(National Review) Hunter Biden has addressed why one of his business partners suggested giving “the big guy” an ownership stake in a joint venture with a Chinese company.
Hunter Biden testified before Congress on Wednesday and faced numerous questions about former business partner James Gilliar’s infamous suggestion that “the big guy” receive a 10 percent stake in a venture with Chinese infrastructure conglomerate CEFC.
He first responded to a question about the “big guy” during his testimony by criticizing former business partner Tony Bobulinski and denying that his father had any involvement in his foreign business dealings. Bobulinski testified earlier this month that Joe Biden was “the big guy” and vividly recalled meeting Joe and Hunter Biden to talk through the CEFC deal.
He described an agreement executed in which 20 percent ownership was given to himself, his uncle James Biden, Bobulinski, Gilliar, and business partner Rob Walker for a holding company that would be part of a joint venture with CEFC, according to a publicly released transcript of his testimony.
The initial response from Hunter Biden prompted follow-up questions to which he gave a more detailed explanation of Gilliar’s suggestion.
“I truly don’t know what the hell that James was talking about. All I know is that what actually happened,” Hunter Biden said.
“I think that it was pie in the sky. Like Joe Biden’s out of office. Maybe we’ll be able to get him involved. Remember, again, is that Joe Biden, for the first time in 48 years, is not an elected official and is not seeking office. And so James is probably like, wow, wouldn’t be great if a former vice president could be in our business together?”
After Gilliar suggested that Joe Biden get involved, Hunter Biden claims he told Gilliar “you’re out of your mind” and shut down the possibility of making his father part of the CEFC deal. He could not recall specific actions he took to push back against Gilliar’s suggestion.
The joint-venture proposal, known as “SinoHawk,” eventually fell apart, and Hunter Biden opted to create a joint venture with CEFC and James Biden, leaving out the rest of his business associates. The new venture, Hudson West III, began in August 2017, and the Bidens received millions from the company, according to bank records and Hunter Biden’s federal tax-evasion indictment.
Hunter Biden and his business associates began working for CEFC during Joe Biden’s vice presidency but did not receive payments until afterward. In March 2017, CEFC-linked company State Energy HK wired $3 million to Walker, who distributed roughly $1 million to the Bidens, bank records show.
