A former business partner of Hunter Biden told congressional investigators that President Joe Biden met with one of his son’s Chinese business interests around 2017.
The testimony is part of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry against the president.
Fox News Digital reports that Rob Walker gave closed-door transcribed evidence to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees earlier this month.
He recalled a meeting that involved himself, both of the Bidens, several other business partners and Ye Jianming, who was then chairman of CEFC China Energy. Walker said that Hunter was hoping to create a joint venture with the latter.
Walker was fuzzy on timing, but estimated the date as some time during 2017. He assured investigators that “it was for certain [when] he was out of office,” referring to the elder Biden’s tenure as President Barack Obama’s vice president.
“I don’t remember the exact time, but I remember being in Washington, D.C., and the former vice president stopped by. We were having lunch,” he said.
The House Oversight Committee has released the full transcript of Walker’s testimony, posting “key excerpts” on X:
Around the time Hunter Biden and his associates received a $3 million payment from a CEFC entity, Joe Biden attended a CEFC meeting at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C.
CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming and other CEFC officials were in attendance.
Hunter Biden and his associates’ work with CEFC, a Chinese government linked energy company, began in February 2016 when Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States. However, Hunter Biden and his associates were not paid until after Joe Biden left office.
Rob Walker admitted Hunter Biden’s last name would “probably get people in the door” and had a letter he drafted to CEFC Director Zang placed on Hunter Biden’s letterhead because he was the son of the Vice President at the time.
Rob Walker’s account, Robinson Walker LLC, received the $3 million payment from the CEFC entity on March 1, 2017. The next day he wired $1,065,000 to James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, and then over the course of several months wired incremental payments to the Bidens totaling around $1,065,000. Rob Walker told investigators Hunter asked him to send incremental payments to various Biden accounts, including Hallie Biden and James Biden, who were not affiliated with the CEFC deal.
During the Obama-Biden Administration, Hunter Biden, Rob Walker, and James Gilliar had a lucrative contract with Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu, who was under investigation. Walker was unable to articulate what services the partners provided for $180,000 monthly from Popoviciu. The payments abruptly ended shortly after Joe Biden left the vice presidency.
Rob Walker testified that he maintained a close friendship with Hunter Biden since the Clinton Administration—but their friendship abruptly ended after Hunter Biden refused to repay a $50,000 loan from Walker.
