Democrats ignored Hunter Biden’s foreign lobbying, but now want probe of Trump son-in-law

Just eleven days before the election, senior congressional Democrats called on the Justice Department to investigate Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), citing standards they waived aside in the Biden impeachment investigation.

The letter sent to the Department of Justice on Friday came from House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden. 

“The scale of these undisclosed foreign payments to Mr. Kushner coupled with the national security implications of his apparent ongoing efforts to sell political influence to the highest foreign bidder are unprecedented and demand action from DOJ,” Raskin and Wyden wrote. 

"Unprecedented"?

If the allegations sound familiar, that’s because they are almost exactly what House Republicans accused Hunter Biden of doing. 

A House-led impeachment probe uncovered millions in undisclosed foreign payments to both Hunter Biden and presidential brother James Biden while Joe Biden was vice president. Email evidence showed and witnesses testified that Hunter Biden used his family name and promise of political influence with his father in an apparent attempt to clinch deals and induce payments from his foreign partners. 

For his part, Raskin repeatedly said that "If the Republicans had a smoking gun, or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today, but they’ve got nothing on Joe Biden.” House Oversight Chairman James Comer, who led the investigation, told Just the News that "Raskin is a hypocrite” who is more concerned with the upcoming election than enforcing FARA. 

“This is a classic election year stunt and has no credibility. Ranking Member Raskin willfully ignored evidence of the Bidens’ FARA violations and is now undergoing this political fishing expedition as an attempt to distract from the rapidly sinking Harris campaign,” Comer told Just the News. 

Raskin emerged as a major opponent of the House impeachment inquiry led by Republicans on the committee into President Joe Biden which focused heavily on the foreign business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. 

That probe ultimately concluded that President Biden engaged in impeachable offenses by helping to enrich his family through an influence scheme, but Democrats, led by Raskin, strongly condemned the investigation and its results.

Rep. Raskin’s office did not respond to a request for comment about what distinguishes the Hunter Biden case from that of Jared Kushner. 

FARA for thee, but not for me

“FARA is an important tool to identify foreign influence in the United States and address threats to our national security,” Raskin and Wyden wrote. “The primary purpose of FARA is to ensure that the American public and lawmakers are made aware of foreign efforts to influence U.S. public opinion, political activities, and lobbying through the use of agents in the United States.” 

According to the law, an individual is required to register when, acting as an agent of a foreign principal, the individual either engages in political activities, acts as a publicity agent or public relations counsel, deals with money in the United States on behalf of the principal, or represents that principal before government officials or agencies. 

Raskin and Wyden assert that Jared Kushner’s work with the Saudi Arabian and other Middle Eastern governments through his Affinity Partners should qualify for registration under the law.  They specifically cite his millions in income from as a result of his firm’s partnerships and alleged political activities, including advising his father-in-law, meeting with Congressmen, and fundraising for the Trump campaign. 

But the congressional record, witness testimony and Just the News investigations show Hunter Biden engaged in strikingly similar activities. Even the IRS Whistleblowers, who alleged the Biden Justice Department interfered in their tax investigation of the first son, testified they were blocked from pursuing potential FARA charges. 

Significant income from foreign sources

An investigation by Senate Democrats found that Kushner’s firm, Affinity has collected at least $87 million in management fees from the Saudi government. The letter notes that 99% of of the $3 billion in managed funds come from foreign sources. It is unclear how what income Kushner has made from the firm. 

The Democrats believe Affinity is a way for the Saudis to curry influence with the Trump family covertly, citing Kushner’s inexperience with investment management. 

“There is substantial reason to believe that the Saudi government’s decision to engage Affinity for investment advice is a fig leaf for funneling money directly to Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump,” Raskin and Wyden wrote. “Prior to starting Affinity, Mr. Kushner had no experience in private equity or quantifiable investment management record.” Trump was divorced from his wife Ivanka in 1990. 

Much like the Democrats' allegations against Kushner, House Republicans found millions flowing directly to Hunter Biden’s coffers and collected testimony suggesting Hunter Biden’s experience was minimal or unclear for roles he secured. 

