Hunter Biden indicates Joe Biden was the 'big guy' referenced in email about China business deal

Hunter Biden testified before Congress Wednesday as part of the Biden impeachment inquiry, providing lawmakers with a number of damning insights into his foreign business dealings. One insight may prove especially damaging to President Joe Biden, better known to the first son's former business associates — and now the world — as "the big guy."

Quick background

Emails discovered in the trove of unsettling materials on Hunter Biden's laptop prior to the 2020 election — strategically cast as Russian disinformation by intelligence community alumni and other Biden boosters — implicated then-Vice President Joe Biden in some of his son's shady business dealings overseas, particularly those in China and in Ukraine.

Two emails in particular prompted concerns about Joe Biden's involvement in potentially compromising schemes overseas: a 2015 email from Burisma executive Vadym Pozharsky thanking Hunter Biden for giving him an opportunity to meet and spend time with the vice president; and a May 2017 email outlining a business deal between the Biden family and a now-defunct Chinese energy company linked to the communist regime.

In the latter email, James Gilliar, one of Hunter Biden's former business partners, touched on the formation of a new company for a joint venture with CEFC China Energy Co. and discussed how they would divvy up equity in the business.

Gilliar along with email recipients Tony Bobulinski, Rob Walker, and Hunter Biden would apparently each get 20% shares in the business. "Jim," referencing Joe Biden's brother James, would receive 10%.

Gilliar then posed the question of whether the remaining 10% would be "held by H for the big guy?"

Even though Bobulinksi, Hunter Biden's former business partner and a U.S. Navy veteran, confirmed years ago that "the big guy" referenced Joe Biden, the president has long maintained he was never involved in his son's dealings.

Biden's denial has not aged well.

The 'big guy'

During his deposition Wednesday, which lasted over six hours, Hunter Biden was presented with a copy of the May 13, 2017, email and asked, "Have you seen this email before?"

"I have. I've seen it, I think, as we all have, 8,642,300 times," replied Hunter Biden.

The questioner skipped right to the bottom of the email, noting, "It says, 'At the moment, there's provisional agreement that the equity [in Oneida] will be distributed as follows. ...20 to H,' which presumably is yourself. Is that correct?"

Hunter Biden answered in the affirmative, then confirmed the other shareholders referenced in the scheme were Walker, Gilliar, Bobulinski, and James Biden.

"And then '10 held by H,' which would be you, 'for the big guy,' which presumable is your dad, correct?" asked the questioner.

Hunter Biden proved evasive, saying, "All I know this is, is that, number one, there's only one agreement that includes Tony Bobulinski, that is executed and signed by me. There's only one message that I had as it relates to any involvement that I had with Tony Bobulinski, James Gilliar, my uncle, and Rob Walker, and it did not involve my dad."

The first son suggested that the ultimate breakdown was for 20 points apiece for Bobulinski, Gilliar, James Biden, Walker, and himself. "Nothing do with Joe Biden," added the first son.

Much later in the deposition, Hunter Biden was asked, "The reference to the big guy, you would agree, is a reference to your father?"

"I truly don't know what the hell that James was talking about," Hunter Biden said, referring to Gilliar. "All I know is what what actually happened."

After stressing that his father has "never been involved" in or benefited from his business — a suggestion the House GOP indicates it has ample evidence to refute — Hunter Biden characterized the "big guy" comment as wishful thinking.

"I think that it was pie in the sky. Like, 'Joe Biden's out of the office. Maybe we'll be able to get him involved.' Remember, again, is that Joe Biden, for the first time in 48 years, is not an elected official and is not seeking office. And so James is probably like, wow, wouldn't be great if a former vice president could be in our business together?" said Hunter Biden.

Despite initially casting doubt on whether the "big guy" was his father, Hunter Biden indicated he shut down the notion of his father's involvement after Gilliar's suggestion.

Hunter Biden suggested he told Gilliar, "You're out of your mind. My dad knows less about doing cross-border blah, blah, blah, than he does about — I mean, it's just ridiculous."

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