Press Releases

Sens. Johnson, Grassley Demand Secret Service Fully Comply with Requests for Hunter Biden’s Travel Records

January 19, 2022

WASHINGTON—On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary, sent a letter to the Director of U.S. Secret Service (USSS), James M. Murray, reiterating requests for  Hunter Biden’s travel records.  This request continues the senators’ oversight of Hunter Biden’s use of Secret Service protection while his father was Vice President. In response to the senators’ previous request, the USSS provided 259 pages of heavily redacted documents and failed to provide any records from 2010, 2011, or 2013.

The senators wrote, “The USSS’s production contains extensive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) redactions, which do not apply to Congress and should not be applied to this production. These inappropriate redactions impede our offices’ ability to understand the full scope of the interactions between Hunter Biden, his associates, and the USSS.”

They went on to say, “We determined that even though Hunter Biden was a USSS protectee from January 2009 through July 2014, the USSS did not produce any communications regarding Hunter Biden’s travel for the years 2010, 2011, and 2013. The USSS’s lack of communications during these years raises questions given that USSS travel records show that Hunter Biden made trips to China and other destinations around the world, including, Russia, Italy, Spain and Mexico.”

Read more about the letter in the Washington Examiner.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

January 18, 2022

 

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

Mr. James M. Murray

Director

U.S. Secret Service

Dear Director Murray:

              We write to you today regarding U.S. Secret Service (USSS) records involving Hunter Biden and his use of government-sponsored travel while he conducted private business.  We previously requested that the USSS provide all records among and between USSS, Hunter Biden, Katie Dodge, or Joan Mayer regarding Hunter Biden’s travel while his father was Vice President.[1]  To date, the USSS has produced 259 pages of documents pursuant to our requests; however, we have serious concerns about the production.[2]  

              First, the USSS’s production contains extensive Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) redactions, which do not apply to Congress and should not be applied to this production.  These inappropriate redactions impede our offices’ ability to understand the full scope of the interactions between Hunter Biden, his associates, and the USSS.  For example, in applying the redactions, the USSS hid names and other information contained in email conversations regarding Hunter Biden without any proper legal justification.  Specifically, in a May 23, 2014, email chain, a redacted individual on then-Vice President Biden’s Detail (VPD) emailed a redacted individual at Hunter Biden’s business, Rosemont Seneca Partners, about Hunter Biden’s upcoming travel plans to travel from Paris, France to Kazakhstan.[3]  The VPD asked the individual at Rosemont Seneca Partners, “if there will be room on the private flight for at least [redacted] of our guys (preferably [redacted] we would greatly appreciate it.”[4]  The USSS records that we previously made public show that Hunter Biden was in Paris, France from May 29, 2014 to June 7, 2014 while a protectee.[5]  The USSS records do not show whether USSS personnel or Hunter Biden traveled to Kazakhstan in May or June 2014. 

              Second, we determined that even though Hunter Biden was a USSS protectee from January 2009 through July 2014,  the USSS did not produce any communications regarding Hunter Biden’s travel for the years 2010, 2011, and 2013.[6]  The USSS’s lack of communications during these years raises questions given that USSS travel records show that Hunter Biden made trips to China and other destinations around the world, including, Russia, Italy, Spain and Mexico.[7] 

              In order to better understand the USSS’s communications with Hunter Biden and his associates while his father served as Vice President, we respectfully request the following information:

  1. Unredacted copies of the attached 259 pages of documents.
  2. An explanation for why the USSS did not provide any communication records for the years of 2010, 2011, and 2013.

Please provide this information as soon as possible but no later than January 26, 2022. 

Sincerely,

 

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[1] See Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff. & Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, S. Comm. on Fin., to James M. Murray, Director, U.S. Secret Service, Oct. 20, 2020, https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2020-10-20%20CEG%20RHJ%20to%20Secret%20Service%20(Hunter%20Biden%20Travel%20Records%20Follow-Up)%20.pdf.

[2] Benjamin P. Kramer, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, to Charles E. Grassley, Ranking Member, S. Comm. on the Judiciary and Ron Johnson, Ranking Member, Perm. Subcomm. on Investigations, June 11, 2021.

[3] Email from Redacted, Vice President Detail, to Redacted, Rosemont Seneca Partners, May 23, 2014 at 5:40 PM [Id. at 84].

[4] Email from Redacted, Vice President Detail, to Redacted, Rosemont Seneca Partners, May 23, 2014 at 5:06 PM [Id. at 83].

[5] S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and Governmental Aff. & S. Comm. on Fin., Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concern at 33 (Sept. 2020), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC_Finance_Report_FINAL.pdf.

[6] Id. at 34.

[7] Id. at 32-33.