The impeachment inquiry identified at least $27 million in funds that Hunter Biden and other family members received from foreign sources. These funds were often obscured in “shell companies” to hide their true origins, the committee said in its final report. Some of the funds sent from China, for example, ended up directly in Joe Biden’s bank account. 

Hunter Biden received significant compensation from several foreign ventures and positions despite congressional investigators struggling to determine what product or service the younger Biden was offering. 

One of the most well known examples is Biden’s role on the board of directors of the embattled Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, whose owner Mykola Zlochevksy was facing corruption allegations in Ukraine. Biden received a $1 million a year salary for his role on the board despite having no prior experience in foreign energy markets. 

In another example, an independent contractor with a Chinese firm that entered into a direct partnership with Hunter Biden, and promised him approximately $5 million, could not define what Biden’s role with the company was when he testified to the Oversight Committee earlier this year. 

“And then what did you think Hunter Biden brought to the table?” an investigator asked. “I don’t know,” the witness answered answered.

Political activities and influence

In order for foreign income to require a FARA registration, the recipient has to engage in political activities of some kind according to the definitions laid out in the law. 

The Democrats allege “As he collects millions every year from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments, Mr. Kushner by his own admission remains a close political advisor to former President Trump and an influential figure deeply involved in the Trump presidential campaign.” 

The potentially problematic activities the Democrats cite are reports of Kushner advising Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin-Salman, advising his father-in-law’s campaign, organizing meetings with foreign officials on U.S. soil, and meeting with members of Congress about U.S. policy. 

At the same time, there may be even more extensive evidence that Hunter Biden engaged in “political activities” on behalf of several of his foreign clients or partners. For example, when Ukrainian energy company Burisma came under scrutiny from its own government, Hunter Biden met with at least one State Department official who was a key advisor to his father. 

In November 2015, as pressure against Burisma was building, Hunter Biden reached out to Amos Hochstein, then-Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department, to set up a meeting for coffee on Nov. 4, 2015, email records show. Hochstein also met with senior Burisma official Vadim Pozharskyi. 

Just one month later, Hochstein was a key official involved in then-Vice President Biden’s decision to change U.S. policy and call for the firing of a prosecutor Burisma viewed as unfriendly to its interests. 

In a court filing in Hunter Biden’s tax case by a Special Counsel in Biden’s own Justice Department, prosecutors clearly spelled out allegations that Hunter Biden was working on behalf of Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu to influence U.S. policy. Biden’s lawyer attempted to have this evidence excluded on the grounds that it would prejudice the jury. 

Hunter Biden's firm gets a share of $3 million

At the time, Popoviciu was being investigated for corruption by the Romanian authorities. House investigators discovered that a company connected to Hunter Biden received approximately a third of a $3 million payment from Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu’s Bladon Enterprises Limited. The rest of the money was split between his other partners, according to the bank records memo and the government’s court filings. 

Prosecutors said in the filing: “[T]he government will introduce the evidence described above, including that the defendant and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign principal who was attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and cause the United States to investigate the Romanian investigation of G.P in Romania.” 

The description is a nearly identical match with FARA registration requirements provided by the government. 

In addition to these activities, email records and witness testimony show that Joe Biden met with or spoke on the phone with nearly every foreign business partner of his son Hunter. One former business partner, Devon Archer, testified that he put his father on the phone with partners at least 20 times over a decade of business.

“Enforcing FARA is essential to protecting our national security and ensuring that our political system remains free from malign foreign influence,” Raskin and Wyden wrote, concluding their letter. 

“The public must have confidence that DOJ executes its responsibilities fairly, impartially, and without respect to political expedience or partisan interests and appointing a Special Counsel would strongly serve the public interest,” they added. 

But, as the IRS Whistleblowers testified, their team of investigators were blocked from looking into allegations of FARA violations by Hunter Biden. The evidence appears to show that the probe did not live up to Raskin and Wyden’s standards for enforcing FARA.