will likely keep him out of jail. U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss, who led the investigation, is facing demands from Republicans probing alleged improper retaliation against whistleblowers who claimed the probe was "influenced by politics" and that Weiss was "hamstrung" when making prosecutorial decisions.
The analysis includes two members of Biden's Cabinet and one former Cabinet member, a top aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a national security adviser, five top Biden White House aides, and a top Biden campaign aide who is currently on leave from her role as a communications director for first lady Jill Biden.
Jake Sullivan
Hunter Biden and President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, served together on the board of the Truman National Security Project, a liberal foreign policy think tank, for roughly two years before Sullivan joined the president’s campaign in 2020.
President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, left, Hunter Biden, President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Getty Image)
BIDEN'S CLAIM TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HUNTER'S BUSINESS DEALINGS IS BECOMING HARDER TO MAINTAIN
Hunter, who started serving on the board in 2012, and Sullivan both served on the Washington-based nonprofit’s board between 2017 and early 2019, according to internet archives captured by the Wayback Machine.
During that time, Hunter was also serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings and the Chinese private equity fund BHR Partners. The federal investigation into Hunter's foreign business dealings, which is still ongoing, also launched during the same time frame in 2018.
Sullivan was recently accused by former White House official Mike McCormick of being a "conspirator" in the Biden family's "kickback scheme" in Ukraine when Biden was vice president.
Sullivan denied the allegations, telling reporters that he had nothing to do with such an operation.
Jake Sullivan, left, and Hunter Biden (Getty Images)
Antony Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with Hunter Biden at the State Department in July 2015 when he was serving as the deputy secretary of state in the Obama-Biden administration and Hunter was on Burisma's board, according to emails previously reviewed and verified by Fox News Digital.
The meeting was two months in the making after Hunter emailed Blinken in late May 2015, asking, "Have a few minutes next week to grab a cup of coffee? I know you are impossibly busy, but would like to get your advice on a couple of things."
Blinken said "absolutely" and Hunter forwarded Blinken's full email response to Devon Archer, who was also serving on the Burisma board with him. However, the initial meeting appeared to have been canceled due to the admission of Hunter’s older brother, Beau Biden, to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland because of a recurrence of brain cancer. Beau passed away on May 30, 2015.
Antony Blinken emails with Hunter Biden on May 22, 2015. (Fox News)
Less than two months later, Blinken and Hunter met, prompting Blinken to send a follow-up email saying it was "great to see" Hunter and "catch up."
"You will love this," Antony Blinken wrote to Hunter Biden on July 22, 2015, "after you left, Marjorie, the wonderful african american woman who sits in my outer office (and used to be Colin Powell's assistant) said to me: ‘He sure is pleasant on the eyes.’ Tell you wife. Tony." (Fox News)
In April of this year, former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell testified to the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees that Blinken, as President Biden’s then-campaign senior adviser, "played a role in the inception" of the public statement signed by intelligence officials claiming Hunter’s abandoned laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign just weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
Blinken denied having any role in getting the letter signed by members of the intelligence community and claimed, "One of the great benefits of this job is that I don't do politics and don't engage in it. But with regard to that letter, I didn't – it wasn't my idea, didn't ask for it, didn't solicit it."
Emails from Hunter's infamous laptop that Blinken allegedly sought to discredit show that Hunter has ties to Blinken and his wife, Evan Ryan, dating back over a decade. Those emails also show that Hunter scheduled meetings with Blinken while he was on the board of Burisma and Blinken was deputy secretary of state.
Multiple profiles pieces over the years said Blinken has advised Biden on more than just foreign policy in his decades-long friendship with the president and serving as a confidant. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., President Biden's re-election campaign co-chair, told CNN in 2021, "President Biden is personally close to both Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan and Tony has been an incredibly loyal, capable and effective adviser, staffer and personal friend of the sort that is rare in Washington."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Hunter Biden (Getty Images)
Evan Ryan
Evan Ryan, Blinken's wife who is currently serving as White House cabinet secretary, communicated frequently with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, when she was working at the White House during the Obama-Biden administration.
