“The Secret Service is violating FOIA law by slow-rolling and hiding Hunter Biden records,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton has said in a statement. “What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Hunter Biden?”
The US Secret Service, a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has failed to respond to Judicial Watch's three separate FOIA requests pertaining to the agency's records on President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, during March and April.
According to the JW motion, the conservative foundation served a FOIA request on the US Secret Service on March 9, seeking access to "any and all records concerning the use of security and/or other services to Hunter Biden and any companions on any international travel." The time frame of the request was identified as "January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013," coinciding with Joe Biden's tenure as President Barack Obama's veep.
Citing US Postal Service records, JW notes that the Secret Service received its request on March 16, but did not respond.
On April 1, JW made another FOIA request to the Secret Service concerning both the use of security for Hunter and his companies, as well as "all records concerning the use of US government funds to provide security and/or any other services" to the younger Biden and his associates. The time frame of the April request was "January 20, 2021 to the present," covering Joe's presidential tenure.
Four days later, the watchdog sent yet another FOIA request seeking records concerning the use of US government funds to provide security and other services to Hunter and his companions in Malibu, California.
Even though the Secret Service acknowledged the receipt of the organization’s April requests the same month and said that it would send them, it has neither produced any records nor informed JW if the requested materials are exempt from production for some reason.
Joe's Official Trips and Hunter's Business
JW's repeated requests concerning the Secret Service's cooperation with the younger Biden stem from the 2020 FIOA exposure showing that Hunter travelled extensively while receiving a Secret Service security detail during the first five-and-a-half years of the Obama administration.
"During the time period of the records provided, Hunter Biden took 411 separate domestic and international flights, including to 29 different foreign countries. He visited China five times," JW revealed citing records obtained from the Secret Service in 2020.
It is unclear whether Hunter Biden used Air Force One, Air Force Two, or other government aircraft, but some reports indicate that in December 2013, in particular, then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter flew on Air Force Two for an official trip to Beijing.
Even though it is normal for the president’s or VP’s families to travel with them, it is not permitted to use governmental trips to further one's business interests. The high-profile December 2013 flight to Beijing was allegedly exploited by Hunter to advance a bold financial project to form a large-scale Chinese private equity fund, according to NBC News' Josh Lederman.
"Hunter Biden has acknowledged meeting with Jonathan Li, a Chinese banker and his partner in the fund during the trip, although his spokesman says it was a social visit," Lederman reported in October 2019. "The Chinese business license that brought the new fund into existence was issued by Shanghai authorities ten days after the trip, with Hunter Biden a member of the board."
Secret Services' Malibu Saga
JW's "Malibu request" is also based on a peculiar story involving Hunter and the Secret Service. ABC News reported in April that the Secret Service detail protecting the first son has been paying more than $30,000 a month to rent a mansion in Malibu, California, for nearly a year.
Remarkably, the president's son pays $10,000 less than the agency for his mansion, sources told ABC News.
Retired senior Secret Service agent Don Mihalek told the media outlet that the agency was "forced" to rent the luxurious house "at market value" to be as close as possible to Hunter. Needless to say, the rent came at the expense of US taxpayers.
While the Secret Service appears to be hesitating to provide records, Republican lawmakers have also demanded that the agency provide them with similar information, according to the Epoch Times. Having received some 259 pages of records Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), raised the alarm over “extensive” and “improper” redactions in the documents provided by the Secret Service. Given that the GOP is likely to enhance the probe into the Bidens if it wins the House this year, the agency should apparently brace itself for further requests.