A summary of the messages was released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee as part of an IRS whistleblower’s redacted testimony (pdf) before the committee.

In his Aug. 3, 2017, exchange with CEFC China Energy executive Gongwen “Kevin” Dong, Hunter Biden took an exasperated tone, evidently dissatisfied with Dong’s haggling over compensation.

“Very simple,” he wrote. “10 M per annum budget to use to further the interest of the JV [joint venture]. This move to 5M is completely new to me and is not acceptable obviously.”

The venture the two were discussing was likely SinoHawk LLC, a U.S. company incorporated by Ye Jianming, Hunter Biden, James Biden, and Biden associates Tony Bobulinski, James Gilliar, and Rob Walker.

Hunter Biden went on to outline how expenses would be determined by his firm, Owasco P.C., in consultation with Hudson West III, a company he co-founded with Ye, founder of CEFC and chairman of its subsidiary, the China Energy Fund Committee.

“If the Chairman doesn’t value this relationship is being worth at least 5M, then I’m just baffled,” he said, requesting that they put the matter of compensation “to bed tonight” and move forward.

“I am tired of this, Kevin,” he added. “I can make $5M salary at any law firm in America. If you think this is about money, it’s not. The Biden’s [sic] are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership. Please let’s not quibble over peanuts.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Hunter Biden’s attorney.

BIDEN FAMILY COVER-UP

In a WhatsApp exchange dated 8/3/2017, Hunter Biden tells CEFC associate Gongwen Dong, aka Kevin:

"The Biden's are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this [partnership]."

CEFC is a CCP-linked Chinese Energy Company. pic.twitter.com/ZzRvpMeuNn

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) June 27, 2023

SinoHawk Holdings

Formed through a web of corporate entities, SinoHawk was half-owned by Hudson West IV, a limited liability corporation controlled by Ye, and half-owned by Hunter Biden and his partners through Oneida Holdings LLC.

According to October 2017 texts Hunter Biden sent to his then-partner Bobulinski, he enjoyed a cozy relationship with Ye.

“I’ve been talking to the Chairman on a regular basis,” he said. “I was his first guest in his new apartment/ he cooked me lunch himself and we ate in the kitchen together.”

Biden added that Ye had hired him as his attorney in the United States and that he was helping the chairman with “a number of personal issues,” including staff visas and “more sensitive things.”

Bobulinski, the CEO of SinoHawk, had spent months trying to find out why Ye hadn’t wired the promised $10 million in funding to the company’s account. He asked Biden in the exchange if he had addressed the matter with Ye.

Biden, referencing various “deals” Bobulinski was supposedly working on, said he had not discussed those with Ye. He added that he’d assumed Bobulinski “lost interest as we haven’t spoken for so long.”

Bobulinski, unhappy with that response, said: “I lost interest? Really? They were supposed to fund $10 MM USD into Sinohawk accounts. U know that, so not much for games!”

Missing Funds Located

In 2020, a Republican-led Senate probe of Hunter Biden’s business dealings found that he’d conducted business with multiple Chinese nationals linked to the Chinese Communist government and the People’s Liberation Army, including Ye and Dong.

According to the Senate report (pdf), just days after Biden’s WhatsApp exchange with Dong, Hudson West III received a wire of $5 million from CEFC Infrastructure Investment.

“Starting on Aug. 8, the same day the $5 million was received, and continuing through Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent frequent payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm,” the report notes. “These payments, which were described as consulting fees, reached $4,790,375.25 in just over a year.”

In September 2017, Biden and Dong applied for a credit line. The credit cards linked to the accounts would later be used by Biden, his uncle James Biden, and James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, to purchase $100,000 in luxury items, including airline tickets and Apple products.

Years later, when Bobulinski learned of the payments, he lashed out at James Biden via text.

“Hope you and family are well, safe and healthy. You can imagine my shock when reading the report yesterday put out by the Senate committee. The fact that you and HB were lying to Rob, James and I while accepting $5 MM from Cefc is infuriating,” Bobulinski wrote, using Hunter Biden’s initials.

“And so disappointing based on the years of work that James, Rob and team invested to get things done.”

Bobulinski has since become a key witness in investigations surrounding the Biden family’s business dealings.

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses for failing to pay his taxes.

He was also charged with a felony firearms offense for unlawful possession of a firearm as an illicit drug user, but he will enter a pretrial diversion program in an attempt to avoid conviction on that charge.