Hunter tried to connect with Blinken on June 16, 2010, when he asked Ryan for his non-government email address, according to emails. Ryan, who also worked on Biden's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, then provided Blinken's personal email address to Hunter.
It appears that Hunter Biden tried to connect with Antony Blinken on June 16, 2010, when he asked Blinken's wife, Evan Ryan, for his non-government email address. (Fox News)
White House visitor logs also show that Schwerin, who was the president of Hunter Biden’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners for several years, met with Ryan at the White House's Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) in October 2010.
She was also in communication with Hunter and Schwerin about a couple of White House events that year, including the Mexico State Dinner and the annual "Easter Egg Roll."
"OVP has 250 tix to the Easter Egg Roll and your Mom has an additional 200. Family, etc is coming out of your Mom's allotment," Schwerin said in the email to Hunter, referring to Blinken's wife. "Evan is handling your Dad's and we can pass on names to her for outreach purposes. Let's discuss. I don't think we have 50 spots, but if we had 20 or so names we'd probably be fine."
Eric Schwerin sent Hunter Biden an email about two upcoming White House events and mentioned that he talked with Evan Ryan, Blinken's wife, about tickets to the events. (Fox News)
"More importantly, OVP has 12 spots to fill for the Mexico State Dinner in May and needs to send in their names by Monday," he continued. "Evan is looking for any suggestions. Hispanic Americans or just any outreach related suggestions. Obviously they won't have trouble filling this number but is still looking for suggestions."
A couple of months later, Hunter and Ryan exchanged emails about the Mexico State dinner guest list, and she sent him the seating chart for his table.
(Fox News)
Evan Ryan and Antony Blinken have ties to Hunter Biden dating back over a decade. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital previously reported several other ties between Hunter and Ryan.
Jeff Zients
White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, who led the federal COVID-19 pandemic response between early 2021 and April 2022, met Hunter multiple times in 2016, according to emails and White House visitor logs.
Zients met with Hunter Biden twice in February 2016 and on another occasion in May 2016, just months before Biden, the vice president at the time, was set to leave the White House.
Former Joe Biden aide Anne Marie Muldoon invites Hunter Biden to a meeting with Zients and his father in July 2016. (Fox News)
Hunter Biden's former business partner Joan Mayer sends him his schedule on Feb. 12. It includes a meeting with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, Jeff Zients and David Rubenstein. (Fox News)
Biden attended the first two meetings, which both took place at the U.S. Naval Observatory, where the vice presidential residence is located.
Hunter Biden's business partner Joan Meyer sends him his schedule on Feb. 23. (Fox News)
Additionally, Anne Marie Muldoon, who was an assistant for then-Vice President Biden between 2014-2017, sent Hunter Biden an invitation to attend a potential fourth meeting with his father, Zients, David Bradley, a Washington, D.C.-based political consultant and chairman of media group Atlantic Media, and Eric Lander at the Naval Observatory on July 12, 2016. While it is unclear whether Hunter Biden joined the meeting, Muldoon sent him a copy of the meeting agenda after it took place.
Kathy Chung
Kathy Chung, who is currently serving as the Pentagon's deputy director of protocol, communicated frequently with Hunter when she was serving as Biden's executive assistant during the Obama administration.
Throughout much of her five-year tenure working for Biden, Chung regularly shared information with Hunter about his father's schedule and passed messages directly from the then-vice president, according to emails.
Chung's relationship with Hunter also appears to date back to before she worked for his father. The emails showed that Hunter recommended Chung for the executive assistant role when the previous holder of the job, Michele Smith, departed the White House in the spring of 2012.
HUNTER BIDEN'S BUSINESS PARTNERS, ASSISTANTS VISITED WHITE HOUSE OVER 80 TIMES WHEN BIDEN WAS VP
A month after Chung thanked Hunter for "thinking" of her and getting her to apply for a job in the vice president's office, Chung emailed Hunter Biden informing him that she had been offered the job.
