Hunter Biden attempted to gain the support of the US State Department on an energy agreement in Italy for Burisma, the Ukrainian company where he worked. According to a report published Tuesday by The New York Times, Hunter Biden addressed at least one letter to the United States ambassador to Italy in 2016 requesting assistance on behalf of Burisma. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s attorney, stated that his client had “asked various people” for an introduction between Burisma and the president of the Italian region with which they wanted to do business.

Mr. Lowell stated that no meeting took place, no proposal developed, no request for anything in the United States was ever made, and only an introduction in Italy was asked. However, The Times reported that Embassy officials appeared hesitant about the proposal, and one Commerce Department official said, “I want to be careful about promising too much.”

This is a Ukrainian company, and to protect ourselves, [the US government] should not be actively arguing with the Italian government until the company goes through the [Department of Commerce] Advocacy Center,” the person noted. A White House spokesman informed the outlet that President Biden was unaware of his son’s outreach to the US Embassy in Italy on behalf of Burisma while he was vice president. The Washington Times has contacted the White House. My Times.

According to the outlet, this piece has been a long time coming — the data were first requested under the Freedom of Information Act in 2021 but were only turned over after the president withdrew out of the presidential election and The Times sued. The State Department informed The Times that the release of the materials after the older Biden pulled out was purely coincidental. This comes as authorities revealed last week that Hunter Biden was employed by a Romanian businessman suspected of corruption and attempting to “influence U.S. government policy” during his father’s tenure as vice president.

The younger Biden will also face federal tax evasion charges in California next month, including money earned while serving on the Burisma board from 2013 to 2018, as well as from other international enterprises. Mark Geragos, a prominent attorney, has joined the defense team. Hunter Biden is not accused with any foreign lobbying charges.