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The National Archives and Records Administration is withholding more than 5,000 White House emails that used aliases for then-Vice President Joseph R. Biden as it awaits approval from him and former President Barack Obama to make them public.
Mr. Biden used at least three email aliases while serving as vice president, and House investigators sought access to the messages this month as part of their probe into whether he engaged in illegal influence peddling.
Some of the emails to Mr. Biden inexplicably copy in his son, Hunter Biden, including a scheduling email about a May 2016 call between the vice president and then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Hunter Biden was serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company at the time.
Officials from the National Archives have acknowledged they possess 5,138 White House emails that used one of Mr. Biden’s three known aliases, but they won’t provide the records to House investigators until they receive permission from him and Mr. Obama, a spokeswoman for House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer told The Washington Times.
“National Archives officials have indicated they have sent some of the records to representatives for former President Obama and Joe Biden for their approval to be released,” spokeswoman Jessica Collins said. “President Biden promised the most transparent administration in history, and we fully expect him to approve the release of these records.”
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A spokesman for Mr. Biden did not respond to an inquiry from The Times.
Thousands of Mr. Biden’s disguised emails were first disclosed by the Southeastern Legal Foundation, which has been seeking the records since 2022 under the Freedom of Information Act.
The National Archives disclosed to the foundation that it also possesses 25 electronic files and 200 pages of “potentially responsive records,” but it won’t hand them over.
The foundation filed a federal lawsuit Monday to obtain the records.
“Unfortunately, after identifying nearly 5,400 potentially responsive records, NARA has dragged its feet and still has not produced a single email,” said the foundation’s general counsel, Kimberly Hermann. “SLF now turns to the court, asking it to order NARA to produce Biden’s emails.”
Ms. Hermann said the foundation has filed nearly a dozen lawsuits that exposed relationships between Hunter Biden’s various companies and ties to the federal government.
“Biden’s alias emails are no different,” Ms. Hermann said. “The public has a right to know what is in them.”
White House records show that Mr. Biden used the name Robert L. Peters while serving as vice president. House investigators say Mr. Biden also disguised his name on emails using the pseudonyms Robin Ware and JRB Ware, a play on his middle name and initials paired with his home state of Delaware.
The Times reported in July that the National Archives released a May 26, 2016, White House scheduling email sent to Vice President Biden ahead of a call with Mr. Poroshenko.
The email was copied to Hunter Biden, who at the time was earning a million-dollar annual salary on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings, which was looking to shake off a corruption investigation.
The email about the Poroshenko call was sent to Mr. Biden under the pseudonym Robert L. Peters.
House investigators are concerned that Mr. Biden used several aliases to hide his involvement in his son’s business deals.
Emails found on Hunter Biden’s discarded laptop show he was copied in on 10 White House emails regarding his father’s schedule, the New York Post reported.
Mr. Biden is not the only top government official to use a pseudonym. Mr. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton employed fake email addresses while in office. Mrs. Clinton also used a private email server for official business while she was secretary of state.
Archives officials said they could not comment on the lawsuit but pointed to their requirement to respond to the congressional inquiry by adhering to the Presidential Records Act, which includes rules for releasing presidential emails and other records.
Under the act, a president may restrict access to specific kinds of information for up to 12 years after leaving office, with exceptions.
The Times has reached out to Mr. Obama for comment.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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