The United States Treasury Department has reportedly handed over “highly sensitive” financial records from Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, to the U.S. Senate amid the Senate’s investigation into Hunter Biden’s business activity while his father was vice president.
“Sens. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Finance Committee; Ron Johnson, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have focused their efforts in Washington, seeking to extract politically useful information from agencies of the U.S. government,” Yahoo News reported. “They’ve issued letters requesting records from Cabinet departments and agencies, including the State Department, the Treasury, the Justice Department, the FBI, the National Archives and the Secret Service.”
“Grassley and Johnson have sought to obtain some of the most sensitive and closely held documents in all of federal law enforcement — highly confidential suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by financial institutions with FinCEN, an agency of the Treasury that helps to police money laundering,” Yahoo News added. “A source familiar with the matter said the Treasury began turning over materials less than two months after Grassley and Johnson wrote to FinCEN on Nov. 15, 2019, requesting any SARs and related documents filed by financial institutions regarding Hunter Biden, his associates, their businesses and clients.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), ranking member on the Finance Committee, complained the federal agencies were complying with the Senate’s requests amid its ongoing investigation.
Yahoo News noted that Wyden’s statement did not state whether the evidence that had been received by the Senate included SARs.
“The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 mandates that banks generate SARs to report to FinCEN any transactions that they know or have reason to suspect violate federal criminal laws or are connected to money laundering,” Yahoo News added. “SARs are among the most confidential, closely held documents in federal law enforcement. They are forbidden to be disclosed or have their existence disclosed by banks or government authorities, are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and are privileged in most cases from discovery by civil litigants.”
Yahoo News noted that the results from Senate’s investigation come at a damaging time for Democrats as their presidential primaries are underway.
Yesterday, Johnson and Grassley sent a letter to the Secret Service immediately following President Donald Trump’s acquittal in the Senate which requested information on Hunter Biden’s travel records while his father was vice president.
“We write to request information about whether Hunter Biden used government-sponsored travel to help conduct private business, to include his work for Rosemont Seneca and related entities in China and Ukraine,” the letter stated. “In December of 2013, one month after Rosemont Seneca’s joint venture with Bohai Capital to form BHR, Hunter Biden reportedly flew aboard Air Force Two with then-Vice President Biden to China. While in China, he helped arrange for Jonathan Li, CEO of Bohai Capital, to ‘shake hands’ with Vice President Biden. Afterward, Hunter Biden met with Li for reportedly a ‘social meeting.’ After the China trip, BHR’s business license was approved. Then, in 2015, BHR joined with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to acquire Henniges, which was the ‘biggest Chinese investment into US automotive manufacturing assets to date.'”
“In addition to business dealings in China, Hunter Biden also served as a board member for Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company,” the letter added. “In April 2014, around the time Hunter Biden joined Burisma, Vice President Biden reportedly became the ‘public face of the administration’s handling of Ukraine.’ It is unclear whether Hunter Biden received government sponsored travel or a protective detail for these endeavors.”
The Senators instructed the Secret Service to turn over the following records within the next two weeks:
- Please describe the protective detail that Hunter Biden received while his father was Vice President.
- Please provide a list of all dates and locations of travel, international and domestic, for Hunter Biden while he received a protective detail. In your response, please note whether his travel was on Air Force One or Two, or other government aircraft, as applicable and whether additional family members were present for each trip.
This report has been updated to include additional information.