Hunter Biden sent a Whatsapp message to a Chinese businessman during a dispute saying he was “sitting here with my father,” and used his father’s name and connections to threaten him to follow Hunter’s “direction,” according to allegations made by an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower.
The message was made to Henry Zhao, a Chinese business associate of Hunter’s who has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
If true, this information would contradict President Joe Biden’s oft-repeated claim that he’s never been involved in or discussed his son’s business ventures.
On June 22, the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled bombshell whistleblower allegations claiming that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) had given Hunter Biden “preferential treatment,” interfering in the investigation to shield Hunter Biden from having search warrants or charges pressed against him.
According to testimony by Gary Shapley, an official at the IRS, he and his fellow investigators—while looking into a felony tax fraud case into Hunter Biden—were able to “authenticate” a July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message sent from Biden to Henry Zhao (pdf). The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the message.
Zhao, also known Zhao Xuejun, is the president and CEO of Beijing-based investment firm Harvest Capital Management, and also head of the firm’s Chinese Communist Party cell. Zhao’s firm participated in the establishment of a Shanghai-based investment firm called BHR Partners that Hunter Biden had also helped set up.
Hunter was an unpaid board member of BHR until April 2020 and held a 10 percent stake in the company but was divested as of November 2021, according to his lawyers.
In a message, Hunter Biden appears to demand payment from Zhao.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” the younger Biden wrote, according to Shapley’s testimony. He then expressed the wish to “resolve this before it got out of hand.”
“Now means tonight,” Biden said, warning that if anyone other than Zhao, “Zhang, or the chairman” tried to reach out about the matter, “I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.
“I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
By Joseph Lord
