Since early 2023, Republicans have been investigating Joe Biden over his alleged ties to his son Hunter's highly lucrative, multimillion-dollar, decades-long influence trading scheme.
In December, Republicans voted to formalize their ongoing impeachment inquiry, believing it would force the government to release documents and provide witness testimony after being stalled for months.
They are working to gather enough evidence to show that Joe was involved in Hunter's dealings to hold a formal impeachment vote in the House of Representatives in 2024.
GOP investigators are also examining how Biden's Justice Department allegedly slowed the criminal investigation into Hunter for tax evasion and gun crimes.
While President Biden maintains his innocence and says he was never involved in his son's shady dealings, Republicans say the White House's recent departures from their official statements denouncing the “political” investigation led by the Republican Party rejecting them is a sign that they are struggling.
The White House's shifting defense began by saying Joe “never talked about it” and had no knowledge of Hunter's business dealings. It has since emerged that the president never had any “business” or “financial” dealings with his son.
In September, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally launched an impeachment inquiry into the Biden family's “culture of corruption,” which he said could derail President Biden's political career.
Since then, the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees have issued subpoenas to key players involved, including Hunter Biden, James Biden and other family members, donors and business associates.
But how did Hunter get a 2.8-carat diamond from the Chinese, $83,000 a month from Ukrainians and $1 million from mysterious Romanians?
By trading on the Biden family's influential “brand,” the GOP claims.
From using pseudonyms in at least 82,000 emails to discuss shady dealings with Ukraine to an alleged $10 million bribery scheme to giving Hunter access to Air Force Two flights and more, it's getting harder and harder to ignore the president's involvement in his son's business.
breaks down all the evidence Republicans have compiled as they continue their impeachment inquiry:
Biden's use of pseudonyms in 82,000 emails
According to emails found on Hunter Biden's now-infamous laptop and previously reported by , Joe used a number of pseudonyms in emails covering both official and family matters.
And the National Archives recently revealed the sheer volume of the correspondence.
The accounts from which the more than 82,000 email pages were sent or received included: “[email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].”
The correspondence apparently spans the entire eight-year period during which Joe was Obama's No. 2.
The shocking admission came as Republicans sought records showing that Joe Biden used pseudonyms to discuss his Ukraine-related activities with his son Hunter while he was vice president.
Republicans have asked NARA for an unredacted document showing that then-Vice President Biden answered a phone call with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko on May 27, 2016.
Republicans say the document was emailed to “Robert L. Peters,” with Hunter Biden making a copy.
At the time, Ukraine's top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was investigating oil company Burisma Holdings, the same company where Hunter was an acting board member, for corruption.
Alleged $10 million bribery scheme
An internal FBI document – obtained by – contains bombshell claims that Joe Biden and his son Hunter forced a Ukrainian oil executive to pay them $10 million in return for the then-vice president's influence at the Dismissal of a senior prosecutor.
According to a conversation between a confidential source and Burisma CFO Vadim Pojarski in 2015, Hunter Biden was appointed to the company's board to “protect us from all sorts of problems through his father.”
Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky told the source: “It costs 5 (million) to pay one Biden and 5 (million) to pay another Biden.”
Zlochevsky added that while Hunter was “stupid” and his (Slochevsky's) dog was smarter, he was needed on the board “to make everything work out.”
Selling the Biden “brand” for influence on 20 calls
Hunter Biden's former business partner Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee that Joe Biden's “brand” was protecting the Ukrainian company Burisma because “people would be intimidated to mess with them.”
Hunter's presence on Burisma's board and access to his father – then vice president – led to the company's “longevity” because it had the “skills to navigate D.C.,” Archer said, according to the minutes.
Hunter's best friend and business partner sat on the board of Burisma with him from 2014. They also co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners, an investment advisory firm.
He confirmed that Hunter had put Joe on speakerphone 20 times during business meetings over a 10-year period, which was a “signal” of “value” and that Hunter had used his father as “defense leverage.”
Getting help from the Big Guy in DC
During another dinner with Burisma executives at the Four Seasons in Dubai, Hunter said he could get “help from DC” to reduce “government pressure” on the company.
Archer testified that Burisma was “under pressure” and so they “asked Hunter to help them deal with that pressure.”
He said it was “government pressure” due to the then-ongoing Ukrainian investigation into the company – led by Chief Prosecutor Shokin.
In March 2016, Joe Biden reportedly threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid to Ukraine if Shokin was not fired for corruption, which he eventually did.
Archer added that Burisma leaders didn't directly ask, “Can the big guy help?”
