Hunter Biden claimed he didn’t ‘stand to gain anything’ in controversial Burisma role despite making millions

FIRST ON FOX: Hunter Biden previously claimed he didn’t ‘stand to gain anything’ from his role on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma despite it leading to him making millions of dollars.

He made the claim in a May 15, 2014 email recovered from his infamous abandoned laptop, which revealed he was considering writing an op-ed to push back on what he perceived were misleading reports about his then-new role on the Burisma board. However, emails from weeks earlier and the millions of dollars he would later make contradict his claim.

‘So you think it makes sense for me to write some sort of op/ed explaining my role as an independent director with no equity interest in the company. The objective would be to clarify that I don’t ‘work’ for Burisma and that I don’t stand to gain anything as I am not an equity shareholder in the company,’ Hunter wrote.

‘My decision to join the board was made in the context of lending support and ‘western’ corporate governance standards to a vital Ukrainian company and industry under siege from pro-Putin/ Russian forces,’ he added.

Despite Hunter’s claims, the wheels were already in motion for then-Vice President Biden’s son to make a lucrative salary from Burisma. One day before Hunter’s email, a top Burisma executive sent an email that said they planned on paying ‘monthly fees’ to the directors as previously discussed, referring to Hunter Biden and his now-former business partner Devon Archer, among a couple others. A follow-up email noted that the wires were ‘received’ for Hunter and Archer.

An email Biden sent a month earlier to Archer shows Hunter was actively strategizing how the pair could capitalize on their board memberships and expand their business. In one section, Hunter appears to be attempting to leverage his connections with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, in order to boost his potential pay, including saying that his contract with Burisma should include ‘a retainer in the range of 25k p/m [with] additional fees where appropriate for more in depth work to go to [law firm Boies, Schiller, Flexner] for our protection.’ Hunter’s pay per month ended up being more than double that proposed figure.

Another Hunter email exchange with Archer from May 2014 with the subject line ‘Notes from the 13 hr plane ride’ to China shows that Hunter expected to make millions in the Burisma role. After doing some deductions and talking about expenses the email says, ‘That would bring us to roughly 4.85M jointly from Burisma. If that actually happens we should consider two things: 1- making a 200-250K RSB investment into Counsyl and 2- I INVESTED $200K OF MY PA IN THIS ROUND. I WOULD DO MORE.’

Citing bank records, the House Oversight Committee investigating Biden’s foreign business dealings said Hunter and Archer reached a deal with the firm to be paid $1 million per year, which the committee said equated to approximately $83,333 per month. 

A couple of these payments rolled in mid-April 2014 and then more payments arrived on May 15, 2014, the same day Hunter said that he didn’t ‘stand to gain anything.’ Hunter and Archer each received a $83,333 payment to Rosemont Seneca Bohai and would continue to receive identical payments until late 2015 when Hunter’s payments were switched to his corporate account, Owasco P.C.

The committee reported that the two men received approximately $3.32 million in 2014 and 2015 alone, and $6.5 million total, according to FBI whistleblower testimony.

Other emails showed Biden thanking a top Burisma executive for birthday gifts he described as ‘far too extravagant’ less than two months before the top Ukraine prosecutor investigating the energy company was infamously fired.

‘V- Thanks so much,’ Hunter wrote in the email to Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to Burisma’s board, asking him to thank ‘Nikolay’ for the gifts, appearing to refer to Burisma’s founder and former president, Mykola Zlochevsky, who also went by ‘Nikolay.’

‘Let Nikolay know how much I appreciate his friendship and loyalty. I truly believe in what we are doing and I’m proud to say I am a part of this organization. And I am so glad you and I are on the same team,’ Hunter wrote.

The committee has also been investigating whether President Biden was involved in Hunter’s business dealings, something the latter denied Wednesday during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol ahead of what was supposed to be his appearing for a deposition as a result of a congressional subpoena.

‘My father was not financially involved in my business,’ Hunter said. ‘No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen.’

Hunter’s recent indictment last week in California, which includes 9 new tax-related charges, talks about how he ‘earned handsomely’ while serving on Burisma’s board and his involvement with CEFC China Energy Co Ltd, a Chinese energy conglomerate, but failed to pay over $1M in federal income taxes over the course of a ‘four-year scheme.’ 

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives of Hunter for comment.