Hunter Biden‘s imprisoned former associate Jason Galanis told Republican impeachment investigators that the ‘Biden lift’ was why he did business with the first son, claiming it helped close deals they believed would make them billions.
Galanis told investigators that former Hunter associate Devon Archer, who was also Galanis’ business partner, had encouraged him to bring Hunter into their deals, arguing Joe Biden‘s son could provide them with the ‘Biden lift.’
‘»Biden lift» that we talked about was access. Access meant to us at the time, being in the business of acquiring other businesses, to persuade third-parties to do business with us,’ Galanis explained in transcripts made public on Monday.
Biden impeachment investigators traveled to an Alabama prison to speak with Jason Galanis, who is currently serving a 14-year sentence for defrauding a Native American tribe
‘Foreign investors would have a view of political access to the most powerful, admired country in the world, leadership in the most powerful, admired country in the world,’ he went on.
Domestically, Galanis said the ‘Biden lift’ could help them in closing deals with businesses in sectors where Joe Biden had tight relations.
‘In a domestic context, it was, for example, things like the union pension funds. This particular circumstance was a business plan that included acquiring what ended up being two union pension fund managers, investment managers, and that was a different sort of influence. It was a stamp of credibility.’
Galanis and Archer were both convicted of fraud for convincing a Native American tribe to issue economic development bonds and then diverting the funds for personal use. Hunter Biden was never indicted in the scheme.
Galanis is a part of a notorious crime family in New York. His father, John Galanis, was a target of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani during his crime crackdown in the 1980s. At 76, the elder Galanis is also currently incarcerated for his involvement in his son’s scheme.
Galanis said having Hunter on their team ‘lent credibility’ with any prospective venture or partner because it ‘strongly demonstrated access to the halls of power.’
He said that often they would leverage Joe Biden’s contacts within an industry like unions.
‘Part of our business plan was to use the family’s contacts with the unions that historically had been developed through I guess political relationships by his father.’
The embattled businessman told investigators on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees he worked with Hunter Biden and Devon Archer on business deals in the insurance and finance industry from 2012 to 2015.
Galanis told investigators that ‘the entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe’
He testified the trio ‘owned and acquired with total audited assets of over $17 billion.’
Galanis said he gave Hunter and Devon Archer equity ownership of a new business venture, called Burnham Group, at no cost because of the ‘relationship capital’ they would bring to the company.
Earlier leaks of the testimony revealed Joe Biden had reportedly mulled joining the board of a Chinese-linked company after he left the vice presidency.
Hunter Biden served as the vice chairman of Burnham Group, ‘and brought strategic relationships to the venture, including from Kazakhstan, Russia and China.’
Galanis testified that, in 2014, he, Devon and Hunter agreed they should form a partnership with Harvest Fund Management, a $300 billion Chinese financial services company with close ties to the CCP.
Henry Zhao, the director of Harvest, was a contact of Hunter’s.
Zhao was interested in this partnership because of the game-changing value-add of the Biden family, including Joe Biden, who was to be a member of the Burnham-Harvest team post-vice presidency, providing political access in the United States and around the world,’ Galanis testified.
Galanis quoted a draft email written by Archer for Hunter that said: ‘Please also remind Henry [Zhao] of our conversation about a board seat for a certain relation of mine. Devon and I golfed with that relation earlier last week and we discussed this very idea again and as always he remains very very keen on the opportunity.’
That section was never included in an email Hunter sent.
Hunter Biden’s friend and business partner Devon Archer, far left, is seen playing golf in the Hamptons with Hunter (far right) and Joe (next to Hunter)
‘As Devon Archer is mentioned as a direct party to the conversation with the vice president on the golf course, it is clear from his email that Devon believed this was an accurate representation of that conversation,’ Galanis said in his opening statement.
‘I am certain that the phrase ‘a certain relation of mine’ refers to Vice President Biden, and Devon told me about this conversation on the golf course shortly after it happened,’ Galanis testified. ‘And it was one of many conversations that I understood the vice president had expressing his willingness to join Harvest board after his vice presidency.’
An infamous photo shows Joe Biden golfing with Hunter and Archer in August 2014, just before the email was allegedly written.
Galanis went on to testify that Zhao ‘regularly sought reassurance about what he termed the ‘intangible goods’ that Vice President Biden serving on the Harvest board would bring to the business plan.’
