Hunter Biden tried to help secure a United States visa for a Ukrainian oligarch alleged to have been the "foreign national" involved in a suspected "criminal bribery scheme" involving President Joe Biden and his son, emails show.
Between 2014 and 2016, the younger Biden coordinated with his then-business associates to provide assistance to Mykola Zlochevsky, founder of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, in reapplying for a U.S. visa after he had his revoked by the State Department in 2014, according to emails on Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop.
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The revelation comes after sources told the Washington Examiner in June that Zlochevsky previously discussed a purported $5 million bribe to Hunter Biden and $5 million to Joe Biden — which may connect the Burisma founder to an investigation spearheaded in the GOP-led House Oversight Committee by chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY). That investigation centers around an FBI-1023 informant form said to detail the bribe allegation, which Republicans allege pertains to Joe Biden's efforts while serving as vice president to pressure Ukraine's government to fire Viktor Shokin, a prosecutor who was investigating Burisma.
FBI Director Christopher Wray allowed Oversight Committee members to view the form in June. Panel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told the Daily Caller on Thursday that "No one has refuted" Zlochevsky is the individual whose name is redacted in it. Another panelist, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI), told the Washington Examiner on Friday he believes there will be "explosive testimony" in the coming weeks in connection to the Hunter Biden investigation — not getting into specifics of whom he was referring to.
On May 7, 2014, Burisma board member Vadim Pozharskyi emailed the since-convicted felon and Burisma board member Devon Archer, also an ex-Hunter Biden business partner, to inquire into “Nikolay’s visa issue," according to emails. Pozharskyi often referred to Zlochevsky as "Nikolay" in emails to Hunter Biden.
Later that month, former Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP Partner Heather King sent an email to Pozharskyi to update him about communications with the Ukrainian Embassy and State Department in connection to a visa for Zlochevsky. Pozharskyi replied and referred to Zlochevsky as "Nikolay," noting, Zlochevsky was “totally in line” with a certain recommendation by King, who was previously in frequent talks with Hunter Biden and did crisis communications for Burisma, according to emails.
Pozharskyi held "joint conversations" with Hunter Biden and Zlochevsky when it came to these suggestions, according to emails.
King had recommended to Hunter Biden and Archer, a lobbyist, PR firm, and investigative research firm to assist with the visa issue, since “me going on my own means I’d have to register," she wrote on May 14, 2014. King also recommended that there be a lobbyist trying to help get Zlochevsky off a "ban list" from the State Department that he was added to in 2014 following Ukraine's Maidan Revolution, according to records.
King would later, on May 29, 2014, copy Hunter Biden and Archer on an email to Pozharskyi updating him on the visa situation, describing how the embassy wasn't saying why it took away Zlochevsky’s visa and floated the idea that the Burisma founder reach out to it.
In early June, Pozharskyi informed King that Zlochevsky was “prepared to apply to US embassy for US visa," according to emails on Huner Biden's abandoned laptop. Pozharskyi also inquired to see if King's company could send an invitation to Zlochevsky to be “signed by one of companies lawyer/partner, namely H. Biden."
“Two reasons for that, firstly having Hunters [sic] name on invitation will invite embassy [sic] to consider carefully that application," Pozharskyi said. "Secondly If [sic] he is denied in obtaining visa, then your company, that actualy [sic] invited Nikolay could work with state department on this."
On Sept. 10, 2014, Archer wrote to Hunter Biden: "I think they're getting a little frustrated with Boies."
"Heather already blew through the retainer and sent another $30k bill; and it's hard to describe what they've delivered," Archer emailed. "But again with Burisma, it's written off as 'protection' for us and everything's fine."
"We have to move the billing into more comfortable arrangement though."
Later that day, Hunter Biden replied to Archer: "Any news — anything i should be doing?"
In response, Archer wrote: "Embassy meetings today all went well. Tomorrow with Ukraine ministries and the conference starts. Nicoli's house is completely and absolutely ridiculous."
By November 2015, there were unresolved legal issues in Ukraine for Zlochevsky, who would be charged in 2020 by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine for allegedly trying to dish out $6 million in bribes to fight a tax investigation case, according to news reports. Investigations were later closed by the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General.
Eric Schwerin, a then-Hunter Biden business partner, had told Pozharskyi that he was trying to get John Sandweg, former Obama Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director, to help with the visa.
"That said, the reason State cancels visas in situations like this is to force the visa holder to come into the embassy/consulate and answer questions related to the issues that are concerning State," Sandweg wrote to Schwerin on Nov. 2, 2015. "As we discussed I do not recommend that the client make any effort to obtain a new visa until the other matters are resolved."
The various emails, and others housed in Hunter Biden's laptop, could mean Hunter Biden and his partners were “engaging in registrable lobbying activity," a Foreign Agents Registration Act expert told the Daily Caller, which first reported on the records.
In June, Hunter Biden plead guilty to two tax avoidance misdemeanors, yet avoided being prosecuted on a gun-related charge. Joe Biden has alleged that the allegations related to bribery are "malarkey" and has not answered questions pertaining to the FBI document.
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DHS, the State Department, and a lawyer for Hunter Biden did not reply to requests for comment.
The Ukrainian embassy also did not return a request for comment.