Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings planned on holding meetings with congressional lawmakers in Washington, D.C., shortly after then-Vice President Joe Biden successfully pressured Ukraine into firing its top prosecutor, according to a memo released in September.
Burisma was paying Hunter Biden more than $80,000 per month in spring 2016 when then-VP Biden successfully pressured Ukraine into firing Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. The Ukrainian firm hoped to have meetings in D.C. with two senators and a house lawmaker right after the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Shokin, according to an itinerary released by the House Ways and Means Committee in September. (RELATED: House Oversight Investigating Whether Joe Biden Held Classified Documents Related To Hunter Biden’s Business Dealings)
READ THE SCHEDULE:
Lobbying firm Blue Star Strategies planned on briefing Burisma on March 30, 2016, ahead of a meeting with the staff of then-Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a former member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, the document shows.
Burisma representatives met with a staffer in Portman’s office but did not make any specific demands, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Portman did not know about the meeting and never spoke with Burisma, the source said. The Caller granted anonymity to speak on a sensitive issue.
Portman is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and his senate seat was filled by Republican Sen. J.D. Vance in the 2022 midterm elections.
In the afternoon, Burisma planned to meet with the staff Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a current member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Ukraine Caucus, according to the memo. Her office did not respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear if the meeting with Shaheen took place.
Later in the day, Burisma representatives planned on attending a reception prior to then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s speech at the Congressional Auditorium in the Capitol Visitors Center. The March 30 schedule ended with the Ukrainian president’s address, the document indicates.
The next morning, Burisma hoped to meet with the staff of Democratic Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the co-founder and chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. A spokesperson for Kaptur told the Daily Caller she was in her district at the time and no meeting ever took place.
Afterwards, Burisma executive Vadim Pozharskyi had lunch with the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), an event that was listed on Burisma’s website shortly after it took place, an archived webpage displays.
Hunter Biden had a potential meeting scheduled with Burisma during the afternoon on March 31, the same day his father met with Poroshenko, according to Obama administration archives. The proposed meeting was supposed to take place at the Washington, D.C., office of Hunter Biden’s investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners.
Burisma paid Hunter Biden $83,333 per month as a board member of the firm despite his lack of experience in the energy sector and Ukrainian affairs, bank records show.
“President Poroshenko also noted his commitment to installing a new, credible Prosecutor General,” a readout of the meeting between Joe Biden and Poroshenko reads. “The Vice President also informed President Poroshenko that the United States is moving forward with an additional $335 million in security assistance, which will fund additional advisors, training, and non-lethal assistance.”
Then-VP Joe Biden bragged to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2016 about leveraging a $1 billion loan guarantee to successfully pressure Ukraine into getting Shokin fired.
“You remember last year I was authorized to say we’d do the second tranche of a billion dollars. And he didn’t fire his chief prosecutor. And because I have the confidence of the president, I was there, and I said: I’m not signing it. Until you fire him, we’re not signing, man. Get it straight. We’re not doing it,” then-VP Biden said.
The Oversight Committee is investigating the circumstances surrounding Shokin’s ouster and the role then-VP Biden played in the decision. (RELATED: Burisma Received Joe Biden’s Talking Points From Lobbyists Ahead Of His Trip To Ukraine, Memo Shows)
Burisma’s planned meetings in D.C. were supposed to conclude with a dinner alongside Blue Star executives Karen Tramontano and Sally Painter, the itinerary states. Blue Star’s plan for Burisma provided background information on the congressional lawmakers and the staffers who were supposed to attend the proposed meetings.
Former Hunter Biden business associate and Burisma board member Devon Archer’s name is listed on the itinerary’s first page. Painter and Tramontano’s names are listed below the proposed meetings to indicate which staffer from Blue Star would be attending. Blue Star did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Archer testified to the House Oversight Committee in July and described how the Biden family “brand” protected Burisma. He also recalled a spring 2015 dinner Joe Biden attended with Pozharskyi and an incident where Hunter Biden “called D.C.” in response to pressure from Burisma executives. Archer could not confirm if Joe Biden was on the other end of Hunter’s phone call. (RELATED: Devon Archer Met With Joe And Hunter Biden At The White House Right After His First Payment From Burisma, Records Show)
Blue Star received $30,000 from Burisma in both March and April 2016 for the firm’s work, according to a May 2022 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) disclosure. The payments were for “the scope of work” including meetings between government officials and Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky’s attorney, the form states.
Shokin had overseen a raid on Zlochevsky’s property in February 2016 prior and the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove him from his position in late March 2016. Archer recalled the raid on Zlochevsky’s property in an interview with Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, where Archer described Shokin as a “threat” to Burisma’s business.
“Shokin was considered a threat to the business. I think any anyone in. Again, you’ve got to get the signals to the government. I think anyone in government is always a threat and always trying to shake down these businesses that were highly successful and and enriching the owners and the staff and the board. And so at the end of the day, Shokin was taking a look,” Archer told Carlson.
Archer was a member of Burisma’s board from spring 2014 until he resigned due to legal issues in late 2015. He is facing a prison sentence of one year and one day related to his role in issuing fraudulent bonds to a Native American tribe. As he attempts to appeal his sentence, Archer remains free on bail, according to the New York Post. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
The Biden family and its associates received more than $24 million from individuals and businesses tied to Ukraine, Russia, China, Romania and Kazakhstan, according to a House memo circulated in September prior to the first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden.
The Ways and Means Committee released the Burisma memo alongside a trove of documents substantiating the congressional testimony delivered by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler. Both whistleblowers accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of giving Hunter Biden special treatment in the ongoing investigation into his taxes.
Emails released by the Ways and Means committee show Blue Star celebrated a “victory lap” with a business associate of Hunter Biden’s when Zlochevsky was let off by the prosecutor who replaced Shokin. Blue Star was recommended to Burisma by Hunter Biden, according to emails from his abandoned laptop archive.
Hunter Biden was indicted on three federal gun charges in September and pleaded not guilty to the charges at an Oct. 3 arraignment in Delaware. Special counsel David Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, continues to investigate Hunter Biden’s taxes in the wake of his failed guilty plea agreement.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to clarify Burisma’s plan to potentially meet with Rep. Kaptur’s staff