Former Biden Aide to Provide House Investigators With Details in Classified Documents Case

President Joe Biden speaks on the economy during a meeting of his Competition Council in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 1, 2023. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Kathy Chung, a former assistant to President Joe Biden, has agreed to comply with part of a House Oversight Committee request for information on the classified documents found at Biden’s old office space at the Penn Biden Center in November.

Chung previously served as Biden’s executive assistant and, according to CNN, was one of the staffers who helped pack Biden’s materials at the end of his time as vice president under the Obama administration. The materials Chung helped pack eventually ended up at the Penn Biden Center, and lawyers for the president turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on Nov. 2, 2o22.

Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee sent a letter to Chung, asking her to provide details about her handling of the classified documents. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) specifically asked Chung to provide all communications between herself and Biden’s personal attorneys, White House employees, Department of Justice employees, and NARA employees relating to the Presidential Records Act and potentially classified documents found in Biden’s possession. Comer also asked Chung to provide all communications she has had with members of the Biden family and an individual named Eric Schwerin since 2009.

Chung’s attorney, Bill Taylor, told CNN that they have been in contact with the committee and have agreed to provide most of the information the committee requested.

“She is not agreeing to produce everything in the letter but would provide documents related to the movement of documents from the White House to the Penn Biden Center,” Taylor told CNN.

NTD reached out to Chung’s attorney but he declined to comment.

Biden Family Ties

According to a Feb. 3 Washington Post article, Chung ultimately ended up working for Vice President Joe Biden after befriending his son Hunter Biden in the 1990s while they both worked in the Department of Commerce.

In 2012, Hunter Biden contacted Chung about an opportunity to work for his father.

“Thanks for calling and thinking of me,” she emailed Hunter Biden after he extended the offer. “After the initial shock of taking in what you said ... how could I pass up an opportunity to work for the Vice President of the United State!!!!”

From that point on, Chung reportedly became an important point of contact between the vice president and his family members. For instance, when Joe Biden’s children wanted to have him visit or come spend time, they would often reach out through Chung.

On Sept. 16, 2015, Chung emailed a small group—including Joe Biden’s sister Valerie and his children, Hunter and Ashley—to invite them to a lunch with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Chung also communicated with family members about the formation of the Penn Biden Center.

Those Biden family connections have come under scrutiny.

“The Committee believes your proximity to Vice President Biden and role as handler of his personal matters gave you access not only to classified material he maintained after leaving the White House, but also to the Biden family’s business schemes,” Comer wrote in his Feb. 4 letter to Chung.

Comer noted instances of Hunter Biden describing Chung as the “primary gatekeeper for the VP” and “conduit everyone goes through to get to [Vice President Biden].” According to Comer, Hunter Biden said Chung would also “replace the person who ‘handles all personal stuff’ for Vice President Biden.”

These suspicions may be part of the reason Comer requested Chung reveal any communications she had with members of the Biden family or with Eric Schwerin.

Republican investigators believe Schwerin has also had key ties to the Biden family business operations.

Republican Investigations

In November, Comer and other House Oversight Committee Republicans published a report (pdf) laying out allegations of foreign influence peddling involving members of the Biden family. According to the report, Schwerin and Hunter Biden “made increasing references to Joe Biden” in the course of their business communications and Schwerin had frequent access to the White House when Joe Biden was the vice president.

Schwerin allegedly visited the White House at least 27 times between 2009 and 2016. In 2015, President Barack Obama named Schwerin to serve on the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. The Republican investigative report raised allegations that Schwerin had access to Joe Biden’s personal bank account and transferred money from that account to his son Hunter.

Throughout the 2020 presidential campaign cycle, Joe Biden denied having knowledge of his son’s foreign business activities.

Last week, Comer said Schwerin was cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s investigative efforts.

The Biden White House has insisted they acted appropriately by informing NARA after they discovered classified documents in Biden’s possession, drawing a contrast with how former Republican President Donald Trump responded when investigators requested that he hand over documents from his time in office.

Biden’s White House team has also insisted Republican House investigations into the Biden family and its business activities are focused on “debunked conspiracy theories.”

From NTD News