A Timeline of Joe Biden’s Corruption Allegations

This timeline maps the key events in Joe Biden’s allegations of corruption, largely related to his son’s business dealing in China, Russia and Ukraine. Having been President for less than a week, Biden is already facing calls for impeachment on the basis of his family’s history recounted here. Many of the sources used can be found in an 87-page-long U.S. Senate report, which investigates Hunter Biden’s allegedly corrupt business dealings.

June 2009 

Hunter Biden co-founded investment fund Rosemont Seneca Partners alongside Christopher Heinz, stepson of Obama’s future Secretary of State John Kerry, and Devon Archer - a former Kerry advisor.

7th-9th April 2010

Hunter Biden visited China on behalf of Rosemont Seneca in the second year of his father’s vice presidency.

2012

While Joe Biden was campaigning for re-election, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer made contact with Jonathan Li, a financier who ran the private equity fund Bohai Capital. They discussed a partnership, which would see Chinese money invested in ventures outside of the country. 80% of the newly-formed company, Bohai Harvest, was controlled by Chinese state-owned interests.

December 2013

After Chinese President Xi Jinping aggressively expanded military claims over the East China Sea, then-Vice President Biden was dispatched to Beijing seeking to de-escalate tensions. Hunter joined his father’s flight to China on board Air Force Two. Once in China, Hunter reconvened with Jonathan Li, which was described as a ‘social visit’. However, Hunter arranged a meeting between Li and the Vice President. 

The move troubled some of Joe Biden’s aides, who said it invited questions as to whether he “was leveraging access for his benefit, which just wasn’t done in that White House. Optics really mattered, and that seemed to be cutting it pretty close, even if nothing nefarious was going on.” Their concerns were not voiced to the Vice President as they were reportedly intimidated, stating: “Everyone who works for him has been screamed at”. A mere ten days later, the business licence for Bohai Harvest was approved, despite attempts to launch the company for over a year prior.

February 2014

The Russian-aligned then-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych’s security forces put down protests, killing over 70 civilians. The demonstrations began after the government abandoned a planned “association agreement” with the European Union, favouring Russia. The protests expanded to include the issue of political corruption, which was viewed as being widespread in the country. The backlash to the violent suppression of protesters forced the president to flee to Russia. 

14th February 2014

Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC received $3,500,000 from Russian businesswoman Elena Baturina for a ‘consultancy agreement’. 

March 2014

Russian forces invade Crimea and stage a questionable referendum to justify their annexation of the region from Ukraine. In the same month, the United Nations General Assembly condemned both Russia’s actions and the legitimacy of the referendum.

April 2014

Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian forces invade the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, starting a war that is still ongoing to this day and has seen over 13,000 killed.

21st April 2014

Joe Biden, then Vice President, visits Ukraine in a show of support for the country amid tensions with Russia.

12th May 2014

In an email, Vadym Pozharskiy, a key advisor for the Burisma Group, reaches out to Hunter Biden and Devon Archer. Burisma Group is a private company that drills for natural gas in Ukraine. The email opened by alluding to a pre-existing relationship: “Following our talks during the visit to the Como Lake and our further discussions,” it goes on to outline the difficulties the company is having with the Ukrainian government and states that Pozharskiy hopes that the two could “use their influence” to “convey a message to stop what we consider to be politically motivated action”.

13th May 2014

The Burisma Group announced that Hunter Biden had joined its board. At the time, the company’s founder Mykola Zlochevsky was under investigation for money laundering by the UK Government’s Serious Fraud Office. 

25th May 2014

Petro Poroshenko wins the presidency in Ukraine on a platform of increasing ties with the West.

17th April 2015

In an email to Hunter Biden, Vadym Pozharskiy, a key advisor at the Burisma Group, thanks Hunter for introducing him to his father - then-Vice President Joe Biden.

2015

Hunter Biden’s relationship with business tycoon Ye Jianming “began to ramp up”.  Ye is the founder if Chinese energy company CEFC and served as the Chinese state's unofficial energy liaison to Russia. 

8th December 2015

Biden visited Ukraine again and spoke out against corruption, which he stated was eating Ukraine “like a cancer.” Biden threatened to withhold a $1 billion loan until Ukraine’s leading prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was removed. Shokin had been investigating Burisma Group, but the investigation was dormant at the time of Biden’s threat. 

29th March 2016

Viktor Shokin was removed from his position of Prosecutor General by the Ukrainian Parliament.

September 2016

The UK’s investigation into Mykola Zlochevsky is closed after “no evidence of wrongdoing” was presented. A judge commented on the case, stating: “Allegations of corruption against political opponents appear to have been a feature of Ukrainian political life at this time.”

23rd February 2017

A month after Biden left office, a sum of $6,000,000 was transferred to Robinson Walker LLC from Energy HK Ltd. - a company controlled by Ye Jianming. Robinson Walker LLC is a company controlled by Rob Walker, a business partner of Hunter’s, who he had collaborated with in at least three other businesses. Walker has served both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush’s administrations. Walker’s wife Betsy was a former member of first lady Jill Biden’s personal staff. The Senate report states that it was “unclear what the true purpose is behind these transactions and who the ultimate beneficiary is.”

2nd and 3rd May 2017

Tony Bobulinski was hired by the Bidens to serve as CEO of Sinohawk Holdings, which was described as a partnership between Ye’s CEFC and the Biden family. Bobulinski met with Joe Biden twice at the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. 

