CNN
—
Newly released photos show then-Vice President Joe Biden meeting with some of his son Hunter Biden’s Chinese business partners during an official visit to the country, as well as Hunter meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials.
This is the first time these images have been made public, although the photoshoots and meetings they depict have been known about for years. The National Archives and Archives Administration published the images after a public records request from a right-wing pro-Trump legal group.
The photographs are from Joe Biden’s visit to China in 2013. In a series of images, Hunter Biden, with his father, is seen meeting and talking with Xi. In another set of images, Joe Biden introduces his son to Li Yuanchao, who was then vice president of China.
Another group of photos shows Hunter Biden introducing his father to his Chinese business partners, some of whom were executives at the private equity firm BHR Partners. After handshakes and hugs, the Bidens posed for a group photo with a few Chinese businessmen.
These images are notable because they further undermine Joe Biden’s already diminished image. unequivocal statements that he never had professional contact with his son. In fact, House Republicans indictment investigation in Joe Biden uncovered at least two dozen interactions between him and his son’s business partners in China and other countries.
However, Hunter Biden and others involved testified that — despite occasional phone calls, meetings and dinners with Joe Biden — the matters were never discussed in any substantive way. Hunter Biden’s ex main trading partner of the United States later testified that Hunter was sell “the illusion” access to his father, but “nothing material was discussed” during these interactions.
Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, criticized the Trump-aligned groups that fought to obtain and release the footage, saying in a statement: “There is simply nothing new here.”
“The photos perfectly match the description in Hunter’s testimony to Congress about the people he saw at this public event during a trip to China in 2013,” Lowell said, referring to the closed-door deposition of Hunter Biden in February, during which he was grilled by the Republicans for six hours.
“These attacks that attempt to turn these images into something they are not are just the same old misinformation from some Republicans who can’t let go of their ridiculous conspiracy theories and baseless accusations,” Lowell said in the release.
America First Legal, a pro-Trump group, filed the records request in 2022 and later sued the National Archives to obtain the records. The group is led by Stephen Millerwho served in President-elect Donald Trumpfrom the White House and is expected to return next year as deputy chief of staff for policy.
“These photos support the findings of the House Oversight Committee investigation that Hunter Biden arranged a meeting between his father and Jonathan Li and other OHR leaders during the 2013 China trip, during which “Mr. Li sought – and obtained – access to political power from Vice President Biden,” America First Legal said in a press release Monday.
Asked by CNN about the newly released footage, a White House spokesperson said: “This trip – which took place more than a decade ago – is old news. House Republicans have already wasted years and millions of taxpayer dollars proving that the president was not doing business with his son. It is high time to end this day.
Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals have drawn scrutiny from Hill Republicans and Justice Department investigators. Federal prosecutors accused him of tax crimes in part because of unpaid taxes on its foreign transactions. He has never been accused of corruption or illegal lobbying, despite GOP claims that he was engaged in criminal influence peddling.
In a controversial post-election decision, Joe Biden forgave his son for the 12 tax and firearms offenses he was convicted of earlier this year. This full pardon also protected Hunter Biden from future prosecution for any potential federal crimes he may have committed between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024.
“Even though President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, for everything he committed, may have committed or participated in, since 2014, more and more evidence is emerging every day showing how his family exploited Joe Biden’s even longer career in public office for private gain,” America First Legal attorney Michael Ding said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Nikki Carvajal contributed to this report.