Hunter Biden Partner Says Joe Biden Met With Chief of Chinese Energy Firm

President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, arrive at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y., on Feb. 4, 2023. Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Rob Walker, former business partner of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, testified in Congress that the elder Biden met with the chief of a Chinese energy firm linked to the ruling communist party in 2017.

Mr. Walker testified behind closed doors in January as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, but a transcript of Mr. Walker’s testimony wasn’t released until Feb. 13 by the House Oversight Committee.

According to the newly-released transcript, Mr. Walker testified that, after the elder Biden met with the chief of the Chinese energy conglomerate and about 10 others, an affiliated firm wired $3 million to Robinson Walker LLC, a company Mr. Walker controlled.

Financial records related to Robinson Walker LLC, obtained by the House Oversight Committee, show that Mr. Biden and other Biden family members (though not President Biden) received roughly $1.3 million from Rob Walker-related accounts.

When Mr. Walker testified in January, the chairman of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), said the testimony served as proof that “the Bidens sold the ‘Biden Brand’ to enrich the Biden family.”

In his testimony, Mr. Walker insisted that he only ever did “legitimate business” with Mr. Biden and that President Biden “was never involved in any business activities we pursued.”

The White House said that Mr. Walker’s testimony had refuted Republican claims that President Biden was involved in his son’s business dealings.

The release of the transcript comes on the same day that Tony Bobulinski, another former business associate of Mr. Biden, is set to testify behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

Mr. Bobulinski had previously accused President Biden of lying when he said he was never involved in his son’s business dealings.

Shortly before the 2020 presidential election, Mr. Bobulinski came forward with a series of explosive disclosures prompted by messages discovered on the younger Biden’s laptop.

Among them was correspondence involving Mr. Biden where a 10-percent cut from a Chinese business deal would be “held by H for the Big Guy.”

Joe Biden Meets Chinese Company Chief

According to his transcribed testimony, Mr. Walker testified that President Biden met with Ye Jianming, chairman of the China Energy Company Limited (CEFC), a Chinese energy conglomerate with links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in 2017.

While Mr. Walker struggled to recall the exact date and time of the meeting, he said it took place in 2017, after then-Vice President Biden’s term in office had ended.

“I don’t remember the exact time, but I remember being in Washington, D.C., and the former vice president stopped by. We were having lunch,” he said, according to the transcript.

Mr. Walker said the meeting took place “at the Four Seasons in a restaurant in a private room,” and that he was sure the CEFC chief was there, along with 10 or so CEFC-affiliated individuals.

“I’m certain—I’m certain Ye was there,” Mr. Walker said of the CEFC chief, adding that the aim of the meeting was to explore “ways we could work together.”

President Joe Biden (L) and his son Hunter Biden exit Holy Spirit Catholic Church after attending mass in Johns Island, S.C., on Aug. 13, 2022. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

He said the meeting lasted about an hour and a half, with the elder Biden attending briefly.

“The former vice president was not there the entire time. He was there maybe 10 minutes,” Mr. Walker said. “He spoke nice, you know, normal pleasantries. I think he probably did most of the talking.”

Mr. Walker testified that the elder Biden talked to the entire group for about 10 minutes and then left.

After that meeting, a CEFC-linked entity called State Energy HK Limited wired $3 million to Robinson Walker LLC, a company controlled by Mr. Walker, according to his testimony.

“The meeting was likely before” the CEFC-linked firm wired the money, Mr. Walker said.

‘Interesting Last Name’

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was present at Mr. Walker’s testimony.

“Only time Joe Biden shows up in a meeting, he gives a 10-minute presentation to the entire group, and a few days later, you get $3 million?” Mr. Jordan asked.

Mr. Walker confirmed that this was the case, although James Gillar, a business partner of Mr. Biden’s, had been in discussions with CEFC since about 2015.

He added that he viewed the fact that the $3 million wire took place shortly after the meeting as a “coincidence,” insisting the meeting was “more about how we’re going to work together in the future but it had nothing to do” with the $3 million.

“Hunter made sure there was always a clear boundary between any business and his father,” Mr. Walker said. “As his partner, I always understood and respected that boundary.”

Still, Mr. Walker said that Mr. Biden had an “interesting last name” that would open doors to business deals, reinforcing the view expressed by Mr. Comer and other Republicans that members of the Biden family may have leveraged their relationship with President Biden for personal gain.