WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Committee on the Budget, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding that he produce and preserve all records related to his correspondence with Hunter Biden. This request follows recent revelations that Blinken lied to Congress when he participated in a December 22, 2020 voluntary transcribed interview with Sens. Johnson’s and Grassley’s staff.
During that interview Blinken provided false testimony when he denied corresponding with Hunter Biden via email when he served as Deputy Secretary of State during the Obama Administration. Recent reports based on emails contained on Hunter Biden’s laptop have revealed that Blinken did in fact email Hunter Biden on at least two occasions, from his personal email account, contradicting what he told congressional investigators. Blinken’s blatant lie to Congress calls into question the veracity of his entire December 22, 2020 testimony, including his denial of having any awareness of Hunter Biden’s association with the corrupt Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holdings.
Additionally, emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop revealed that Blinken’s wife, Evan Ryan, corresponded directly with Hunter Biden (from her personal email address) in an apparent attempt to connect Blinken with representatives of Burisma’s U.S. lobbying firm, Blue Star Strategies.
The senators wrote, “Because your testimony is inaccurate, Congress and the public must rely on your records as the source for information about your dealings with Hunter Biden. As such, you must preserve and provide all records, referring or relating to Hunter Biden, his business dealings, or his family’s business dealings, including but not limited to correspondence sent or received from your personal email accounts and phones, to include those of Ms. Ryan.”
The senators added, “These records will help provide the public a complete picture and understanding of the extent of your apparent deceptions.”
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
The December 2020 transcript with Blinken can be found here.
May 1, 2023
The Honorable Antony Blinken
Secretary
Department of State
Dear Secretary Blinken:
On December 22, 2020, you provided false testimony to Congress during your voluntary transcribed interview.[1] As part of our ongoing investigation into the Bidens’ business dealings, you agreed to participate in an interview with our staff to discuss your relationship with Hunter Biden, among other topics.[2] At the start of that interview, our staff reminded you of the statute that makes it a crime to lie to Congress.[3] You acknowledged your understanding of that statute and stated that there is no reason you would be unable to provide truthful answers during the interview:[4]
Question: Mr. Blinken, you’re required to answer questions before Congress truthfully. Do you understand that?
Blinken: I do.
Question: And this also applies to questions posed by congressional staff in an interview. Specifically, 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 makes it a crime to make any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation in the course of a congressional investigation, so this statute applies to your statements here today. Do you understand that?
Blinken: I do.
Question: Mr. Blinken, is there any reason that you are unable to provide truthful answers in today’s interview?
Blinken: There is not.[5]
Despite this clear warning that it is a crime to make false statements to Congress and congressional staff, you did not provide truthful testimony during the interview when you denied corresponding with Hunter Biden via email when you served as Deputy Secretary of State under the Obama administration:[6]
Question: Did you ever talk with [Hunter Biden] on the phone?
Blinken: Not that I recall.
Question: Did you have any other means of correspondence with him—emails, texts?
Blinken: No.[7]
Based on evidence now available, your above statement is patently false. Emails contained on Hunter Biden’s laptop and recent reports have revealed that you did in fact email Hunter Biden on at least two occasions, contradicting what you told congressional investigators. The May 22, 2015, communication below shows Hunter Biden emailing your personal email address requesting to meet to get your “advice on a couple of things.” You responded, “Absolutely.”[8]
The next email below shows you writing to Hunter Biden on July 22, 2015—once again from your personal email address—apparently following your meeting with him at the State Department:[10]
Your statement to Congress that you did not email Hunter Biden is clearly not true and calls into question the veracity of your entire December 22, 2020 testimony. Specifically, you denied having any awareness of Hunter Biden’s association with the corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings:
Question: During your time as Deputy Secretary of State, were you aware of any association that Hunter Biden had with Burisma?
Blinken: I was not.[12]
. . .
Question: [Y]ou were not aware that Hunter Biden served on Burisma’s board?
Blinken: To the best of my recollection, I was not.[13]
Although you denied having any knowledge that Hunter Biden was associated with Burisma, emails reportedly from Hunter Biden’s laptop reveal that your wife, Evan Ryan, who is copied on this letter, corresponded directly with Hunter Biden (from her personal email address) in an apparent attempt to connect you with representatives of Burisma’s U.S. lobbying firm, Blue Star Strategies.
In an apparent email exchange on July 14, 2016, Hunter Biden told Ryan that “S” and “K” told him that they called the State Department and left a message.[14] “S” and “K” appear to be Sally Painter and Karen Tramontano, Blue Star Strategies’ Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer, respectively.[15] Ryan wrote to Biden, “He didn’t get the msg. He said if we can get him their numbers he can call them late afternoon DC time tmrw – let me know if that works[.]”[16] Although this email exchange did not reference you by name, State Department documents obtained during our investigation make it clear that you were concurrently trying to connect with representatives from Blue Star Strategies.
Another reported email from Hunter Biden’s laptop shows that on July 15, 2016, an individual from Hunter Biden’s firm instructed him and his business associate, Eric Schwerin, to “please call Evan Ryan . . . Hunter – she tried your cell earlier and it went straight to vm[.]”[18] You told congressional investigators that you did not meet with Tramontano or Painter during this time period.[19] When asked if either of them informed you that they were representing Burisma, you said, “To the best of my recollection, no.”[20]
It seems highly unlikely that you had no idea of Hunter Biden’s association with Burisma while your wife was apparently coordinating with Hunter Biden to potentially connect you with Burisma’s U.S. representatives.
The public recently learned through congressional testimony from former CIA official Michael Morell, that you allegedly were the catalyst of an October 2020 information operation aimed to deceive Americans about the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop.[21] It is now evident that your apparent willingness to deceive the public continued through December 2020 when you failed to tell the whole truth to congressional investigators about your contacts with Hunter Biden.
Because your testimony is inaccurate, Congress and the public must rely on your records as the source for information about your dealings with Hunter Biden. As such, you must preserve and provide all records, referring or relating to Hunter Biden, his business dealings, or his family’s business dealings, including but not limited to correspondence sent or received from your personal email accounts and phones, to include those of Ms. Ryan.[22] These records will help provide the public a complete picture and understanding of the extent of your apparent deceptions. We request you and Ms. Ryan produce these records no later than May 15, 2023.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Committee on the Budget
cc: The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
Chairman
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
Chairman
Committee on the Budget
The Honorable Jim Jordan
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable James Comer
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Ms. Evan Ryan
c/o Office of the White House Counsel
The White House