On the first occasion, Bobulinski states that Hunter “brings Joe over and introduces me, saying [Joe is] the one who’s helping us with the business we’re doing with the Chinese,” to which Joe Biden responded: “I trust you. Good luck and work hard”. 

In the second meeting, Joe Biden tells Bobulinski “Keep an eye on my son and look out for my family.” Joe Biden has repeated that he has never spoken to his son about his “overseas business dealings”.

11th May 2017

James Gilliar, a business associate of Hunter Biden, discussed with Bobulinski the possibility of getting “Joe involved” in the joint venture with Chinese energy company CEFC. The two discussed how to make the effort appear to be a “truly family business” in a series of texts published by the New York Post. One of the messages states: “Let’s get the company set up, then tell H and family the high stakes and get Joe involved”.

13th May 2017

Gilliar emailed Hunter Biden to outline remuneration packages for Hunter and five others in an unspecified business venture. The email was found on Hunter Biden’s laptop and was made public by the New York Post. It outlines plans to distribute 10% of equity shares to selected Biden family members, with 10% extra being held by Hunter “for the big guy”. Bobulinski later confirmed definitively that the “big guy” was Joe Biden. 

Bobulinski states that the plan changed and that Joe Biden’s brother Jim would hold his 10% share. Bobulinski states that he questioned the wisdom of the move to Jim Biden, given Joe Biden’s political prominence, reportedly stating: “How are you guys getting away with this? Aren’t you concerned?”. Jim Biden reportedly responds jovially: “Plausible deniability”.

20th May 2017

“Don’t mention Joe being involved, it’s only when u are face to face, I know u know that but they are paranoid” Gilliar instructed Bobulinski via WhatsApp. Bobulinski responded: “OK they should be paranoid about things … You need to stress to H, does he want to be the reason or factor that blows up his dad’s campaign.” at this point Joe Biden was still two years away from announcing his presidential bid. 

18th June 2017

Hunter Biden made an urgent request to Ye Jianming to transfer him $10,000,000 as seed money for a new business venture - SinoHawk Holdings. In the email, he extended “best wishes from the entire Biden family … We are all hoping to see you here again soon, or in Shanghai.”

Summer 2017

A Senate report states that Hunter met with Ye in Miami to solicit donations to the World Food Program USA. They discussed how Ye could find investors for CEFC in the United States. To thank Hunter, Ye sent him a 2.8-carat diamond as a thank you gift. Hunter later told The New Yorker “I just felt like it was weird”.

1st August 2017

A Senate report shows the breakdown of ownership of a company known as “Hudson West”, which has a 50/50 split between Hunter Biden and someone identified only as “chairman”. An email sent the next day seemed to suggest the “chairman” was Ye Jianming. The email also notes that Hunter was earning $10,000,000 a year in a “lasting and lucrative arrangement”. 

8th August 2017

Ye’s CEFC transferred $5,000,000 to Hudson West, the company then began to make a series of payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s law firm. This totalled $4,790,000, the Senate report states. Owasco sent $1,400,000 in twenty different transfers to Lion Hall Group  - a consulting firm controlled by James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden. 

September 2017

An associate of Ye Jianming, Chi Ping Patrick Ho, agreed to pay Hunter Biden a $1,000,000 retainer for “Counsel to matters related to US law and advice pertaining to the hiring and legal analysis of any US Law Firm or Lawyer,” according to a letter obtained by the New York Post.

21st September 2017

Hunter Biden emailed the Washington office building ‘House of Sweden’ to request a set of keys for Rosemont Seneca offices be produced for Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Jim Biden and Gongwen Dong - all of whom he described as “office mates”. Hunter Biden noted that Gongwen Dong was an “emissary” for CEFC and therefore Ye Jianming.

December 2018

Chi Ping Patrick Ho is convicted by the Manhattan Federal Court for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by trying to bribe government officials in Africa. He received a three-year sentence. Ye Jianming vanishes in China after alleged “economic crimes”.

12th April 2019 

Hunter Biden leaves his water-damaged laptop at a Delaware computer repair shop. The laptop had a sticker for the Beau Biden Foundation, a charity named after his deceased brother which raises money to combat child abuse. Hunter Biden never returned for the laptop, despite repeated attempts to contact him. The owner of the repair shop then took legal ownership of the laptop, as per the terms of the repair contract.

25th April 2019  

Joe Biden announced he was running for president.

16th May 2019

Ukraine’s top prosecutor states that he has no evidence to suggest wrong-doing by either Hunter or Joe Biden.

25th July 2019

Trump speaks with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and pressures him to carry out an investigation into the Bidens.

31st July 2019

Bevan Cooney, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, is sentenced for 30 months for: “defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means,” the Southern District of New York Attorney’s Office states. 

The case also implicates Devon Archer, a close business associate of Hunter Biden, whose case is currently ongoing. The proceedings have been drawn out as there is less evidence to suggest he was aware of the fraud when compared with Cooney. Although Archer invoked the Biden name to lend credibility to his dealings, a Federal prosecutor stated that there is no evidence linking to Hunter Biden or his father.

9th December 2019

The FBI subpoena Hunter Biden after the computer shop owner is reportedly “concerned” after reviewing what was contained on the laptop. He states: “I know that I saw, I saw stuff. And I was concerned. I was concerned that somebody might want to come looking for this stuff eventually and I wanted it out of my shop.”

21st January 2021

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden on the grounds that he is corrupt and has put the needs of America beneath his desire to “line his family’s pockets”.