An Angry Joe Biden Implicates Hunter in Massive Fraud

Throwing Hunter Under the Bus?

The implosion of the sweetheart plea bargain that DOJ presented to Judge Maryellen Noreika, in collaboration with Hunter Biden and his lawyers, reopens the possibility of further investigation and prosecution of the admitted drug addict whom Joe Biden calls “the smartest guy I know.” Moreover, the President’s own words can be seen as throwing Hunter under the bus in a desperate act of self-protection.  That is because Joe Biden’s claim that his son was lying to his Chinese business partners about his father being part of the shakedown, potentially provides additional ammunition implicating Hunter in a fraudulent scheme.

As has been well-documented, IRS whistle blowers have disclosed that in July 2017 Hunter Biden engaged in a shake-down of a Chinese company via a WhatsApp message from Hunter to the Chinese.  To pressure his Chinese business partners into forking over $5 million that he claimed that one of them had promised, Hunter emphasized that his demands for the money had the blessing of and were approved by his father, who was “sitting next to me.” 

In a recent development, in late June, President Biden angrily denied that he was in the same room as Hunter during while this shakedown was going on.  But, those denials, if true, potentially expose his own son to criminal prosecution for a massive scheme to defraud.

THE INITIAL SHAKEDOWN

Hunter claimed to have struck a deal with Ye Jianming, formerly the chairman of a Chinese energy conglomerate known as CEFC.  Hunter claimed that his compensation was to be a minimum of $5 million per year “for introductions alone.”  CEFC was the same company with which Hunter was negotiating a deal that would have resulted in him receiving an equity stake of 20% and an additional 10% that Hunter would hold “for the big guy.”

On July 30, 2017, Hunter sent an electronic WhatsApp message to Raymond Zaho, who was a CEFC employee and an official of the Chinese Communist Party.  In his message, Hunter said: "I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled." He also wrote, "Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight."

And Hunter’s threats became even more heavy-handed.  He continued:

"And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.  I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father." Given Joe Biden’s public boasting about threatening to withhold a billion dollars in aid to Ukraine when he was Vice President, if they did not fire the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma Holdings for corruption when Hunter was on its Board, it would appear that Hunter was capable of backing up his threats.  (“I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. . . . Well, son of a bitch, he got fired.”).

On August 3, Hunter pushed again for immediate payment by the Chinese of the $5 million: “[I]f the Chairman doesn't value this relationship is [sic] being worth at least 5M then I'm just baffled .... Please let's put this to bed tonight sign officially [sic] tomorrow (or anytime as late tonight as you want) and get to work. I am tired of this Kevin. I can make $5M in salary at any law firm in America. If you think this is about money it's not. The Biden’s [sic] are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership.”

The Chinese kowtowed promptly: The next day, August 4, they wired $100,000 to Hunter’s law firm, Owasco, PC.  They followed that four days later with the $5 million demanded by Hunter from CEFC, which went to Hudson West, III, LLC.  A Chinese-supplied organizational chart identified Hunter and Chairman Jianming as owners of Hudson West, with Hunter’s ownership to be filtered through an unnamed company. 

All this obviously raises questions about the extent to which Hunter and his family were selling influence to Chinese Communist Party agents.  In view of Joe Biden’s unbelievable denials that he ever even discussed Hunter’s business with his son, the President obviously has a motive to distance himself from what appears to be blatant strong-arming of the Chinese for the financial benefit of his family.   

THE PRESIDENT’S DENIALS THAT HE WAS IN THE ROOM WHEN HUNTER THREATENED THE CHINESE.

President Biden’s “historic” (her own self-characterization) press secretary has adopted her usual stonewalling strategy regarding questions about the President’s involvement in the shakedown.  Not to be outdone, when he was questioned about Biden’s involvement, the formerly credible and respected John Kirby first refused to answer and then abruptly fled the room. 

But on June 28, the press got a chance to question Joe Biden himself about it. A New York Post reported asked, "President Biden, how involved were you in your son's Chinese shakedown text messages? Were you sitting there? Were you involved?" Chuckling, the President responded, “No I wasn’t and I . . . .”  When the reporter attempted a follow-up, “Were you ….?” a visibly angry Biden then shouted, “No.”

Like his many other unbelievable denials, the President doubtlessly thought that he could get away with just denying any involvement. He no doubt counted on a compliant press corps being happy to drop the issue and move on if he simply denied being present during the shakedown.  Whether that will be the case remains to be seen, although that seems to be happening and the expected indictment of former president Trump will doubtlessly be more attractive to the mainstream media.  Nevertheless, what is clear already is that if the President’s denial is to be believed, he may have implicated Hunter in a massive scheme to defraud. 

That is because according to Joe Biden, Hunter’s statements that his father was in the room with him and was part of the pressure campaign, were lies, and they were lies intended to coerce the Chinese into paying them millions, i.e., “to obtain money by means of false representations.”  That appears to fit within a textbook definition of the key element of a criminal scheme to defraud. 

A SCHEME TO DEFRAUD?

Lawyers could write lengthy briefs on the question of criminal fraud here (again, if Joe Biden is to be believed).  We will not wade into those deep waters, as a complete legal analysis of such claims and defenses is beyond the scope of this short article; we therefore will not attempt to provide a definitive conclusion as to whether Hunter is guilty of criminal fraud. But there certainly is enough smoke to merit a full investigation of such a charge.  As confirmed by the model federal jury instruction for wire fraud (since the message was sent electronically via WhatsApp, the wire fraud statutes are applicable), the core element of a criminal fraud charge “a scheme or plan to defraud, or . . . for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses [or] representations.”

If Joe Biden is to be believed, in his July 30 shakedown of the Chinese, Hunter made at least three “false representations.”  All were intended to obtain money from the Chinese by assuring them that Joe Biden supported his son’s demands and would be part of the retribution if those demands were not met.  If the President is now telling the truth about his non-involvement, then it is clear that Hunter lied at least three times in his July 30 WhatsApp message: (1) when he said that he was “sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” (2) that Joe Biden (“the man sitting next to me”) “and every person he knows” would be involved and would make sure “that you will regret not following my direction” to pay the $5 million immediately, and (3) “I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.” So, if Joe Biden is telling the truth, then it necessarily follows that Hunter made false statements that could be criminal under various federal statutes.

CONSEQUENCES?

A conviction for wire fraud can result in up to twenty years in a federal prison. Thus far, it has appeared that Hunter likely would skate from any serious criminal consequences. However, Judge Maryellen Noreika’s recent refusal to approve the unprecedented sweetheart deal between Hunter and DOJ because of their collaborative effort to secure immunity for Hunter from virtually all potential charges, raised the possibility that Hunter could still be at risk if there ever is a legitimate and ethical investigation.

The statute of limitations for wire fraud is generally five years. That could be extended if an unbiased investigation were to reveal either an effort to conceal the violations, or additional emails or wire communications in furtherance of the scheme. A legitimate investigation could probe these and potential defenses by the “first son.”

Of course, if President Biden thought through the ramifications of throwing his prodigal son under the proverbial bus (giving the President the benefit of the doubt here as having any thoughtfulness before he spoke), then he undoubtedly figured that his captive and corrupt Attorney General and DOJ would never conduct a bona fide investigation of a Biden family member. DOJ’s apparent attempt to pull the wool over Judge Noreika’s eyes by concealing the scope of the immunity agreement confirms that suspicion. So, until we have a legitimate justice system that honestly and consistently implements the truism that “no person is above the law,” Hunter probably can safely plan to continue to be an honored guest at state dinners at the White House. At least in the near future, it will be up to the House investigators to probe this additional angle.