Feds’ ‘Foreign Corruption’ Double Standard: They Protected Bidens as They Bore Down on

by Paul Sperry

At the same time that Department of Justice officials were using spying and corruption statutes to aggressively pursue Donald Trump’s allies based on what turned out to be rumor and innuendo, they declined to use those same laws to investigate evidence of wrongdoing involving Biden family members and one of their corrupt Chinese business partners, DOJ documents and federal court records reveal.

In 2016-2017, the evidence shows, the FBI raided the offices and intercepted the communications of Chi Ping “Patrick” Ho, a Chinese national agents suspected of espionage even as he was negotiating business deals with former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James.

DOJ later used information obtained from the searches and wiretaps – which included conversations with the current President’s son and brother – to convict Ho of bribery and money laundering, as part of a separate corruption case involving United Nations officials. But it declined to tap into its trove of evidence – including “over 100,000 emails” – to explore the connections between Ho and the Bidens, who received millions of dollars from Ho and a Chinese intelligence front and discussed sharing office space.

At Ho’s 2018 trial, prosecutors hid Hunter’s connection to Ho, redacting his name from court exhibits while describing Ho as “the person who flies around the world paying bribes to advance the interest of the oil company [CEFC China Energy],” according to hearing transcripts.

A federal database shows the Bidens failed to register as foreign agents while engaged in activities on behalf of CEFC, a state-owned entity suspected of being a front for Chinese intelligence. Federal anti-spying laws require anyone acting as a lobbyist for a foreign power to register with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

The DOJ did not prosecute either Biden family member for potential violations of FARA for representing the interests of the Chinese.

This stands in stark contrast to the DOJ’s aggressive pursuit of alleged FARA violations involving no fewer than six Trump campaign officials. In August of 2016, shortly after receiving a tip that a low-level Trump campaign volunteer, George Papadopoulos, had allegedly been told that the Russians might have dirt on Hillary Clinton, the bureau opened FARA investigations into Papadopoulos and three other Trump associates with no clear ties to Papadopoulos: national security adviser Michael Flynn; campaign manager Paul Manafort; and campaign adviser Carter Page. The FBI subsequently investigated Manafort’s deputy Rick Gates; and Trump’s Mideast adviser Walid Phares under the same statute.

As RCI has previously reported, the FBI used FARA as the basis for a wide-ranging probe that included tailing them, staking out their homes, digging through their trash, and using confidential sources to secretly record them. Only one of the six was convicted for FARA-related violations, and none was charged with any espionage or conspiracy crimes involving Russia.

“It’s 100% a double standard, and it’s absolutely corrupt to the core,” former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker told RCI. “And meanwhile, [current FBI Director] Chris Wray fiddles.”

Other veterans of the bureau say the Obama and Biden administrations have politicized and weaponized FARA.

“Starting in 2016, the Obama-Biden administration used FARA and the criminal justice system as tools to attack and eliminate the opposition,” said 27-year FBI veteran Michael Biasello, adding that many of the same officials are “back in charge and making sure those tools won’t be turned onthemselves.”

An FBI spokeswoman said the agency had no comment on why it did not apply the foreign lobbying law equally. The Justice Department did not return requests for comment.

Ho and Hunter: A Lucrative Relationship

Court records and other documents show that Hunter Biden met with Ho’s boss Ye Jianming in February 2017 in Miami, where the CEFC chief offered him up to $30 million for “introductions alone,” according to emails. Ye – who had connections to both China’s Communist Party in China and its armed forces, the People’s Liberation Army – sealed the deal with a lucrative gift to Hunter: a 3.16-carat diamond worth an estimated $80,000. (Hunter never returned the large gem.)

Not long after their private dinner, CEFC began wiring millions of dollars from China to pass-through companies set up by Hunter Biden. Over the next 14 months, Hunter and Jimmy Biden (as the latter is known to family and friends) ultimately received almost $6 million from CEFC entities, according to congressional investigators, including $1 million from Ho. At the time, the FBI was tracking Ho’s and CEFC’s “bank and wire transfer records,” according to DOJ records, which indicates agents were aware of the China-based payments to the Bidens.

As Hunter was meeting Ye that February, DOJ records show, the FBI renewed a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant targeting Ho. Former FBI officials say agents had a clear window into how the Chinese were attempting to cultivate the Bidens.

When Hunter formally structured the CEFC deal in May 2017, text messages found on his abandoned laptop reveal, he was worried about running afoul of two federal laws: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – which Ho was convicted of violating – and FARA.

“We don’t want to have to register as foreign agents,” Hunter texted another partner in the deal, and suggested they set up a U.S. shell company towork around it.

In the end, Hunter never registered with the Justice Department, according to a search of the FARA database. Nor did uncle Jimmy. They also did not report their activities for CEFC or any of the almost $6 million in wire payments they received, as required by law.

The texts indicate Hunter was familiar with the requirements of the law. Violations carry a maximum punishment of five years in prison.

Hunter and his attorney did not respond to messages seeking comment. Attempts to reach James Biden were unsuccessful.

Also that May, the uncle sent his nephew a list of “key domestic contacts” they could exploit to advance the interests of their Chinese partners. Then-California Sen. Kamala Harris and then-California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom were among the powerful Democrats listed.

China has sought to influence powerful officials, particularly to gain access to U.S. energy markets, which are heavily regulated. CEFC is the capitalist arm of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road Initiative” to spread China’s influence around the world while gobbling up oil and gas rights.

In an August 2017 email to another Ye lieutenant, Hunter guaranteed his family would follow through on the introductions as long as the money kept flowing: “The Bidens are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman [Ye] wants from this partnership.”

And the China-based funds flowed and flowed into Biden bank accounts. The CEFC contract guaranteed Hunter $150,000 a month, with another $65,000 a month for Jimmy Biden. The vast majority of Americans do not make $150,000 in a year.

The payments, earmarked as “consulting fees,” raised so many red flags at Wells Fargo and other banks that processed the funds that they notified the Treasury Department they had concerns about possible money laundering and other financial crimes. Treasury, in turn, generated some 150 Suspicious Activity Reports related to the financial transactions.

The Biden administration has refused to turn over the Treasury reports to Congress, despite repeated requests for them. Congressional investigatorsare trying to determine if any of the “large wire transfers” enriched the president, either directly or through gifts-in-kind.

Early on, Joe Biden appeared from emails to be cut in on a future CEFC deal, which is at odds with his repeated denials about being involved in – or even knowing anything about – his son’s business dealings.

In a May 2017 meeting at a Beverly Hills hotel, Biden discussed the CEFC venture with Hunter’s business associate Tony Bobulinski, according to Bobulinski, who said they spoke for more than an hour. An email that same month described the “big guy” getting a 10% cut. Bobulinski has confirmed Joe Biden was the “big guy.” An October 2017 email, moreover, identifies the former vice president as a participant in a call about CEFC’s plans to purchase U.S. natural gas.

‘Take Whatever Money You Can Take’

It’s not clear what the Chinese got for all their money, which didn’t appear to correspond with any actual billing for consulting work.

At one point a CEFC aide simply told Hunter in a laptop email: “[T]ake whatever money you can take. Take as much as possible … to spend for your own benefit.” The Bidens did virtually no “legitimate” work for CEFC, according to congressional…