House Republicans have released evidence that they say shows President Biden’s son Hunter may have been compromised by Chinese intelligence through a business associate who advised on a deal to sell liquid natural gas reserves to China and later encouraged his father to run for president in 2020.
In a letter delivered this week to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Reform Committee revealed emails and text messages between Hunter Biden and JiaQi “Jackie” Bao.
The lawmakers said Ms. Bao, a former Chinese official, maintained ties to Chinese intelligence while advising the Biden family.
“Documents obtained by Committee Republicans reveal Hunter Biden’s business partner and close personal associate was linked to the Communist Party of China (CCP), her employer before the Biden family,” Rep. James Comer of Kentucky wrote. “JiaQi ‘Jackie’ Bao provided Hunter insight into purchasing liquefied natural gas reserves in the United States to sell to China, had access to the Biden family’s financial information, and liaised with CCP-affiliated agents on the Bidens.”
Mr. Comer said Ms. Bao, after “infiltrating the Biden family,” encouraged the current president to run for office months before he announced and supplied his campaign with “advice related to China.”
“Committee Republicans are concerned Hunter Biden may have been compromised by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and foreign intelligence services,” Mr. Comer wrote. “Due to the interconnected nature of the Biden family’s finances and business dealings, this type of access would jeopardize U.S. national security.”
In the letter, Mr. Comer accuses the FBI of a “troubling” lack of interest in the Biden family’s dealings.
An FBI spokesperson said the bureau received the letter but declined to comment further. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Hunter Biden’s relationship with Ms. Bao was also highlighted in a letter accompanying more than 200 pages of bank records detailing Hunter Biden’s suspected “connections to the Chinese regime” sent this week to U.S. Attorney David Weiss in Delaware.
The letter from Republican Sens. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin cited reports that Ms. Bao warned Hunter Biden to withdraw his cash from Hudson West III, a joint partnership Mr. Biden formed with Ye Jianming’s associate Gongwen Dong, after Mr. Ye was detained in 2018. She said it would become “nobody’s money” if Mr. Biden failed to withdraw the funds.
Ms. Bao also reportedly provided opposition research to Hunter Biden on President Trump ahead of the 2020 election and called Hunter Biden her “coconspirator-in-mischief,” the senators said.
The lawmakers also raised concerns that federal investigators, in this case the U.S. attorney looking into Hunter Biden’s suspected tax crimes, are not pursuing the Biden family’s far-flung business dealings aggressively enough.
Oversight and Reform Committee Republicans said Ms. Bao graduated from Tsinghua University, which they describe as a “recruiting hub for China’s intelligence service.” She worked for China’s National Development and Reform Commission before advising the Biden family, they said.
At the National Development and Reform Commission, she was “in charge of China’s macroeconomic planning.” She approved projects that received foreign funding.
Ms. Bao advised Hunter Biden while he was attempting to do business with Chinese energy firm CEFC.
In one email obtained by the committee, Ms. Bao tells James and Hunter Biden and CEFC officials that her “job is to make sure our interest is protected” and that “everyone is on the same page.” James Biden is President Biden’s brother.
Committee investigators said Ms. Bao provided Hunter Biden with Chinese language maps of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, holdings in the U.S. and attended negotiations with U.S. energy companies to help execute financial transactions.
“Bao appeared to be effectively running the joint venture under Hunter Biden’s name,” Mr. Comer wrote. “She produced yearly reports and business plans for Hudson West III, the joint venture Hunter Biden created with the Chinese firm, CEFC.”
In 2018, after CEFC founder Ye Jianming was arrested on bribery charges, Ms. Bao encouraged Hunter Biden to continue to pursue his “investment thesis on natural gas” and said the shake-up at CEFC could “present a great opportunity to gain.”
Ms. Bao’s relationship extended beyond business dealings.
In a December 2018 text message exchange documented in the letter, Ms. Bao tells Hunter Biden that “Uncle Joe should run for President in 2020” and “should not be distracted” by a New York Times article into CEFC’s influence peddling within the Biden family.
“In addition to the Chinese government through Bao, it is likely that Hunter Biden may have been compromised by other FIS agents throughout his time as an influence peddler and during his efforts to sell off American resources,” Mr. Comer wrote.
The congressman demanded that the FBI turn over all documents related to Ms. Bao’s relationship with the Biden family and its business dealings, CEFC’s efforts to purchase American energy, and other foreign intelligence efforts to compromise the Biden family.
Much of the Grassley-Johnson letter focused on a review of Hunter Biden’s bank records. They said the records offer further evidence of his deep ties to CEFC, which has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
The data dump follows revelations in two reports the lawmakers released in 2020.
“If you are conducting a full and complete investigation, you should already possess these records,” the senators wrote. “In the case that you are not and do not possess these records, we suggest that you review them in detail.”
Mr. Grassley and Mr. Johnson, the ranking members of the Judiciary Committee and Permanent Select Subcommittee on Investigations, respectively, are among a chorus on Capitol Hill vowing to conduct extensive investigations of Hunter Biden’s business dealings if Republicans win the majority in Congress on Nov. 8.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Thursday showed that an overwhelming 75% majority of voters think the Republicans will follow through with their pledge to “investigate allegations of wrongdoings by Hunter Biden.”
More than half, 52%, say such an investigation is warranted.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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