Originally published August 29, 2023 6:53 am PDT
The Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative legal nonprofit, has initiated legal action against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), urging the release of around 5,400 emails reportedly linked to pseudonym accounts used by President Joe Biden during his tenure as vice president.
These pseudonyms are believed to be “Robin Ware,” “Robert L. Peters,” and “JRB Ware.”
According to reports from the foundation, it is believed that President Biden, before ascending to his presidential role, used these pseudonym email accounts to share governmental data and discuss official matters with his son, Hunter Biden, and other parties.
The lawsuit references letters from Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), as well as another from Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the head of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, according to The New York Post.
These letters identify the pseudonym accounts and suggest they were used by Biden during his vice presidential tenure for some communications.
Earlier in the month, Rep. Comer had requested NARA grant him comprehensive access to the non-redacted email correspondences involving President Biden during his vice-presidential term and his son, along with associated business partners.
Commenting on the issue, Comer stated, “We already have evidence of then-Vice President Biden speaking, dining, and having coffee with his son’s foreign business associates.”
Further emphasizing the necessity of the email release, he added, “We also know that Hunter Biden and his associates were informed of then-Vice President Biden’s official government duties in countries where they had a financial interest. The National Archives must provide these unredacted records to further our investigation into the Biden family’s corruption.”
The Southeastern Legal Foundation first filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in 2021 for these emails.
However, NARA responded by pointing out that the records would only be public from Jan 20, 2022, due to them not taking possession of the vice president’s records until Jan 20, 2017.
Following a renewal of the FOIA request in 2022, NARA indicated they had identified approximately 5,138 email messages, 25 electronic files, and 200 pages that would need processing for the request.
Yet, as per NARA regulations, they must consult representatives of the former and incumbent President and Vice President before any release of such records, potentially delaying the release by at least 60 days.
However, the legal foundation claims that over 430 days since their initial FOIA request in June 2022, not a single email has been provided. As a result, they felt compelled to pursue legal action.
“More than 430 days have passed since Defendant acknowledged receipt of the FOIA request on June 22, 2022. Defendant has failed to meet the statutory requirement to make the records promptly available,” mentioned in the lawsuit.
“Accordingly, SLF files this lawsuit to compel Defendant to comply with FOIA.”
On the matter, Kimberly Hermann, Southeastern Legal Foundation’s general counsel, commented, “All too often, public officials abuse their power by using it for their personal or political benefit. When they do, many seek to hide it. The only way to preserve governmental integrity is for NARA to release Biden’s nearly 5,400 emails to SLF and thus the public. The American public deserves to know what is in them.”
President Biden, in past remarks, has repeatedly stated that he never engaged in business discussions with his son, Hunter, who was involved in several overseas business transactions between 2009 and 2017, a period during which his father served as vice president.
Some of these transactions involved Chinese and Ukrainian parties, as evidenced by court records.
