Daniel Slim/Getty Images
The New York Times has sued the State Department in order to obtain emails related to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
According to Politico which first reported the news of the filing, the lawsuit seeks to “obtain emails from Romanian embassy officials sent between 2015 and 2019 mentioning a number of international business people, including the president’s son and his former business associate T[ony] B[obulinski], who briefly became a political celebrity at the end of the 2020 election because of his Biden connections.”
Additionally, according to Politico, “the FOIA requests also seek information on former New York City Mayor R[udy] G[iuliani], who was dispatched by D[onald] T[rump] to find dirt on Hunter Biden’s business relationships in Ukraine. In its filing in federal court in Manhattan, the Times accuses the department of dragging its feet on fulfilling multiple FOIA requests sent last year, beginning in June.”
The State Department told Politico that the FOIA requests would be fulfilled approximately by April 15, 2023, according to the outlet.
According to Politico:
One of the Times’ goals in the suit appears to be finding out whether embassy officials did any favors on behalf of private businesses (including, presumably, that of the president’s son) that would raise questions about possible conflicts of interest and corruption.
Specifically, the request seeks records about “(1) the possible improper use of federal government resources to assist and advance private business interests with connections to United States government officials and (2) the possible evasion of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by those private business interests, and (3) the non-enforcement of FARA by the federal government in relation to those private business interests.”
Hunter Biden’s business dealings, such as with Ukraine and China, was a subject of contention during the 2020 election, though it was mostly covered by right-wing media outlets as mainstream media outlets were criticized for ignoring, dismissing or suppressing the controversies. His artwork has become a source of controversy during the Biden administration as critics say that the auctions of it could lead to buying influence and access to the administration.
“As a routine part of their reporting, New York Times journalists regularly seek potentially newsworthy information from a variety of sources, including from the U.S. government through FOIA requests,” a New York Times spokesperson told Politico. “We’re hopeful the government will promptly release any relevant documents, and as always we are prepared to pursue our request through a lawsuit if necessary. Just as we do on any line of reporting, we will assess the newsworthiness of the material once we receive it.”
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
