First son Hunter Biden reportedly asked the State Department for help securing a foreign energy deal in Italy on behalf of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma while his father was vice president.
Records obtained by the New York Times found that Biden had written at least one letter to the U.S. ambassador to Italy asking for help securing an energy deal for Busima in Tuscany. The response from the Commerce Department official in the U.S. Embassy in Rome appeared to express discomfort over the request for help given it came on behalf of the son of the then-vice president.
“I want to be careful about promising too much,” the official tasked with responding reportedly wrote.
“This is a Ukrainian company and, purely to protect ourselves, [the U.S. government] should not be actively advocating with the government of Italy without the company going through the [Department of Commerce] Advocacy Center,” they continued.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the State Department to confirm the report.
Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell minimized the request by telling the outlet that Biden had asked a variety of people for help and that there was nothing illegal about the request.
“No meeting occurred, no project materialized, no request for anything in the U.S. was ever sought and only an introduction in Italy was requested,” Lowell said.
The State Department did not release the actual text of Biden’s letter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The outlet noted the obtuse response of the State Department to the Freedom of Information Act request, only releasing the desired documents after three years of wrangling.
Biden’s antics and criminal charges have become a thorn in the side of the presidency of Joe Biden, even resulting in an impeachment inquiry, but the president has stuck by his son throughout.
