Grassley, Johnson question DOJ over contrary statements on Chinese connection to Hunter Biden

Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to clarify what they think is a "potentially false statement" from the Justice Department regarding whether the agency possesses a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant relating to a Chinese businessman once represented by Hunter Biden.

The senators told Garland in a letter Monday that in July they received a response from the agency about a letter they sent in  March asking about "financial transactions and connections between and among members of the Biden family and foreign nationals connected to the communist Chinese government."

Their letter names Patrick Ho, who was convicted of "international bribery and money laundering offenses" in Dec. 2018 and states he was represented by Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, for at least $1 million.

The Justice Department's July response regarding Ho states, "Under the circumstances described in your letter, we are not in a position to confirm the existence of the information that is sought (if it exists in the Department's possession)."

Grassley, of Iowa, and Johnson, of Wisconsin, point out in the letter to Garland that a Feb. 2018 DOJ federal court filing mentioned the agency possessing at least one FISA warrant relating to Ho, "indicating his potential counterintelligence threat to the United States."

The senators note that either the agency's response in July is false or the statement to the federal court was inaccurate. So they're asking Garland to correct the former or confirm the latter.

Ho was part of an investment group that worked with Hunter Biden and his business partners after his father left the office of the vice president in 2017. He was convicted of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for trying to bribe high-ranking officials in Chad and Uganda.

Hunter Biden has had multiple dealings with various Chinese government entities over the years, reportedly making millions off of them.