Emails: VP Joe Biden ‘Signed Off’ on Statement to Press About Hunter’s Burisma Position Despite Claims of No Involvement

Then-Vice President Joe Biden approved an official statement in December 2015 about Hunter Biden’s position on a Ukrainian energy company’s board despite claims he was not involved with the family’s business, emails obtained from the National Archives show.

Biden “acted at all times in a manner consistent with well-established executive branch ethics standards,” Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the president’s campaign, said in 2019. “He carried out the Obama-Biden administration’s policies without regard to any interests other than the public’s and neither discussed this with his son nor was involved in any way with his son’s private business pursuits.”

But those denials have been proven false again by a new trove of emails uncovered from the National Archives by America First Legal. The new trove of emails unearthed by a lawsuit against the Archives shows Biden and Hunter coordinated through their respective associates in response to questions from reporters about if Hunter’s position on Burisma’s board undermined then-Vice President Biden’s credibility in pushing anti-corruption measures.

In April 2014, Hunter joined the board of Burisma, just two years before Joe Biden stated he forced the firing of Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma. Despite Hunter’s lack of experience in Ukraine or the energy sector, he was paid $83,000 per month by the energy company, or $1 million per year — just weeks after his father was announced “point person” on U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine.

Emails previously released from the Archives show Hunter advised the Office of Vice President Biden in 2014 on how to handle media inquiries regarding his position on the board of Burisma, a potential violation of federal law due to Hunter failing to register as a foreign agent.

That trend appears to have continued well into 2015 when Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former communications director, told Hunter’s top financial lieutenant Eric Schwerin via email that Joe Biden approved a statement regarding Hunter’s board position.

Notably, Bedingfield departed the White House in 2023 just as the House Oversight Committee probe into Joe Biden heated up.

“VP signed off on this — will give this quote to reporters in my name shortly,” she said, including the quote below in the email:

“Hunter Biden is a private citizen and a lawyer. The Vice President does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company. The Vice President has pushed aggressively for years — both publicly with groups like the US-Ukraine Business Forum and privately in meetings in with [sic] Ukrainian leaders — for Ukraine to make every effort to investigate and prosecute corruption in accordance with the rule of law. It will once again be a key focus during his trip this week.”

Schwerin, who is expected to cooperate with the Oversight Committee’s probe into Joe Biden, replied with a request to fix a typo in the statement:

Emails show the statement, approved by Joe Biden through Bedingfield, was then given to Paul Sonne, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, and reportedly to former New York Times reporter James Risen also:

To avoid conveying further information from the White House, a second tactic by Joe Biden’s team was to point reporters to a man named Amos Hochstein, who was the “point” person for International Energy Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Emails show Bedingfield steered both Sonne and Risen to speak with Hochstein to gain a “unique and valuable perspective” on the relationships in Ukraine.