Hunter Biden reportedly sought US government help for Ukrainian gas company Burisma

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden asked the U.S. ambassador to Italy for help regarding an energy project a Ukrainian gas company was pursuing while his father was vice president, according to The New York Times.

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, wrote a letter to the ambassador in 2016 seeking assistance for Burisma, which had been working on a geothermal project in Italy, the newspaper reported, citing newly released records and interviews.

At the time, Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma, which was having trouble getting regulatory approval for the project, a businessman involved in the project told the newspaper.

The revelation is likely to fuel Republican criticism of Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, which have been the center of GOP investigations into the president’s family. The report comes weeks before Hunter Biden is set to stand trial on federal charges alleging he failed to pay taxes on money he received from Burisma and other foreign businesses.

Prosecutors indicated last week in court papers they want to introduce evidence at trial about Hunter Biden’s other business dealings, including an arrangement with a Romanian businessman who was trying to “influence U.S. government policy” during Joe Biden’s term as vice president.

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