The plea deal will likely result in no prison time.

Ivan Pentchoukov and Seamus Bruner contributed to this report.

Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

In a March 31 statement provided to The Epoch Times, CDC spokesperson Belsie Gonzalez advised that the illnesses occurred on March 6, when seven members of a 15-person team of CDC and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) staff reported symptoms such as sore throat, headache, coughing, and nausea.

Their symptoms, Gonzalez noted, were consistent with those reported by some East Palestine residents and first responders, whom the team was surveying to assess the potential health effects of their exposure to the chemicals released by the Feb. 3 derailment.

Sore Throats, Headaches, Nausea

“Following protocol, team members reported the symptoms to federal safety officers,” she said.

“Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects.”

Gonzalez added that the survey collection process, which started mid-February, will end on March 31.

“Once completed, CDC/ATSDR staff will analyze the data and provide it to state health officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania,” she said. “FEMA and EPA teams remain on the ground to support response efforts.”

News of the government employees’ illnesses followed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) filing of a lawsuit on March 31 against Norfolk Southern, seeking to hold the railroad company accountable for “unlawfully polluting the nation’s waterways” through the toxic derailment.

“When a Norfolk Southern train derailed last month in East Palestine, Ohio, it released toxins into the air, soil, and water, endangering the health and safety of people in surrounding communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

‘Pursuing Justice’

“With this complaint, the Justice Department and the EPA are acting to pursue justice for the residents of East Palestine and ensure that Norfolk Southern carries the financial burden for the harm it has caused and continues to inflict on the community.”

In the complaint, the DOJ noted that the chemicals involved in the spill—which included the highly toxic and flammable gas of vinyl chloride, among others—had previously been linked to adverse health effects.

“Exposure to these hazardous materials at sufficiently high levels has been associated variously with an increased risk of cancer; risks to fetal development; damage to organs like the liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin; and other health conditions,” the filing states.

In the short term, East Palestine residents have reported a range of concerning symptoms in the wake of the derailment, nausea, headaches, rashes, burning sensations, and difficulty breathing.

In a class action lawsuit East Palestine residents filed last month against Norfolk Southern, one resident reported experiencing a “sudden and unprecedented bout of dizziness” the day after the derailment, as well as “intense” coughing fits, shortness of breath, and sharp pain in his head.

And despite state and federal officials’ assurances that the air and water in the area are safe, many remain doubtful and uncertain as to what long-term health effects they might experience.

The DOJ’s lawsuit, filed at the request of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, asks the court to find Norfolk Southern liable for the government’s response costs and require the company to “take appropriate actions to remedy, mitigate, and offset the harm to public health and the environment.”

“From the very beginning, I pledged to the people of East Palestine that EPA would hold Norfolk Southern fully accountable for jeopardizing the community’s health and safety,” Regan said.

“No community should have to go through what East Palestine residents have faced.

“With today’s action, we are once more delivering on our commitment to ensure Norfolk Southern cleans up the mess it made and pays for the damage they have inflicted as we work to ensure this community can feel safe at home again.”

Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

The “bold initiative,” according to Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, would crack down on illegal immigration in the Sunshine State by addressing the issue on multiple fronts, including employment, health care, voting, human smuggling, and out-of-state IDs.

“I believe that this is going to be the largest, most comprehensive, landmark, state-led, anti-illegal immigration bill ever passed in the United States,” the Republican lawmaker told Fox News in an interview published on March 5.

“I believe it should be the blueprint for other states to pass so we can all push back as states on the federal government, the Biden administration, Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas, and their open border policies,” said Ingoglia, who is sponsoring the legislation.

Under the new law, employers would be required to verify their employees’ citizenship status, and violations of that requirement would trigger new penalties. Penalties also would be increased for human smuggling, and confirmation of U.S. citizenship and Florida residency would be required for voter registration.

Additionally, any driver’s licenses or state IDs issued in states where illegal immigrants can legally obtain them would be nullified.

“We will not recognize a driver’s license from any state that issues them to illegal immigrants,” Ingoglia said. “Law enforcement will then be told to proceed as if they had no license whatsoever.”

At present, 18 states, plus Washington, allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

In California, illegal immigrants have had that capability since 2013, but in September 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill allowing all noncitizens to obtain state identification cards, regardless of their ability to drive or provide proof that their presence in the United States is authorized.

The law also eliminates the previous requirement that those “restricted” IDs be marked with a recognizable feature to set them apart.

