A former aide for President Joe Biden who was recommended by Hunter Biden is among the employees who handled classified documents stored at Joe Biden’s Washington, D.C., think tank, according to the House Oversight Committee.
Kathy Chung, a Department of Defense (DOD) staffer and former assistant to then-Vice President Biden, handled classified documents at the Penn Biden Center at the direction of former White House counsel Dana Remus, the Oversight Committee said in an Oct. 11 letter to current White House counsel Edward Siskel.
READ THE LETTER:
“The Committee seeks information to understand why President Biden used significant federal resources, including five White House employees and a Department of Defense employee, to access and secure what were purportedly personal items of President Biden at Penn Biden Center,” the letter reads.
Chung handled classified documents in June 2022 after Remus instructed her in May to pack up the documents from the Penn Biden Center. Remus used Chung’s personal email to tell her to retrieve President Biden’s documents and materials, according to the House Oversight Committee.
“Notably, Ms. Remus first contacted Kathy Chung regarding the materials at Penn Biden Center on the exact same day the Department of Justice subpoenaed former President Trump for classified documents,” the letter reads.
“At that time, Ms. Chung worked for the Department of Defense—not the White House—and Ms. Remus contacted her on a personal phone number and private email address, thus evading potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosures. Ms. Remus and Ms. Chung then coordinated with Penn Biden Center employees to access President Biden’s personal items,” the letter adds.
Hunter Biden recommended Chung to be his father’s executive assistant when the job opened up in spring 2012, and Chung later received a call from Joe Biden offering her the position, according to emails from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop archive. Fox News and the New York Post first reported the emails.
Chung and Hunter Biden communicated in May about her working for his father, and he appeared to recommend Chung to be then-VP Biden’s executive assistant.
“Thanks for calling and thinking of me. After the initial shock of taking in what you said…how could I pass up an opportunity to work for the Vice President,” Chung said May 14, 2012, Hunter Biden’s laptop archive shows.
“Michele is the primary gatekeeper for the VP. She’s pretty much involved in everything that goes on outside of policy. In many ways I think she is last word on most everything that involves his time. She’s also the conduit everyone goes through to get to him. She also handles all personal stuff,” Hunter Biden replied.
“Call if/ when you want me to tell Dad you are interested and I’m sure Michele would also want to talk to you at some point. I don’t know who else they were considering but I thought you would be great,” he added.
Hunter Biden promised Chung he would speak to his father and arranged a time for Chung to speak with Joe Biden, the emails show.
“I just met with your Dad again and he officially offered me the job. It’s pretty exciting. Met with Michele, Kellen, Franny, and even saw Bill Daley who was there to have lunch with your father,” Chung emailed Hunter Biden on June 13, 2012.
“I told your father what an honor it was to be working for him, giving my mother infinite bragging rights. Well, your father picked up the phone and called my mother. Suffice to say that you and your father have lifetime supply of my mothers homemade kimchi. She makes the best kimchi in northern va. I cannot thank you enough for thinking about me and walking me thru this. What an incredible opportunity! Thanks, Hunter!!”
Chung began emailing Hunter Biden with her vice presidential email the next month and the pair appeared to stay in touch through the rest of Biden’s vice presidency. Hunter Biden offered her a job with his investment firm, Rosemont Seneca, but Chung appeared to continue working for Joe Biden after his vice presidency concluded.
“I’m there, Hunt!! I would like a nice office with a water view. And a small area to have a smoke. I’m going to talk to your Dad about possibly other things I can do with him and stay on with him. Put in a good word for me,” Chung said in a February 2017 email.
She later asked Hunter Biden to lunch during a conversation about Joe Biden potentially helping his friend’s son with college admissions, emails show.
“Hi, Hunt. How are you? Don’t you miss me? Come by and you can take me to a very expensive lunch!!!” Chung said.
Chung testified before the Oversight Committee in May and said she did not know the boxes at the Penn Biden Center contained classified documents. She also said Hunter Biden did not have access to classified documents at the White House or Penn Biden Center, according to an excerpt of her testimony leaked by Oversight Committee Democrats.
Annie Tomasini, a senior advisor to Joe Biden who is also close to Hunter Biden, was the first White House employee to handle classified documents, according to Fox News.
Tomasini regularly visited Joe Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, residence and frequently communicated with Hunter Biden while his father was vice president, Fox News reported based on a tell-all book and emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop archive.
BREAKING: House Oversight Committee is investigating Joe Biden’s retention of classified documents to determine whether he kept sensitive information related to the countries involved with the Biden family’s foreign business enterprise @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/68N9grdDCu
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) October 16, 2023
Special counsel Robert Hur is investigating whether Joe Biden mishandled classified documents stored at his Delaware residence and the Penn Biden Center. Hur interviewed President Biden on Oct. 8 and 9 as part of the ongoing investigation.
“The voluntary interview was conducted at the White House over two days, Sunday and Monday, and concluded Monday,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams said. The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
The Oversight Committee wrote a letter to Hur on Monday demanding answers on whether any of the classified documents were related to countries linked to Hunter Biden’s lucrative foreign business dealings.
The Biden family and its associates made more than $24 million from individuals and entities based in Ukraine, Russia, China, Romania and Kazakhstan, according to a House memo circulated ahead of the first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden. The Oversight Committee subpoenaed bank records from Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden, following the first impeachment inquiry hearing.
“President Biden’s timeline was incomplete and misleading. It omitted months of communications, planning, and coordinating among multiple White House officials, Ms. [Kathy] Chung, Penn Biden Center employees, and President Biden’s personal attorneys to retrieve the boxes containing classified materials,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer said in a press release.
“The Committee believes the White House can provide important insight regarding the discrepancies between the official accounts released by the White House and President Biden’s attorney, and the explanations we have received through multiple transcribed interviews regarding the classified documents.”
The DOD did not respond to the Caller’s request for comment.