House Republicans, led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), are seeking records confirming that Joe Biden, in his time as vice president used pseudonyms to discuss his son Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings.
A public letter from the House Oversight Committee addressed to Colleen Shogan, the national archivist, requesting information was made public.
"The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Biden's meetings and communications with certain family members and their business associates during his tenure as Vice President," reads the letter published Thursday, August 17. "The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has published the Biden Vice Presidential Records Collection, which contains information relevant to the Committee's work. Many of these records have been redacted for publication pursuant to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."
🚨 BREAKING 🚨@RepJamesComer is requesting all unredacted documents and communications from @USNatArchives in which:
▪️Then-VP Joe Biden used a pseudonym
▪️Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin, or Devon Archer is copied
▪️And all drafts of then-Vice President Biden’s speech delivered… pic.twitter.com/GUPWvPFTuq
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) August 17, 2023
According to the letter, the Committee chaired by Comer is seeking, in particular, a document showing that Biden had a call on May 27, 2016, with the former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
"Attached to this email, and made available on the NARA website, is a document that indicates at 9:00 a.m. on May 27, 2016, Vice President Biden took a call with the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. It is concerning to the Committee, however, that this document was sent to 'Robert L. Peters' -a pseudonym the Committee has identified as then Vice-President Biden," the letter to Shogan said. "Additionally, the Committee questions why the then-Vice President's son, Hunter Biden—and only Hunter Biden—was copied on this email to then-Vice President Biden."
According to the letter, Biden also used the pseudonyms "Robin Ware," "Robert L. Peters" and "JRB ware" in emails dealing with official and family matters.
The Committee asked the National Archives to turn over "any document or communication in which a pseudonym for Vice President Joe Biden was included either as a sender, recipient, copied or was included in the contents of the document or communication including but not limited to Robert Peters, Robin Ware and JRB Ware."
It also explicitly asks for any "document or communication in which Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin or Devon Archer was included either as a sender, recipient, copied, or was included in the contents of the document or communication."
The deadline the Oversight Committee gave to the National Archives is August 31, 2023.
Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine with energy company Burisma have come under scrutiny from Republicans and federal agencies in recent years. The president's son is accused of committing tax crimes and violating lobbying rules. His father, President Biden, has been singled out for involvement in his son's business dealings and for playing an active role in firing former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who is investigating Burisma for corruption.
James Comer: "We have evidence that Joe Biden was talking to his son's associates"
The congressman and chairman of the Oversight Committee, before publishing the letter publicly, issued a statement to the British tabloid Daily Mail denouncing that then Vice-President Biden was open to flouting lobbying rules.
"Joe Biden has stated that there was 'an absolute wall' between his family's foreign business plans and his duties as vice president, but evidence reveals that access was wide open for his family's influence peddling," Comer told the Daily Mail. "We already have evidence of then-Vice President Biden speaking, dining, and having coffee with his son's foreign business associates. We also know that Hunter Biden and his associates were informed of then-Vice President Biden's official government duties in countries where they had a financial interest."
