The Republican-led House Oversight Committee continued its efforts to investigate Biden family business dealings on Tuesday, sending a letter to a former Serbian minister of foreign affairs requesting documents related to Hunter Biden and asking for an interview with staff.
The five-page letter obtained by NBC News was sent to Vuk Jeremić, who after serving as Serbia’s foreign minister was president of the United Nations General Assembly from 2012-13. The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., called Jeremić a “a key witness in our investigation.”
“Mr. Jeremić’s previous testimony regarding business relationships with officials who participated in international bribery schemes raises red flags that there may be evidence showing the Biden family and associates peddled influence and attempted to sell access, including to individuals connected to the Chinese Communist Party,” Comer said in a statement. “If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries, this is a clear threat to national security. The Oversight Committee is committed to bringing transparency and accountability to the waste, fraud, and abuse that has taken place at the highest levels of government. Mr. Jeremić’s documents are crucial to this investigation.”
Feb. 9, 202305:30
The letter refers to the case of Patrick Ho, a former head of a Chinese energy company who was convicted of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in 2018. Jeremić testified during Ho’s trial and said he was paid by the energy company as a consultant and attempted to introduce individuals to Hunter Biden, though it is not clear a meeting took place.
The White House declined to comment, as did a representative for Hunter Biden. Jeremić did not respond to a request for comment.
The Washington Post reported in 2022 that the potential energy projects Hunter Biden discussed with Ho’s company “never came to fruition.” The Wall Street Journal reported in 2020 that “corporate records reviewed by the Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden.”
Jeremic said in an email to the Washington Post that he knew both Hunter Biden and Ye Jianming, an associate of Ho who is chairman of China’s CEFC energy company, but was not involved in introducing them.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
