An American legal organization has submitted an official request for public records concerning the unsuccessful Louisiana natural gas deal involving members of President Joe Biden’s family and Chinese business figures. The House Republican investigation into alleged influence-peddling by the Biden family uncovered evidence of the problematic proposed deal, which focused on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in Louisiana. The America First Legal group filed a public records request with Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards’ office, seeking all communications related to the proposed deal involving Biden family members and their associates.
The request follows allegations that Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, intervened with the governor’s office to facilitate the deal. Documents from a federal investigation, including a memo from an interview with James Biden, were recently publicized by the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee, shedding light on the failed 2017 proposed deal known as Monkey Island.
“James B recalled talking with appropriate people in the governor’s office regarding the permits and recalled that it was supposed to be on a fast track,” the memo stated.
The memo also conveyed the president’s brother’s recall that despite “months and months of negotiations regarding Monkey Island,” the deal ultimately collapsed when the Chinese associates withdrew without providing an explanation. The timing coincided with legal issues faced by CEFC and its leadership in China. In response to the released memo and concerns raised about the Monkey Island LNG port deal involving the Biden family and Chinese associates with ties to the Chinese government and military, America First Legal submitted a records request letter to the office of Louisiana Governor Edwards.
Referencing the House GOP investigations, the letter stated, “The evidence shows that, even after Joe Biden left the White House in 2017, members of the Biden family contacted individuals in the Louisiana Governor’s Office in furtherance of the Monkey Island LNG deal on behalf of Chinese nationals backed by the Chinese Communist Party.”
The letter provided information about the creation of Hudson West III and other shell companies, along with key financial transactions involving the Biden family and their Chinese associates. It also touched upon the limited information available about the Monkey Island LNG deal.
“While the Monkey Island LNG deal ultimately fell through, the evidence shows that members of the Biden family communicated with your office on behalf of foreign business interests, even after Joe Biden left the White House in 2017,” the letter said.
“Accordingly, disclosure about the Biden family, their associates, and their Chinese business partners’ contacts with your office is needed to inform the public about this most pressing issue.”
Therefore, America First Legal has requested from the governor’s office all records of communications to or from the governor’s office and President Biden (including known aliases), Hunter Biden, James Biden, their American and Chinese associates, the various shell companies involved in the deal, and specific relevant keywords spanning from August 2017 to March 2018.
In a press release announcing the records request filed with the Louisiana governor’s office, Gene Hamilton, the Vice President and General Counsel of America First Legal, issued a statement explaining the purpose of the organization’s demands.
“America First Legal’s hard-hitting oversight work has revealed extensive evidence of the Biden Family’s influence peddling and activities in support of their personal enrichment, even when it involved work on behalf of entities closely aligned with the Chinese Communist Party,” Hamilton said.
“We will continue to expose the publicly available evidence and present it to the American people to ensure accountability.”