Kathy Chung informs Hunter Biden that Vice President Biden had selected her to be his executive assistant. (Fox News)
"I cannot thank you enough for thinking about me and walking me thru this," she said. "What an incredible opportunity! Thanks, Hunter!!"
In another email exchange shortly after the Obama-Biden administration concluded, Hunter suggested that Chung come work at his company. It does not appear that she ever joined Hunter's company.
Hunter Biden tells Kathy Chung she should work for him in February 2017, adding that he can "make everyone money." (Fox News)
Chung made headlines in January after she was reportedly questioned by federal investigators as part of the probe into the president's handling of classified documents.
Ron Klain
Biden’s former White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, who stepped down in February, previously served as the chief of staff for Vice President Biden until the end of January 2011. In September 2012, Klain reached out to Hunter for help in raising $20,000 for the Vice President's Residence Foundation (VPRF), telling him to "keep this low low key" to prevent "bad PR," according to emails Fox News Digital previously reported on.
"The tax lawyers for the VP Residence Foundation have concluded that since the Cheney folks last raised money in 2007 and not 2008, we actually have to have some incoming funds before the end of this fiscal year (i.e., before 9/30/12 – next week) to remain eligible to be a 'public charity,'" Klain, who had left his chief of staff position in Vice President Biden's office a year earlier but was the foundation's chairman at the time, said in an email to Hunter.
"It's not much – we need to raise a total of $20,000 – so I'm hitting up a few very close friends on a very confidential basis to write checks of $2,000 each," Klain continued. "We need to keep this low low key, because raising money for the Residence now is bad PR – but it has to be done, so I'm trying to just collect the 10 checks of $2,000, get it done in a week, and then, we can do an event for the Residence Foundation after the election."
Hunter then forwarded the email to Schwerin, who helped manage a majority of Hunter's finances, and the two discussed donating to the foundation, though it's not clear what was ultimately decided.
Klain's career with Biden dates back to his failed presidential campaign in 1988 and serving as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander, the communications director for first lady Jill Biden who went on temporary leave in May to help lead the messaging arm of Biden’s re-election campaign, also has ties to Hunter.
In 2014, Alexander, who served as Biden’s spokesperson when he was a senator and the vice president, reached out to praise Hunter for his statement after he was kicked out of Navy Reserve for testing positive for cocaine.
"Hey Hunter – just wanted to write you a quick note to say David and I are thinking of you," she wrote in an email. "Your statement was perfect and gracious. Sending you a virtual hug from both of us and hoping you can get some peace this weekend."
Alexander is married to David Wade, a former State Department staffer who helped advise Hunter with rapid response as he was receiving increased public scrutiny regarding his lucrative position with Burisma.
Emails uncovered by Fox News Digital last month showed Hunter's firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, was paying Wade for communications consulting, and he strategized with Hunter and his partners on how to respond to inquiries by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
Wade has visited the White House at least five times during Biden's presidency, according to visitor logs.
Annie Tomasini
Annie Tomasini, an assistant to the president and the current director of Oval Office operations, was in frequent communication with Hunter, referred to him as her "brother" and often ended her emails with "LY" for "love you," according to emails dating from 2010 to 2016.
Biden publicly announced on Dec. 20, 2010, that Tomasini was stepping down to take a position with Harvard University, and Tomasini kept Hunter clued in on the details of that position before she took it, according to emails. The month prior, on Nov. 19, 2010, she forwarded information to Hunter about Harvard’s employee benefits and added, "Thanks."
Annie Tomasini, director of Oval Office operations, left, follows President Biden on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on May 17, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Hey – I looked at benefits And they look pretty amazing. Any word on comp?" Hunter responded on Nov. 23, 2010.
"I'll keep you posted. Thanks for looking at all the background Hunt," Tomasini replied.
Tomasini was offered the job on Nov. 30, 2010, writing to Hunter, "Director of intergovernmental relations. > 120k ish – may be a little higher."