While Florida doesn’t currently allow the issuance of state IDs or driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, Ingoglia noted that some city and county governments have been able to circumvent the law by paying third-party organizations to issue community identification cards, which illegal immigrants then use to obtain government services.

“It’s stuff like this, plus more, that the state of Florida is looking at doing to really force the federal government to finally fix this problem, which has been festering for about 50 years.”

Another measure in DeSantis’s proposal would require hospitals that receive state Medicaid funds to ask patients upon intake whether they are in the country legally and submit quarterly reports to the state on the number of illegal immigrants who passed through emergency rooms and the costs of their care.

In proposing the bill on Feb. 23, DeSantis said: “Florida is a law and order state, and we won’t turn a blind eye to the dangers of Biden’s border crisis. We will continue to take steps to protect Floridians from reckless federal open border policies.”

Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, the billionaire discussed those views, lamenting the current state of the U.S. economy and sharing his concerns for the future.

“I’m worried about capitalism,” Marcus told the Financial Times. “Capitalism is the basis of Home Depot, [and] millions of people have earned this success and had success. I’m talking manufacturers, vendors, and distributors, and people that work for us [who have been] able to enrich themselves by the journey of Home Depot. That’s the success. That’s why capitalism works.”

Marcus founded Home Depot alongside co-founder Arthur Blank in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1979 after the pair were unexpectedly fired from another home improvement chain. Since then, the store has expanded to more than 2,300 locations across North America.

In Marcus’ view, however, the company could not have achieved the same level of success if launched in today’s market.

“We would end up with 15, 16 stores,” he said. “I don’t know that we could go further.”

That change, along with a general lack of work ethic among the younger generation, can be attributed to the rise of socialism, according to the retailer.

“[N]obody works,” he said. “Nobody gives a damn. ‘Just give it to me. Send me money. I don’t want to work—I’m too lazy, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid.’”

It’s A Woke World

Marcus further lamented an increasing lack of respect for the First Amendment, noting: “We used to have free speech here. We don’t have it. The woke people have taken over the world.”

The nonagenarian also acknowledged that, given his age, he is less susceptible to cancelation attempts, though that hasn’t stopped certain groups from trying.

In both 2016 and 2019, Marcus’ political support for former President Donald Trump angered some shoppers to the extent that they threatened to boycott Home Depot stores.

In 2019, while noting that he did not agree “with every move” Trump makes, Marcus told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he intended to donate to Trump’s reelection campaign because the then-president had “produced more than anybody else.”

Marcus also praised Trump for his “businessman’s common sense approach to most things,” holding that the United States was better off under the 45^th president than it had been under the previous administration.

But while Home Depot sought to distance itself from its retired co-founder’s comments, Trump jumped to Marcus’ defense, urging his supporters to do the same.

“A truly great, patriotic & charitable man, Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot who, at the age of 90, is coming under attack by the Radical Left Democrats with one of their often used weapons,” Trump noted on Twitter in July 2019. “They don’t want people to shop at those GREAT stores because he contributed … to your favorite President, me!”

“Fight for Bernie Marcus and Home Depot!” Trump added.

Ultimately, those boycotts appear to have been unsuccessful, given that the company has an estimated annual revenue of $150 billion.

Republican Support

Marcus has been outspoken in his conservatism for years, attributing his views to a love of the United States and the freedoms Americans enjoy.

“I think there are two big reasons why this country is so great,” Marcus said in another 2019 interview. “The first is our Constitution, which guarantees a freedom of speech and expression. The second is our free market system.”

“The free market system has been the biggest creator of wealth and prosperity the world has ever known, lifting billions of people out of poverty and far more superior than any government program could ever be,” Marcus added. “The free market is the tool that allows many to reach out and grab hold of the American dream.”

Given his love of capitalism, the entrepreneur’s past support for Republican political campaigns—including the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain—should not come as a surprise.

And Trump is not the only Republican candidate to have recently earned Marcus’ support. As a Florida resident, the entrepreneur has also donated to the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I give money to [Trump and DeSantis] because I hope they’re going to do the right thing,” Marcus told The Financial Times.

While adding that he thought Trump’s policies as president were “spot on,” Marcus demurred on which Republican he would like to see replace Joe Biden in the oval office.

“It’s going to be very interesting in ‘24 because I think that DeSantis will challenge him [Trump],” he said. “And may the better man win.”

Article cross-posted from The Epoch Times.