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An ethics watchdog group is calling for the federal government to expand its probe into Hunter Biden to include the University of Pennsylvania’s Biden Center.
The National Legal and Policy Center states that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss should investigate the University of Pennsylvania’s Biden Center and the Truman National Security Project to determine if they engaged in political activities on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Burisma and Chinese interests, which would violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
At least $22 million in anonymous donations from China were given to the University of Pennsylvania, according to the watchdog group, which it believes “may have been earmarked to promote Chinese interests,” and would have required registration as a foreign agent.
The watchdog group alleged that donations from China ramped up after the Penn Biden Center opened in Feb. 2018, including a single anonymous donation of $14.8 million.
University of Pennsylvania (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The high-priced donations from China continued, with the university receiving over $27 million in donations in 2018 and over $26 million in 2019. Almost $16 million of that money from 2018 was given anonymously, and $6 million in 2019 was also anonymous.
A complaint filed with the Department of Justice in 2020 by the watchdog states that at the fourth annual 2020 Penn China Research Symposium, opening remarks were made by Ambassador Huang Ping, Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York.
The watchdog says in the complaint that the Department of Justice should investigate these donations.
“In short, the Department of Justice’s FARA Unit should investigate Penn and the Penn Biden Center to determine whether there have been any explicit or implicit conditions attached to the $67 million in donations and contracts from China, or a general understanding, to either forego criticism of China and its policies or to espouse certain views of that country,” the complaint states.
The federal probe into Hunter Biden has intensified in recent weeks as prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware are seeking grand jury testimony about his foreign income, which includes the Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma Holdings Ltd.
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Joe Biden’s brother-in-law, Jack Owens, emailed Hunter in 2014 to help him obtain a Chinese business license. (Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images)
Major media outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times have authenticated the trough of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which were first reported by the New York Post.
In late March, Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., released a receipt claiming to show that CEFC, a state-controlled Chinese energy company, paid $100,000 to Wells Fargo Clearing Services, with “further credit” going to Owasco, which is Hunter Biden’s firm.
“CEFC operated under the guise of a private company but was for all intents and purposes an arm of the Chinese government,” Grassley said. “Hunter Biden and James Biden served as the perfect vehicle by which the communist Chinese government could gain inroads here in the United States through CEFC and its affiliates.”
The watchdog is also calling for an investigation into the Truman National Security Project, where Hunter Biden was a board member until 2019.
“Hunter Biden did not act alone in a crack-induced fog. He was part of a network of individuals and institutions that received millions from foreign interests,” said NLPC Chairman Peter Flaherty.
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The Washington Post confirmed the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. (Randy Holmes via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania told Fox News Digital that the Penn Biden Center has never solicited or received any gifts from China.
“The Penn Biden Center has never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity. In fact, the University has never solicited any gifts for the Center. Since its inception in 2017 there have been three unsolicited gifts (from two donors) which combined total $1,100. Both donors are Americans. One hundred percent of the budget for the Penn Biden Center comes from University funds,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Truman National Security Project gave Fox News the following statement:
“Truman is proud of its work, and the ethical standards that we uphold,” the spokesperson said.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report