Joe Biden received $40K in 'laundered China money' from brother in 2017, Comer says
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said President Biden, in 2017, received $40,000 in "laundered China money" from the bank account of his brother and his sister-in-law in the form of a personal check, while claiming the president has "exposed himself to future blackmail" from Beijing.
Comer, R-Ky., detailed his findings in a video posted to X Wednesday morning. The findings come after Comer subpoenaed personal and business bank records belonging to both James Biden and Hunter Biden as part of his investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings and whether the president was involved.
"Remember when Joe Biden told the American people that his son didn’t make money in China? Well, not only did he lie about his son Hunter making money in China, but it also turns out that $40,000 in laundered China money landed in Joe Biden’s bank account in the form of a personal check," Comer said. "And the Oversight Committee has it."
Comer said Biden "benefited from his family’s shady deal" with Chinese Communist Party-linked CEFC.
Comer said the "money trail" began in July 2017 when Hunter Biden demanded a $10 million payment from a CEFC associate. In a WhatsApp message, he claimed "he was sitting with his father and that the Biden network would turn on his associate if he didn’t pony up the money," Comer explained.
Hunter Biden in the WhatsApp message allegedly told a Chinese business associate from Chinese energy company CEFC that he and his father would ensure "you will regret not following my direction."
Hunter requested the $10 million wire for his joint-venture with CEFC called SinoHawk Holdings.
"I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled," Hunter Biden told Henry Zhao, the director of Chinese asset management firm Harvest Fund Management. "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."
Zhao responded, in part, "CEFC is willing to cooperate with the family."
Comer, in his video, said that Hunter's "extortion scheme worked," noting that just days later, $5 million "flowed in from a Chinese affiliate of CEFC."
Comer, citing bank records he and his committee have obtained, said that on Aug. 8, 2017, the $5 million in funds were sent to Hudson West III, a joint-venture established by Hunter Biden and CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. The same day, Hudson West III sent $400,000 to Owasco, P.C.— a separate entity controlled and owned by Hunter Biden, Comer said.
Days later, on Aug. 14, 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Lion Hall Group, a company owned by James Biden and his wife Sara Biden. By Aug. 28, 2017, Comer said Sara Biden withdrew $50,000 in cash from Lion Hall Group and later deposited it into her and James Biden’s personal checking account.
"A few days later, Sara Biden cut a check to Joe Biden for $40,000," Comer said, referring to the Sept. 3, 2017 check his committee obtained. "The memo line of the check said, ‘loan repayment.’"
Comer said that even if the check — which was 10% of the $400,000 sent to Hunter's Owasco — was, in fact, a loan repayment, "it still shows how Joe benefited from his family cashing in on his name — with money from China no less."
"Without his family peddling his name and his son threatening a CEFC associate with consequences that he said Joe Biden knew about, James wouldn’t have had the money to write the $40,000 check to his brother Joe," Comer said, adding that the Biden family’s business with CEFC began while Joe Biden was serving as vice president.
"In taking funds sourced to a CCP-linked company that wanted to advance China’s interests, Joe Biden exposed himself to future blackmail and put America’s interests behind his own desire for money," Comer said, vowing to "continue to follow the money" and to "hold President Biden accountable for his corruption."
While President Biden has maintained he was never in business with his son, text messages obtained by Fox News Digital back in 2020 revealed that Joe Biden, in May 2017, met with Hunter's business associates for the Sinohawk venture — specifically, Tony Bobulinski. The meeting on May 2, 2017, would have taken place just 11 days before a May 13, 2017, email obtained by Fox News in 2020, which included a discussion of "remuneration packages" for six people in the business deal with CEFC.
The email includes a note that "Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate." A proposed equity split references "20" for "H" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" with no further details.
The "big guy" has been said to be a reference to President Biden.
Meanwhile, the committee also on Wednesday released its fourth bank records memo, revealing additional payments the committee has "traced" from "Chinese companies to Joe Biden."
So far, during his committee's investigation, Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."
Comer said the House Oversight Committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by "selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world."
Meanwhile, last week, Comer said his panel had uncovered evidence that Joe Biden, in 2018, received a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was also labeled "loan repayment."