Instead, they used the “amorphous” term: “Can we get help in DC?”
Archer understood that “DC” meant Hunter's influence based on his connection to his then-Vice Presidential father.
“Well, I mean, he was a lobbyist and an expert and obviously had a very influential name. So I think it was exactly what they asked for,” Archer said.
Air Force Two flights and business lunches with Joe
Hunter reportedly traveled with his father, then-Vice President Joe, on Air Force Two to at least 15 countries – including China.
Archer also told lawmakers that Joe sat and had dinner in person at least twice with Hunter and his foreign business partners, who then wired money to Biden-affiliated companies almost immediately afterward.
The then-vice president attended another dinner with Hunter and his partners at Cafe Milano in Washington, D.C., in 2015, Archer confirmed.
“Dear Hunter,” reads a note from a Ukrainian manager after dinner. “Thank you for inviting me to DC and giving me the opportunity to meet your father [spend] some time together.'
Then-Vice President Joe Biden waves as he exits Air Force Two with his granddaughter Finnegan Biden and son Hunter Biden on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China
Hunter reportedly traveled to at least 15 countries on Air Force Two with his father, then-Vice President Joe
20 shell companies to collect foreign money
It is estimated that up to $40 million was made through 20 shell companies and fake accounts while Joe Biden was vice president, all while attending Hunter's business meetings and stopping by for lavish dinners.
During Biden's tenure as vice president, there were 20 companies tied to specific Biden family members that were intentionally created with a “complicated corporate structure,” Republicans outlined in a spring memorandum.
Hunter Biden and his associates, including Rob Walker, founded “at least 15” of these companies after Biden took over as vice president in 2009.
Several of those companies, including Owasco PC – of which Hunter was a member – Hudson West III, LLC, Robinson Walker, LLC and Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC, accepted funds from foreign companies ranging from $5,000 to $3 million, the oversight committee said.
Bank records show “loan repayment” checks.
Through bank records obtained by House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., the top Republican discovered two checks from James Biden to Joe for “loan repayments” of $200,000 and $40,000.
Comer claims the checks are evidence that Joe knew about his family's business dealings and benefited financially from them, and says the money can be traced back to China.
Starting in July 2017, a trail of money from Chinese oil giant CEFC – one of Hunter's joint ventures – snaked its way into Joe's account.
In August 2017 WhatsApp messages previously published by , Hunter demanded $10 million from CEFC, claiming his father was “sitting here next to him” during the exchange.
After initially investing $5 million in the joint venture from CEFC on August 8, 2017, a transfer of $400,000 was made to Hunter Biden's Owasco, PC on the same day. Then on August 14, 2017, $150,000 was transferred directly from Owasco to the bank account of James and Sara Biden – Joe's sister-in-law.
Then, on September 3, 2017, Sara wrote a check for $40,000 directly to Joe — just six days after she withdrew $50,000 in cash, according to documents obtained.
Republicans have unveiled a separate personal check for $200,000 from James Biden to Joe Biden.
Contempt proceedings against Hunter
Republicans are launching proceedings to convict Hunter Biden of contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena requiring him to give closed-door deposition as part of their impeachment inquiry.
Hunter appeared at the Capitol last week to deliver a dramatic tirade criticizing “shameless” Republicans and said he would skip his scheduled 9:30 a.m. testimony.
In a dramatic tirade to Congress, the first son said his father was “not financially involved” in his controversial dealings and that there was no evidence because it “didn't happen.”
Now Republicans say his “obstruction” of their investigation forced them to take the president's son to court to force his cooperation or face prison time.
If Hunter is found in contempt of Congress by a committee vote, his case would be referred to the Biden-led Justice Department. If the Justice Department agrees to prosecute the case, which is unlikely, he could face up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to $100,000 if convicted.
After Hunter refused to comply with a subpoena for his closed-door testimony, Republicans began contempt of Congress proceedings against the president's son
The House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees have issued subpoenas to the key players involved, including Hunter Biden, James Biden and other family members, donors and business associates
Hunter's federal charges
In September, federal prosecutors indicted Hunter on illegal firearms charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
And in early December, nine new criminal charges were filed by the Justice Department against Hunter for allegedly spending millions on “drugs, prostitutes and exotic cars” while evading taxes.
Hunter's legal troubles are sure to haunt his father as he campaigns for re-election.
The first son will appear in court on Jan. 11, just four days before the Iowa caucuses, for his arraignment on the nine new tax charges.
Emails show that Hunter's company “frequently used the Biden name to gain access and favors to the White House.”