Newly released text messages show Joe Biden had involvement in son Hunter’s business dealings

Hunter Biden’s former business partner is releasing a trove of text messages that show that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden was brought into discussions on his son’s business ventures.

The texts from whistleblower Tony Bobulinski show Hunter Biden talked of the “family brand” when discussing investments. Another partner warned Mr. Bobulinski, “don’t mention Joe being involved. It’s only when u are face to face.”

Mr. Bobulinski suddenly emerged in the Hunter Biden financial scandal last week when he issued a statement saying he met with the elder Mr. Biden, now the Democratic presidential nominee, to discuss his son’s business ventures.

This adds to evidence casting doubt on Mr. Biden’s categorical statements that he had never discussed his son’s foreign business actions, which include being on the payrolls of Russian and Ukraine oligarchs and doing deals with wealthy Chinese close to the Communist Party and Beijing’s military.

The Hunter Biden scandal erupted earlier this month when Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s attorney, began releasing emails and texts purportedly from Hunter Biden’s discarded MacBook Pro laptop. The messages show that an executive of Burisma Group, a Ukraine energy firm for which Hunter sat on the board of directors, thanked him for setting up a meeting with the vice president in 2015.

Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s principal business partner, also arranged for a delegation in 2011 of top Chinese business leaders and Communist Party members to visit the Obama White House and meet with the vice president, according to emails reported by Breitbart.

The Bobulinski texts, first reported by Fox News, show that Hunter Biden went on a tirade in a June 2017 message to partner James Gilliar with complaints about Mr. Bobulinski.

“Explain to me one thing Tony brings to MY table that I so desperately need that I’m willing to sign over my family’s brand and pretty much the rest of my business life,” Hunter Biden says. “Why in gods name would I give this marginal bully the keys my family’s only asset? Why?”

The “only asset” appears to be a reference to the Biden name, or the father himself.

Mr. Bobulinski entered into partnership as CEO of Sinohawk Holdings with Hunter Biden and a Chinese billionaire, Ye Jianming, then chairman of China Energy Co. (CEFC).

Two Republican Senate committee chairmen — Ron Johnson of Wisconsin (Homeland Security) and Chuck Grassley of Iowa (Finance) — issued a Step. 23 report outlining Hunter’s deep financial ties to Mr. Ye.

The report detailed million-dollar payments based on committee-acquired Treasury Department suspicious activity reports (SARS).

Mr. Bobulinski said the Senate report opened his eyes to the fact Hunter Biden was secretly withdrawing huge sums of money from the partnership.

“I just saw behind the Biden curtain and I grew concerned with what I saw,” he said. “The Biden family aggressively leveraged the Biden family name to make millions of dollars from foreign entities even though some were from communist-controlled China.”

Hunter Biden left his computer at a Wilmington, Delaware, repair shop in April 2019. With the computer abandoned, the shop owner acquired it, and became alarmed by its contents. He notified the FBI, which took possession of the device, and also provided a hard drive copy to Mr. Giuliani.

One email showed Hunter Biden demanding $10 million annually from Mr. Ye for “introductions alone.”

Another was a May 2017 email from Mr. Gilliar to Hunter Biden and Mr. Bobulinski on a new venture with Mr. Ye in which a 10% stake would be “held by H for the big guy?”

Mr. Bobulinski says the “big guy” is the former vice president.

The FBI interviewed Mr. Bobulinski on Friday.

Joseph Biden said at Thursday night’s debate that Hunter has taken no money from China — an assertion disproven by the Senate report.

The campaign says there are no Chinese proceeds on his tax returns. A business partner informed Mr. Bobulinski that Hunter referred to his dad as “the chairman.”