She later thanked him and said she was going to tell his father the news. Months later, Hunter gave a speech at Harvard, but not before running the draft by Tomasini first.
Tomasini has accompanied Biden and Hunter to Camp David twice in the past few weeks.
HUNTER BIDEN’S CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS DAD’S NEW CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR REVEALED IN LAPTOP EMAILS
Michael Donilon
Michael Donilon, a current senior adviser to Biden who served as his chief campaign strategist in 2020, was on dozens of emails with Hunter and other members of Biden's inner circle coordinating strategy meetings throughout the 2012 campaign, mulling over a 2016 presidential bid, and later plotting Biden's endeavors post-vice presidency.
In August 2015, Schwerin shared a Politico article with Hunter that says Donilon and a few other advisers from Biden's inner circle, including Hunter, are the only ones "involved in the real decision-making."
An email from February 2016 showed that Hunter, Donilon and a few others were also involved in the planning stages for the Biden Foundation. And shortly after Biden left office in 2017, Hunter, Donilon and others in his inner circle were invited to a meeting at Biden's residence in McLean, Virginia, according to emails.
Days later Hunter, Donilon and several others were invited to a meeting at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware, home where classified documents were recently discovered. The meeting took place on Feb. 7, 2017, the same day it was announced that the former vice president would be leading the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where classified documents were also found, and the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware.
Donilon accompanied Biden a few months ago on the trip to Ireland, which included Hunter and Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens.
Steve Ricchetti
Steve Ricchetti, who currently serves as Biden's White House counselor, was also on dozens of emails with Hunter dealing with strategy meetings and helping Biden with post-VP life.
Fox News Digital reported last year that Schwerin visited the White House at least eight times in 2016, meeting with Ricchetti at least twice when he was serving as Biden’s chief of staff.
Morell, the former CIA deputy director who testified in April, said he received a call in October 2020 from Ricchetti, who was serving as the chairman of Biden's campaign at the time, following the final debate against then-President Donald Trump, when Biden said the Hunter laptop was a "Russian plant" and a "bunch of garbage."
Morell said the call from Ricchetti was to thank him for spearheading the letter signed by intelligence officials that tried to debunk the laptop.
Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, gestures after playing a round of golf with President Biden at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware on April 17, 2021. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Louisa Terrell
Louisa Terrell, who is serving as assistant to the president and the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, communicated with Hunter dozens of times during the Obama-Biden administration, with some of the correspondence including Schwerin on the emails.
In February 2014, Terrell emailed Hunter and Schwerin, saying, "So nice to catch up over lunch – thank you. Enjoy the snow day and talk soon."
Louisa Terrell, White House legislative affairs director, walks with Steve Ricchetti to a House Democrat caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 31, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Another email chain from late 2014 through early 2015 shows that she reached out to Hunter for help in getting her daughter into Sidwell Friends School, one of the most expensive and elite PK-12 schools in the country, which includes both of former President Obama's daughters and some of Biden's grandchildren as alumni.
"Thank you for agreeing to speak with Sidwell about Olivia's application to next year's 7th grade class. I recognize how busy you are and appreciate you making the time to chime in with Bryan," Terrell said in February 2015. "Below is some logistical information and some background on why Olivia is a good fit for Sidwell. Let me know if this is helpful and/or you need some additional information."
"[Bryan] was very cordial/ nice – sent me two emails – one saying he received my message and email and a second that was more personal acknowledging that he also spoke to Chris and others who had weighed in on behalf of Olivia and he hopes it all works out etc..." Hunter said. "Very nice – looking forward to having dinner sometime soon – but didn't give any thing up in the way of real information."
Less than two weeks later, Terrell emailed Hunter saying her daughter got into Sidwell and added, "Thank you so so much for your help. I hope you know how much I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you!"
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Terrell has worked for Biden going back as early as 2001 and served a two-year stint as executive director at the Biden Foundation, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The White House, Biden's campaign and Hunter Biden's lawyer did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall and Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
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