GOP senators seek U.S. intel, FISA evidence on Chinese figures tied to Biden family

The top Republicans on two influential Senate committees on Wednesday demanded the U.S. Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence turn over any intelligence and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act evidence they possess about three Chinese figures reportedly tied to President Biden's family. 

In the letter addressed to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Attorney General Merrick Garland, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., asked for "all intelligence records" including "all FISA-derived information" related to Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong and Chi Ping Ho.  

Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Johnson is the ranking member on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, one of Congress' most powerful investigative bodies.

Their letter cites reports that after Ho's arrest in 2017 for "international bribery and money laundering offenses," his "first call was reportedly to James Biden," the president's brother. Ho was eventually convicted in 2018. The letter says the president's son, Hunter Biden, "reportedly represented Patrick Ho for a period of time and received at least $1 million in payment."

The senators also alleged that "Hunter Biden was well aware of Patrick Ho's links to the communist Chinese government, specifically its intelligence services" based on records found on a Hunter Biden laptop.

You can read the full letter here.

Ho was reportedly a business associate of Ye, who also allegedly had a close relationship with the Bidens, the letter states. Ye himself "reportedly had links to the communist regime's People's Liberation Army," the lawmakers alleged.

Grassley and Johnson also cite reports that President Biden, after he left the Obama White House in 2017, and James Biden shared office space with an associate of Ye. "If accurate, the sharing of office space with Chinese nationals and entities linked to the communist regime and its military demands additional explanation," they wrote. 

Johnson and Grassley in the letter ask for "all intelligence records, including but not limited to, all FISA-derived information relating to [Ye, Patrick Ho and Gongwin Dong] no later than April 14, 2021."