Uranium One is back in the news and it could spell trouble for former Vice President Biden.
Sen. Grassley announced Thursday he was launching an investigation into the sale of “a sensitive U.S. technology company to the Chinese government and an investment firm run by the sons of Joe Biden and John Kerry,” reports Fox News. The sale of which was approved by the Obama administration.
More from Fox News:
Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine have already become a liability for the elder Biden’s frontrunning presidential campaign, and the new investigation could lead to further allegations of corruption. Joe Biden has bragged about pressuring Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in 2016, and critics said the then-vice president wanted to head off the prosecutor’s probe into a company that employed Hunter Biden as a board member.
Grassley, writing to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, noted that Rosemont Seneca Partners, which was established by Kerry stepson Christopher Heinz and Hunter Biden, among others, joined with the government-run Bank of China to create Bohai Harvest RST (BHR) in 2013. The fund openly advertised its “unique Sino-US shareholding structure,” as well as its lucrative “global resources and network.”In 2015, BHR and the state-owned military contractor Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) jointly purchased Henniges, a U.S.-based automotive company that creates “dual-use” technologies with both military and civilian applications. including anti-vibration technology. AVIC purchased 51 percent of Henniges, while BHR took 49 percent.The Obama administration’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), by law, had to approve the sale because of its national security implications. The CFIUS is an interagency body consisting of, among other agencies, the Energy Department, Defense Department, Treasury Department, and State Department — which John Kerry led from 2013 to 2017….Grassley continued: “The direct involvement of Mr. Hunter Biden and Mr. Heinz in the acquisition of Henniges by the Chinese government creates a potential conflict of interest. Both are directly related to high-ranking Obama administration officials. The Department of State, then under Mr. Kerry’s leadership, is also a CFIUS member and played a direct role in the decision to approve the Henniges transaction.””The appearance of potential conflicts in this case is particularly troubling given Mr. Biden’s and Mr. Heinz’s history of investing in and collaborating with Chinese companies, including at least one posing significant national security concerns,” Grassley added. “As with the Uranium One transaction, there is cause for concern that potential conflicts of interest could have influenced CFIUS approval of the Henniges transaction.”
Grassley has been on the Uranium One case for years, and “separately sought documents that allegedly show that federal officials failed to investigate possible criminal activity related to Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation and Rosatom, the Russian nuclear company whose subsidiary purchased the Canadian mining company Uranium One in 2013.”
Late last year, Grassley wanted information “obtained from a raid on the home of a former FBI contractor who provided watchdog documents related to former Secretary of State and the sale of Canadian mining company Uranium One to a Russian firm,” reported Forbes.
Biden remains the frontrunner in the crowded Democrat presidential primary.
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