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House investigators probing alleged influence peddling involving President Biden are seeking his travel records from his time as vice president to determine whether the trips aided his son’s foreign business deals.
In a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration, members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee requested unrestricted access to Mr. Biden’s travel aboard the vice presidential jet, Air Force Two, and helicopter, Marine Two.
Lawmakers on the Oversight panel said the president’s son Hunter Biden may have traveled to 15 countries with his father while he was vice president and that during that time, Mr. Biden met in Beijing with his son’s business associate, a Chinese national, while he was on official business.
“Then Vice-President Biden’s misuse of Air Force Two and Marine Two is indicative of yet another way in which the President has abused his various offices of public trust and wasted taxpayer money to benefit his family’s enterprise, which consisted of nothing more than access to Joe Biden himself,” Oversight lawmakers wrote to U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan.
The letter is signed by House Oversight Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, and Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Republican, and members of the panel.
SEE ALSO: Biden, Obama must approve release of alias emails
The Oversight committee is investigating whether Mr. Biden, while vice president, used his power and influence to help the Biden family and a group of associates secure lucrative foreign business deals involving China, Russia, Ukraine and other countries.
Last month, Devon Archer, who is Hunter Biden’s former business associate, told House investigators the business deals were secured by selling the Biden “brand,” namely the powerful vice president.
“Then-Vice President Joe Biden abused Air Force Two by allowing his son to jet set around the world to sell ‘The Brand’ to enrich the Biden family,” Mr. Comer said. “This is yet another example of then-Vice President Biden abusing his public office for his family’s financial gain. There must be accountability for this abuse of taxpayer-funded resources. We fully expect the National Archives to provide this information to the Oversight Committee so that we can provide the transparency that Americans demand and deserve.”
Mr. Comer also is seeking more than 5,000 White House emails that used aliases for then-Vice President Joseph R. Biden. The National Archives said it is awaiting approval from Mr. Biden and former President Barack Obama before handing them over to Mr. Comer, according to an aide to Mr. Comer.
White House records show that Mr. Biden used the name Robert L. Peters while serving as vice president. 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 Washington 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 that was also inexplicably sent to Hunter Biden.
At the time, Hunter Biden 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. It’s unclear why Hunter Biden was looped in on the scheduling alert about the call.
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.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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