From the Biden family corruption file, this one may hit a little close to home for many Americans struggling at the gas pump.
It was recently revealed that as the Biden administration released millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease gas prices over the last few months, much of that oil is flowing to international markets overseas.
As a result of being dropped on the global energy market, America’s emergency oil stock is being bought up by a variety of countries, including at least one state-owned Chinese energy company, a troubling development in itself.
The fact that China has the opportunity to help deplete the emergency reserve of oil set aside by the federal government for wartime or times of international unrest is almost a very convenient and easy way to put the United States in a weaker position globally. For some reason, the Biden administration is doing it voluntarily.
Now comes news that Sinopec, a Chinese energy firm with which the President’s son Hunter has a financial interest, is buying U.S. oil on the international market from the strategic reserve. The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Biden’s Energy Department in April announced the sale of 950,000 Strategic Petroleum Reserve barrels to Unipec, the trading arm of the China Petrochemical Corporation. That company, which is commonly known as Sinopec, is wholly owned by the Chinese government. The Biden administration claimed the move would “address the pain Americans are feeling at the pump” and “help lower energy costs.” More than five million barrels of oil released from the U.S. emergency reserves, however, were sent overseas last month, according to a Wednesday Reuters report. At least one shipment of American crude went to China, the report said.
Sinopec, a state-owned Chinese energy company, has ties to the Biden family and Hunter Biden specifically, as the Free Beacon notes:
Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is tied to Sinopec. In 2015, a private equity firm he cofounded bought a $1.7 billion stake in Sinopec Marketing. Sinopec went on to enter negotiations to purchase Gazprom in March, one month after the Biden administration sanctioned the Russian gas giant.
The White House was asked about Hunter Biden’s Chinese investments and financial ties in 2021 and it was revealed at that time that the Biden family was still invested in Sinopec.
At a press conference in September of 2021, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Hunter Biden still had an ownership stake in Sinopec but pledged the investment was “winding down”:
Hunter Biden still appears to hold an ownership stake in a Chinese government-linked firm that has invested in companies sanctioned by the United States despite repeated pledges from President Joe Biden that his family would not have any foreign business ties and claims from White House press secretary Jen Psaki that Biden’s son was ending his investment.
As far as the public knows, the Biden family is still directly involved in oil being shipped from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and bought up by a Chinese-owned energy company of which Hunter Biden is part owner.
It’s easy to play the “can you imagine” game but can you imagine if Donald Trump Jr., for example, partly owned a foreign company profiting from oil sold on the global market while Americans choked down $5 gas domestically?
According to reports, the Biden administration has not complied with requests to explain the improper use the America’s emergency oil reserve:
Meanwhile, Biden’s Energy Department has refused compliance with requests under the Freedom of Information Act probing the administration’s improper use of the nation’s strategic oil reserves maintained for emergencies. Last week, the Functional Government Initiative, a nonprofit government watchdog, filed a lawsuit to compel records concerning administration officials’ decision to tap the oil reserves in the absence of a sudden disruption in supply such as a hurricane or cyberattack.
As for promises of driving down the cost of gasoline domestically, it seems that lowered demand due to a change in driving habits has had more effect than unloading America’s emergency oil reserves to the highest foreign bidder.
Once again, the Biden administration is entangled in potential corruption ties to Hunter Biden’s sordid international business affairs despite pledges from Joe Biden that no member of his family would hold any interests in foreign governments or companies during his presidency.
