Hunter Biden contacted US ambassador in 2016 over Burisma deal, NYT reports

[August 15, 2024]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Hunter Biden reached out to the U.S. ambassador to Italy while his father, Joe Biden, was vice president in 2016 amid efforts to pursue a geothermal project at the Ukrainian company Burisma, where Hunter Biden served on the board, according to a New York Times report, citing records the newspaper obtained.

Hunter Biden wrote at least one letter that year to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Rome on behalf of Burisma, an energy company, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

His attorney, Abbe Lowell, on Wednesday told Reuters that Hunter Biden and others asked Ambassador John Phillips and others for introductions to the president of Italy's Tuscany region, where the company was weighing projects.

"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 in a statement. "The letter, as well as those written by others at Burisma, sought nothing more than an introduction, as hundreds of businesses do every year to ambassadors and embassies."

An unnamed person involved in the effort also said the project never materialized, according to the Times, which said it was unclear whether the U.S. Embassy in Italy took any steps on behalf of Burisma.

Hunter Biden has not been charged with violating federal law on foreign lobbying. Republicans have raised unproven claims that President Biden, Hunter Biden and other family members engaged in financial misconduct, allegations the White House denies.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday that the president has not done business with Hunter and was not aware that his son had contacted the State Department over the Burisma deal.

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives at the federal court for his trial on criminal gun charges, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., June 10, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah Beier/File Photo

Burisma did not comment to the Times on the report, which comes after Joe Biden announced last month that he would not seek reelection as president.

Phillips, the then-ambassador, told the Times that he received many letters and did not recall one specifically from Hunter Biden, adding that he would not "necessarily" have encouraged a response from himself to avoid fueling an appearance of special treatment.

Tuscany's regional president at the time, Enrico Rossi, told the Times he never met Hunter Biden and did not recall the U.S. embassy contacting him about Burisma's planned work.

Separately, Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to criminal tax charges and is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 5.

Prosecutors in that tax case last week accused Hunter Biden of accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who sought to "influence U.S. government agencies" in connection with a criminal probe in Romania. Biden's new counsel in that case, Mark Geragos, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Hunter Biden faces sentencing Nov. 13 in another case after a being convicted on charges of lying about his illegal drug use to buy a gun.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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