(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Secret Service records on Hunter Biden’s travel and security costs. (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:22-cv-02097)).
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after United States Secret Service (a component of DHS) failed to respond adequately to three separate FOIA requests in March and April 2022 for:
- All records concerning the use of security and/or other services to Hunter Biden and any companions; and
- All records concerning the use of U.S. Government funds to provide security and/or any other services to Hunter Biden and any companions.
“The Secret Service is violating FOIA law by slow-rolling and hiding Hunter Biden records,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Hunter Biden?”
In June 2020, Judicial Watch received records from the U.S. Secret Service showing that during the first five-and-a-half years of the Obama administration, Hunter Biden traveled extensively while receiving a Secret Service protective detail. During the time period of the records provided, Hunter Biden took 411 separate domestic and international flights, including to 29 different foreign countries. He visited China five times.
The Secret Service records showed that countries and territories visited by Hunter Biden, between June 2009 and May 2014, included:
- Ethiopia and India on June 14-22, 2009
- Argentina on September 14-17, 2009
- France and Spain on November 9-13, 2009
- Canada on February 12-15, 2010
- Dominican Republic on February 18-22, 2010
- Puerto Rico on March 20-27, 2010
- China on April 6-9, 2010
- Belgium, Spain, and the United Kingdom on May 5-8, 2010
- UK, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Ascension Island, U.S. Virgin Islands on June 6-13, 2010
- Denmark and South Africa on August 9-24, 2010
- Hong Kong, Taiwan and China on April 16-22, 2011
- Mexico on May 15-17, 2011
- Colombia, France, United Arab Emirates and France again on November 1-11, 2011
- UK and Russia on February 15-18, 2012
- Germany, France and UK on February 1-5, 2013
- UK and Ireland on March 20-22, 2013
- China on June 13-15, 2013
- Switzerland and Italy on July 26-August 7, 2013
- Japan, China, South Korea and the Philippines on December 2-9, 2013
- China and Qatar on May 7-14, 2014
According to reports, then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden flew on Air Force Two for an official trip to Beijing in December 2013. The records obtained by Judicial Watch from the Secret Service show Hunter Biden arrived in Tokyo on December 2, 2013, and departed for Beijing two days later. While it is typical for the families of the president and vice president to travel with them, questions have been raised about whether Hunter Biden used the government trip to further his business interests.
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