FBI Knew a Ukrainian Company Allegedly Bribed Biden
Editorial Team
June 13, 2023
Written by Hudson Crozier
Updated Jun. 17, 2023: A previous version of this article failed to accurately describe the contents of the FBI document.
Revealed: An executive from the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings allegedly bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden to keep a prosecutor from investigating the company, which Hunter Biden sat on the board of, according to an FBI document that anonymous sources have described in detail to news outlets. The FBI initially fought to conceal the 2020 document but later allowed access to members of the House Oversight Committee, who have further corroborated the reports of its contents.
Background: During Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Burisma gave Hunter a lucrative position on its board of directors—despite his lack of qualifications—in exchange for “influence” and access to his father. In the FBI’s document, an informant explains how far that influence went.
A shield from the law: While a Ukrainian prosecutor was investigating Burisma for alleged corruption, an executive told the informant he would “pay the Bidens” (Joe and Hunter) $5 million each to keep the prosecutor off his back. Shortly after, then-Vice President Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in government loans to Ukraine until it fired the prosecutor, which it did. Remember, Biden, as vice president, was the main point of contact for Ukraine and hoped to make it what some called “a legacy project.” Biden later bragged about the move at a political event.
“I looked at them and said … If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a b——. (Laughter). He got fired.”
Pertaining to Chinese deals: The executive referred to Joe Biden as “the Big Guy.” Emails from Hunter’s laptop previously showed that someone with that nickname was set to receive 10 percent of a multimillion-dollar deal with a Chinese company in 2017. The House Oversight Committee will continue investigating the Biden family’s financial history and its implications for Biden’s leadership.
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