Biden Bombshell: President's brother told FBI family tried to help Chinese firm buy US energy assets

President Joe Biden's brother told the FBI the first family – including Hunter Biden – tried unsuccessfully to help a Chinese company buy U.S. energy assets and did so believing the firm's leader was tied directly to Communist Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to explosive new documents made public Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee on the eve of the first congressional impeachment inquiry hearing.

James Biden told the FBI in an interview last year about efforts by him and Hunter Biden to help the CEFC energy firm in China buy a liquid natural gas facility on Monkey Island off the coast of Louisiana, and that he personally met once with the company's chairman, Ye Jianming, according to the FBI interview report released by the committee.

"James B noted (Hunter) portrayed CEFC to him as Chairman Ye was a protégé of President Xi," FBI agents wrote in the report.

You can read the full interview report here.

Upon the revelations, Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott deemed such activities treasonous, expressing that sentiment on the "John Solomon Reports" podcast on Wednesday.

"It just means it's even worse than even I thought it was that they would go that far. If you look at some of those ports in Louisiana, and I don't have a map in front of me, but like Port Fourchon, that area of Louisiana, just a tremendous portion of the energy that we use inside the United States come comes through those hubs," he said.

"And the idea that you would help the Chinese acquire assets in that area to give, you know, an adversary... the ability to control the energy supply inside the United States... I don't understand how much more of a traitor you could be than to do such a thing," Scott added.

The bombshell revelation further contradicts President Biden's claim dating to the 2020 election that his family made no money from China. It was released as part of a cache of documents turned over to the committee by FBI whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.

Documents previously released by federal prosecutors as part of Hunter Biden's now-rejected plea deal show Hunter. Biden was paid millions from China, including from the CEFC deal. But James Biden's FBI interview filled in crucial details about what the first family knew about CEFC, its leader and what it assisted with in return for payments from China.

Ways and Means Chairman James Smith staged a vote Wednesday in which his committee approved releasing confidential information from the long-running FBI and IRS probe in Hunter Biden's family. While James Biden's FBI interview was one of the most-sought after items, the committee also released several other essential documents just hours before the House convened its first hearing in its impeachment inquiry against the 46th president.

One document confirmed rumors that at least initially the FBI and IRS investigated Hunter Biden for possible violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, a law requiring disclosure of any lobbying activities on behalf of foreign powers. "Please focus on FARA evidence only," Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Wolfe emailed agents in August 2020 concerning a possible search warrant application.

That same email also provided direct evidence of how DOJ prosecutors thwarted agents from pursuing certain leads in the Hunter Biden case, including any mention of Joe Biden. "There should be nothing about Political Figure 1 in here," Wolfe also wrote.

You can read that memo here.

Handwritten notes by Ziegler released from the committee also revealed agents were discouraged form looking into allegations that Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris' efforts to pay off Hunter Biden tax debts in 2020-21 should be considered an illegal campaign contribution to Joe Biden.

A May 2021 report from investigators noted that “there may be campaign finance criminal violations” based on interviews and a review of the evidence. But Ziegler's notes quoted a DOJ official as telling agents she did not want them looking into the allegation, noting that she was not “personally interested.”

In an email entitled “Sensitive Case Heads Up," a DOJ official also wrote of a disturbing interaction with a CNN producer suggesting Hunter Biden believed his criminal case would go away when his father became president.

“Producer has an e-mail from Hunter saying he expected all of this stuff to go away when his dad becomes president,” the email stated.

The documents released by the committee also include a text message recovered from Hunter Biden's laptop by federal agents that affirms testimony earlier this summer by former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer, who claimed the first son collected millions from foreigners by selling access to his family's brand. 

In a terse 2017 text messages to his uncle James Biden, Hunter Biden even used the term "brand" as he argued against allowing another business partner, Tony Bobulinski, to enter into the CEFC China deal.

"Explain to me one thing Tony brings to my table that I so desperately need that I am willing to sign over my family's brand and pretty much the rest of my business life?" Hunter Biden texted. "Read the f***ing documents people it's plain f***ing English. Why in God's name would I give this marginal bully the keys to my family's only asset? Why?"

The FBI interview report made clear agents were still concerned about the CEFC deal and the Louisiana LNG terminal as late as 2022. James Biden told agents he assisted Hunter Biden in the dealings with CEFC, but they ultimately did not consummate the Monkey Island deal.

"James B recalled that the life changing meeting was the deal with Monkey Island. Monkey Island was off the coast of Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. James B stated that there was room for a port to be developed and that the properties were pre-approved," the FBi memo stated. "The island was 50-100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and that there was a clear passage to offload and load gas. CEFC was supposed to buy it from Greg Michaels (“Michaels”) (the CEO and Owner in control of Monkey Island)."

The president's brother also acknowledged he worked with the Louisiana state government to help get regulatory approval for the deal before it fell through.

"James B recalled talking with appropriate people in the governor’s office regarding the permits and recalled that it was supposed to be on a fast track," the FBI memo stated.