The State Department released a letter written last week by Hunter Biden while his father was vice president.
In a letter to the Italian ambassador on Brissmalette Head, unpublished in June 2016, Biden requested “support and guidance” when arranging meetings with Italian officials to resolve regulatory hurdles to geothermal energy projects he was pursuing in the Tuscan region.
In a response released by the State Department last week, Ambassador John R. Phillips indicated he had dispatched Commerce officials to support his request.
The letter shed more light on an episode previously revealed by the New York Times.
Biden began writing, referring to his interactions with the ambassador, writing, “I'm glad I met you in Rome recently.”
The letter did not mention then President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and did not specify when Hunter Biden saw the Roman ambassador. He had travelled at least twice with his father over the past few months.
In an interview Wednesday, Phillips said he didn't see it as an effort to invoke Elder Biden to force the embassy to help Brisma. Rather, Phillips said he interpreted it as a reference to the Biden family's trip to Rome over the 2015 Thanksgiving holiday.
Bidens stayed at the 15th century Villa Taverna, the residence of Rome's official US ambassador, according to Phillips, who knew Elder Biden. Phillips, who had left town for most of his visit, joined the Bidens to return to Washington on a vice president's plane, where he spoke to Hunter Biden.
In a statement Thursday, Hunter Biden's representative said Biden “I am truly grateful for the kindness he and his family were shown,” and that his mention of the visit was “a heartfelt thanks for courtesy and comfort.” Biden's lawyers previously described the letter to Phillips as “appropriate demand.” This was no different to hundreds of similar demands for referrals that businesses make to ambassadors each year. ”
In his response, Phillips, who served as Italian ambassador for most of President Barack Obama's second term, wrote to Hunter Biden, “It appears he was in Rome yesterday.”
In a comment to the Times, Phillips said he didn't know Hunter Biden very well and said, “I don't think he'd met him beyond his trip to Italy.
Phillips said he couldn't remember Biden's letter, but noted that it would be the type of investigation he would “take care” for.
A representative of Burisma did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for former President Biden declined to comment.
Last summer, a Biden White House spokesman said he had no idea that Elder Biden was vice president, that his son had contacted the US embassy in Italy on behalf of Brisma.
Biden's outreach to Phillips appeared to make other embassy officials uneasy, The Times reported earlier.
Some of the Obama administration saw Biden's service on the committee as a potential conflict of interest as his father, who promotes Ukrainian leaders to wipe out corruption that plagues the government and the energy industry.
Republicans stressed that there was overlap between Biden's presidency and Congressional presidency, as some lawmakers hoped.
Hunter Biden was convicted of a gun crime last year and pleaded guilty to tax crimes related to millions of dollars in revenue from Brisma and other foreign companies.
Two months before he left office, President Biden issued a wide range of amnesty for these convictions and other crimes his son may have committed over the past 11 years.
In a letter to Phillips, Hunter Biden wrote that in addition to his services on the Brisma board, he also became the “independent director of Brisma Geothermal,” describing it as a new branch of a company specializing in “developing geothermal projects, drilling, and operating geothermal power plants.”
He added that Burisma “experiences certain difficulties in obtaining approvals issued by local authorities.” The project said it would invest 175 million euros in the Italian economy and generate environmentally friendly energy. “Most importantly, a significant amount of the equipment used in this project will be sourced from US companies,” Biden added.
The letter called for arrangements for a meeting between Burisma officials and Burisma Rossi, president of the Tuscan local government.
In his response, Phillips said he knew Rossi well and maintained “a good cooperation with him.” He added that he entrusted the embassy's commerce officials with the task of “to be contact information, and to see where our interests overlap and encourage contact with Mr. Rossi.”
In an interview last summer, Rossi said he had never met Biden and did not recall the US embassy that he contacted him about the project.
According to those involved in the effort, projects surged before excavation began in Tuscany.
It is not clear whether the US Embassy has done anything to support Brisma, but Phillips concluded his letter by telling Biden to “keep in touch if there is anything I can help.”
