Rep. James Comer, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman, on Thursday demanded that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) release records from President Joe Biden's years as vice president from times that overlapped with the activities of his son Hunter's activities in Ukraine, particularly emails that were signed with the pseudonyms "Robert Peters," "Robin Ware," and "JRB Ware."
Comer, R-Ky., in a letter to NARA Archivist Colleen Shogan, also requested that all unredacted documents and communications in which Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin, or Devon Archer are copied; and for all drafts of a speech Biden delivered to the Ukrainian Rada, or parliament, in December 2015.
Comer wrote in the letter that Oversight is seeking unrestricted special access to emails to or from Joe Biden and Hunter Biden related to Burisma and Ukraine.
The records have been redacted for public release, the letter noted, including an email bearing the subject "Friday Schedule Card," which was withheld because it contains personal information.
"Attached to this email, and made available on the NARA website, is a document that indicates on 9:00 a.m. on May 27, 2016, Vice President Biden took a call with the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko," the letter states. "It is concerning to the Committee, however, that this document was sent to "Robert L. Peters" — a pseudonym the Committee has identified as then Vice-President Biden."
According to a Breitbart report, the Oversight Committee has already seen the document.
The committee is also questioning why only Hunter Biden was copied on the email to his father, according to the letter to NARA.
"To further our investigation, the Committee needs to review these documents in their original format," the letter continues while asking for unredacted versions by Aug. 31 for:
- Any document or communication in which a pseudonym for Vice President Joe Biden was included either as a sender, recipient, copied, or was included in the contents of the document or communication, including, but not limited to, Robert Peters, Robin Ware, and JRB Ware.
- Any document or communication in which Hunter Biden, Eric Schwerin, or Devon Archer were included either as a sender, recipient, copied, or was included in the contents of the document or communication.
- All drafts from Nov. 1, 2015, to Dec. 9, 2015, of then-Vice President Biden's speech delivered to the Ukrainian Rada on Dec. 9, 2015.
Comer noted that vice-presidential records are subject to the same provisions in the national archives as presidential records.
As vice president, Joe Biden was the designated foreign policy point person to Ukraine, noted Breitbart. In 2015, he threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine unless its then-president fired prosecutor Victor Shokin, who had the jurisdiction over an investigation into Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
The company had been paying Hunter Biden $83,000 a month to serve on its board, with Archer, his business associate, calling the arrangement a way for the company to access the vice president's "brand."
"The Committee's need for these Vice-Presidential records is specific and well-documented," the letter states. "The Committee seeks to craft legislative solutions aimed at deficiencies it has identified in the current legal framework regarding ethics laws and disclosure of financial interests related to the immediate family members of vice presidents and presidents — deficiencies that may place American national security and interests at risk."
Meanwhile, Joe Biden allegedly used private email addresses and pseudonyms including the names "Robin Ware, Robert L. Peters, and JRB Ware" in his government correspondence as vice president, and his son's laptop shows many government emails were forwarded to him, The Daily Mail reported two years ago.
In 2016, for at least four weeks, a staffer in the then-vice president's office would send Biden's daily schedule to a private email address, Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov, and copy his son to the email.
One of the scheduling emails mentioned Biden's preparations for his interview with Poroshenko, The Daily Mail noted at the time.
Meanwhile, Comer said in his press release that the president has stated there was "an absolute wall' between his family's foreign business schemes and his duties as Vice President, but evidence reveals that access was wide open for his family's influence peddling."
"We already have evidence of then-Vice President Biden speaking, dining, and having coffee with his son's foreign business associates," Comer added. "We also know that Hunter Biden and his associates were informed of then-Vice President Biden's official government duties in countries where they had a financial interest. The National Archives must provide these unredacted records to further our investigation into the Biden family's corruption."