Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released an FBI informant record that alleged President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden each received $5 million from Mykola Zlochevsky, the founder of Burisma Holdings, after Joe Biden threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine until President Petro Poroshenko fired a prosecutor investigating Burisma.
Grassley said in a Thursday statement he acquired the record, an FD-1023 form, by legally protected disclosures from Justice Department whistleblowers.
The FBI previously allowed lawmakers to review the unclassified document after much arm-twisting by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY). But it refused to make the form public.
Some Republican lawmakers believe the document is a reason to begin impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden.
Titled “FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION” a “CHS REPORTING DOCUMENT,” the form records interactions an FBI informant had with Zlochevsky about reducing legal exposure so that Burisma could purchase an American company.
The date of the report is June 30, 2020, during the presidential election cycle.
The file reads in part:
Approximately one or two months after the aforementioned Burisma meeting in Ukraine, CHS traveled to Vienna, Austria with Ostapenko and met with Mykola Zlochevsky at an outside coffee shop. The trio continued to talk about the feasibility of Burisma acquiring a US-based entity. CHS recalled this meeting took place around the time Joe Biden made a public statement about (former) Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin being corrupt, and that he should be fired/removed from office. CHS told Zlochevsky that due to Shokin’s investigation into Burisma, which was made public at this time, it would have a substantial negative impact on Burisma’s prospective IPO [initial public offering] in the United States. Zlochevsky replied something to the effect of, “Don’t worry Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad.” CHS did not ask any further questions about what that specifically meant.
CHS asked Zlochevsky why Burisma would pay $20-30 million to buy a US company for IPO purposes when it would be cheaper to just form a new US-entity, or purchase a corporate shell that was already listed on an exchange. Zlochevsky responded that Hunter Biden advised Burisma it could raise much more capital if Burisma purchased a larger US-based business that already had a history in the US oil and gas sector. CHS recalled Zlochevsky mentioned some US-based gas businesses in Texas, the names of which CHS did not recall. CHS advised Zlochevsky It would be problematic to raise capital in the US given Shokin’s investigation into Burisma as nobody in the US would invest in a company that was the subject of a criminal investigation. CHS suggested it would best if Burisma simply litigate the matter in Ukraine, and pay some attorney $50,000. Zlochevsky said he/Burisma would likely lose the trial because he could not show that Burisma was innocent; Zlochevsky also laughed at CHS’s number of $50,000 (not because of the small amount, but because the number contained a “5” and said that “it costs (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden”). CHS noted that at this time, it was unclear to CHS whether these alleged payments were already made.
CHS told Zlochevsky that any such payments to the Bidens would complicate matters, and Burtsma should hire “some normal US oil and gas advisors” because the Bidens have no experience with that business sector. Zlochevsky made some comment that although Hunter Biden “was stupid, and his (Zlochevsky’s) dog was smarter,” Zlochevsky needed to keep Hunter Biden (on the board) so everything will be okay.” CHS inquired whether Hunter Biden or Joe Biden told Zlochevsky he should retain Hunter Biden; Zlochevsky replied, “They both did.” CHS reiterated CHS’s opinion that Zlochevsky was making a mistake and he should fire Hunter Biden and deal with Shokin’s investigation directly so that the matter will remain an issue in Ukraine, and not turn into some international matter. Zlochevsky responded something to the effect of, “Don’t worry, this thing will go away anyway.” CHS replied that, notwithstanding Shokin’s investigation, it was still a bad decision for Burisma to spend $20-$30 million to buy a US business, and that CHS didn’t want to be involved with the Biden matter. Zlochevsky responded that he appreciated CHS’s advice, but that “it’s too late to change his decision.” CHS understood this to mean that Zlochevsky had already had paid the Bidens, presumably to deal with Shokin.
Confirming Breitbart News’s reporting, the FBI’s informant document confirmed that Hunter and Joe Biden allegedly “coerced” the Burisma executive into paying them $10 million in bribes:
Zlochevsky stated he didn’t want to pay the Bidens and he was “pushed to pay” them. (CHS explained the Russian term Zlochevsky used to explain the payments was poluchili (transliterated by the CHS), which literally translates to “got it” or “received it”, but is also used in Russian-criminal-slang for being “forced or coerced to pay”).
The file also confirms Grassley’s claim that the FBI informant claims Zlochevsky kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with Hunter and Joe Biden as an “insurance policy”:
Zlochevsky stated Shokin had already been fired, and no investigation was currently going on, and that nobody would find out about his financial dealings with the Bidens. CHS then stated, “I hope you have some back-up (proof) For your words (namely, that Zlochevsky was “forced” to pay the Bidens). Zlochevsky replied he has many text messages and “recordings” that show that he was coerced to make such payments (See below, subsequent CHS reporting on 6/29/2020). CHS told Zlochevsky he should make certain that he should retain those recordings. Zlochevsky asked whether it would make any (legal) difference whether he voluntarily made such payments, or if he was “forced” to make them. Zlochevsky then asked CHS whether CHS could provide any assistance in Ukraine (with the Poroshenko regime) if something were to happen to Zlochevsky in the future. CHS replied that CHS didn’t want to get involved in any such matters.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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