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WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee demanded Wednesday that the National Archives hand over records on first son Hunter Biden’s use of Air Force Two — following a report that he caught rides to at least 13 countries during his father’s vice presidency.
The Republican-led panel asked for relevant passenger manifests from Joe Biden’s eight years as vice president by Sept. 13 — as House leaders say they could launch an impeachment inquiry as early as next month to expedite a probe of the elder Biden’s alleged role in his 53-year-old son’s foreign business ventures.
“Then-Vice President Biden’s misuse of Air Force Two and Marine Two is indicative of yet another way in which the President has abused his various offices of public trust and wasted taxpayer money to benefit his family’s enterprise, which consisted of nothing more than access to Joe Biden himself,” committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and member Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) wrote to Archivist Colleen Shogan.
“Devon Archer, a longtime Biden family associate, has stated it is ‘categorically false’ that Joe Biden played no role in his son’s foreign business dealings. Flights on Air Force Two around the world to seal business deals are evidence of that role.”
The letter demands “unrestricted special access” to “[a]ll Air Force Two and Marine Two manifests from January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017, that include any Biden family member or associates (Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer, or Jeffrey Cooper)” as well as any “documents and communications” about such travel or “referring to or relating to any security incidents” in that period of time.
Fox News reported last week that Hunter appeared to have traveled aboard Air Force Two to Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and South Korea — in addition to better-known trips to China and Mexico that overlapped with the then-second son seeking business.
Communications suggest Hunter may have also joined his dad in Belgium and Spain.
The requests came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Sunday that the launch of an impeachment inquiry was “a natural step forward” that “provides Congress the apex of legal power to get all the information they need.”
The Oversight Committee also is demanding that the Archives hand over communications involving then-Vice President Biden’s use of pseudonyms “Robin Ware” and “Robert L. Peters” — of which nearly 5,400 reportedly exist.
The GOP demands for records are broad. For example, McCarthy said Aug. 8 that he wants Biden to “give us his bank statements” to settle questions about whether he personally profited from Hunter and first brother James Biden’s foreign dealings.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday federal agencies should “work with” congressional inquiries and that she was unaware of what Republicans were “complaining about.”
Comer said he’s seeking Air Force Two records because “there must be accountability for this abuse of taxpayer-funded resources.”
“The walls are closing in on the Biden Family due to consistent and diligent efforts by House Republicans who’ve followed the money, conducted meticulous interviews and hearings, and uncovered undeniable corruption,” Donalds said.
Trips aboard Air Force Two featured notably in Hunter’s dealings in China and Mexico.
Hunter co-founded Chinese state-backed investment fund BHR Partners 12 days after joining his dad for an official trip to Beijing in 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported. He introduced Joe Biden to BHR CEO Jonathan Li during the trip to China’s capital.
Archer, a longtime Hunter associate who served with him on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings, told the Oversight Committee on July 31 that Joe Biden and Li had coffee in Beijing — rather than a brief handshake as previously reported — and that Hunter put Li on speakerphone when he and Archer made a subsequent trip to China. The elder Biden later wrote college recommendation letters for Li’s children.
Hunter, joined by his US associate Jeff Cooper, also traveled with Joe Biden on Air Force Two to Mexico in 2016, with the then-second son apparently emailing a Mexican associate from the jet to complain about the lack of reciprocal business favors after “I have brought every single person you have ever asked me to bring to the F’ing White House and the Vice President’s house and the inauguration.”
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