Hunter Biden’s attorney denies in a new report that his client acted improperly after the president’s son sought help from the State Department as a board member of Ukraine’s Burisma when Joe Biden was vice president.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that in 2016, his client and others asked various people, including then-ambassador to Italy John R. Phillips, if they could help make a geothermal presentation to the Tuscan president. He wanted to do the project in Burisma region.
“There were no meetings, no projects, nothing was requested in the United States, and only a presentation was requested in Italy,” Lowell said.
Lowell said it was a “proper request” and that it was “no different than the hundreds of similar requests that businesses submit to ambassadors each year for guidance, would not trigger any registration requirement, and if it did, the case would clearly be related to exemptions for commercial transactions.” “
He appeared to be referring to the requirement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act that people register when they lobby the US government on behalf of foreign interests.
The State Department referred questions about Hunter Biden’s correspondence to his legal representatives. “We have no further comment on the production of these documents as it is part of ongoing litigation,” he said. “Broadly speaking, individuals often seek counseling services and support from the Department. The department evaluates these requests on their merits and takes appropriate measures.”
The New York Times Tuesday, citing State Department records, Hunter Biden has requested US government assistance for Burisma. Although the Times reported that the actual text of the letter had been redacted, the records include a letter released as part of a large Freedom of Information Act request from the State Department from Biden to the U.S. ambassador to Italy, the report said.
NBC News has not obtained those documents.
The State Department confirmed the documents were released as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act request and will be made public in the coming weeks.
A White House spokesman told NBC News that Biden did not know that his son had applied to the US Embassy in Italy on Burisma’s behalf while he was vice president.
NBC News reports that the Justice Department’s investigation, which began in 2018 under the Trump administration, did not find grounds to charge Hunter Biden with foreign business deals or any other wrongdoing. Several congressional investigations into Hunter Biden’s business dealings have also failed to substantiate allegations of criminal wrongdoing by both the president and his son.
Lowell said the letter in question “asked for nothing more than an introduction, as businesses do every day.”
“If it wasn’t for Hunter Biden, no one would be writing about this normal and proper practice,” he said.
According to the Times, a Commerce Department official based at the US Embassy in Rome told Hunter Biden at the time that the US government should not “actively advocate with the Italian government” without Burisma going through a Commerce Department program that supports America. companies that want to do business with foreign governments.
The Times reported that Lowell confirmed that the project never materialized.
US Attorney David Weiss, appointed by Donald Trump, launched an investigation into Hunter Biden in 2018 and a special adviser was appointed last year By Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The investigation led to two indictments against Hunter Biden: gun charges in Delaware and tax charges in California. Hunter Biden is expected to go on trial next month in the California case.
He was found guilty on three felony weapons charges A sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 13 in Delaware in June.