February 20, 2024

Mr. Stefan Passantino

Elections LLC
1050 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Mr. Passantino:

I was baffled and amused by your letter alleging that my account of your client’s
testimony was a “grotesque mischaracterization.” 1 Having reviewed the transcript of Mr.
Bobulinski’s lengthy transcribed interview, I stand proudly by my statement that over the course
of his more than eight hours of belabored testimony, Mr. Bobulinski did not offer any evidence
of wrongdoing by President Biden. He also did not provide any evidence that President Biden
was involved in his family’s business dealings. Furthermore, unable to point to any evidence to
support his wild claims against President Biden, Mr. Bobulinski casually accused a broad group
of individuals and organizations of lying. He accused multiple Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents of lying in their Form FD-302 report, the Wall Street Journal of lying in its
reporting which dismissed Mr. Bobulinski’s claims as baseless, Cassidy Hutchinson of lying
about what she saw with her own eyes, his former business partners of lying, as well as nine of
Republicans’ own witnesses of lying because they have carefully affirmed that President Biden
was not involved in his son’s business ventures. 2

Of course, your client’s interview was chaotic to the point of burlesque as he repeatedly
yelled, shouted, filibustered, and hurled outlandish and baseless accusations and insults against
Democratic Members and staff. Nonetheless, allow me, first, to pierce the fog of his vituperative
fulminations to share with you several obvious instances from Mr. Bobulinski’s testimony in
which he accused a multitude of individuals and organizations of lying:

1
Letter from Stefan Passantino to Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, Committee on Oversight and
Accountability (Feb. 14, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Ranking%20Memb
er%20Raskin.pdf).
2
Committee on Oversight and Accountability Democrats, Press Release: Ranking Member Raskin’s
Statement on Transcribed Interview with Tony Bobulinski (Feb. 14, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-raskin-s-statement-on-transcribed-
interview-with-tony-bobulinski).
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 2

• The Wall Street Journal

o In reference to a Wall Street Journal article concluding that “text messages

and emails related to the venture that were provided to the Journal by Mr.
Bobulinski, mainly from the spring and summer of 2017, don’t show
either Hunter Biden or James Biden discussing a role for Joe Biden in the
venture,” your client stated, “that’s a lie.” 3

o In another instance, your client testified, “The Wall Street Journal printed
a lie.” 4

• Multiple FBI agents present for his October 2020 voluntary interview 5

o Throughout his transcribed interview, Mr. Bobulinski repeatedly

questioned the accuracy of multiple FBI agents’ official account of his
voluntary interview in October 2020 in which he reiterated his allegations
against the Biden family. Mr. Bobulinski alleged that many of the key
details recorded in the FBI’s Form FD-302 report were false, despite being
reminded during the transcribed interview that it is a formal summary of
his statements that would have been signed off on by all of the agents
present that day. This included the FBI agents’ description that
“BOBULINSKI first met in person with members of the BIDEN family at
a 2017 meeting in Miami, Florida” and that “At the meeting,
BOBULINSKI witnessed a large diamond gemstone given as a gift to
HUNTER BIDEN by YE.” Your client said that the FBI’s account was
“an absolute lie” and had the following exchange with Representative Dan
Goldman: 6

Q: I am asking you whether or not this is an accurate representation of

what the FBI –

3
Hunter Biden’s Ex-Business Partner Alleges Father Knew About Venture, Wall Street Journal (Oct. 23,
2020) (online at www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-bidens-ex-business-partner-alleges-father-knew-about-venture-
11603421247); Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview
of Anthony Bobulinski at 80 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
4
Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview of
Anthony Bobulinski at 157 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
5
See Append. B, Exhibit 400A: Tony Bobulinski FBI FD-302 Interview Memorandum, Staff Report,
Committee on Ways & Means, Report on Materials Presented to the Committee on Ways and Means Under 26
U.S.C. § 6103 (Sept. 27, 2023) (online at https://gop-waysandmeans house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WM-
Staff-Report_09.27.2023.pdf).
6
Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview of
Anthony Bobulinski at 174–175 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 3

A: No, it’s not an accurate statement. It’s a lie. And I never said to
the FBI that I witnessed a large diamond.

o Further, when asked if the FBI’s summary report “was false,” your client
declared, “The report is false. It’s evident that it’s false.” 7

• Cassidy Hutchinson, Former Assistant to President Trump’s Chief of Staff

Mark Meadows

o Mr. Bobulinski was asked about Ms. Hutchinson’s account of an “out of

sight” meeting between himself and Mr. Meadows during a Trump
campaign rally in Rome, Georgia, in November 2020. Ms. Hutchinson
recalled witnessing Mr. Bobulinski – who was wearing a “ski mask” to
conceal his identity — accept “what appeared to be a folded sheet of paper
or small envelope” from Mr. Meadows. In response, your client stated,
“Cassidy Hutchinson is an absolute liar and a fraud.” 8

o Your client later added: “She [Ms. Hutchinson] never saw Mark Meadows
give me anything, and her claims and use of that to perpetuate the sales of
her book and go on all these, you know, medias to talk about is disgusting,
okay? I spent 6 years serving this country. I was willing to die for this
country. And for her to fabricate facts and then distribute them in a book
and put them out to the American people is blatantly ridiculous. She’s a
liar.” 9

• James Gilliar, Former Business Partner of Mr. Bobulinski, Hunter Biden,

and James Biden

o Mr. Bobulinski was asked about Mr. Gilliar’s unequivocal statement to the
Wall Street Journal that he was “unaware of any involvement at any time
of the former Vice President,” and your client answered, “what an absolute
lie.” 10

Next, let me remind you how, in describing his two conversations with President Biden,
Mr. Bobulinski made clear they did not include any discussion of Mr. Bobulinski’s business

7
Id. at 63.
8
Cassidy Hutchinson, Enough (2023); Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the
Judiciary, Transcribed Interview of Anthony Bobulinski at 81 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
9
Id. at 261.
10
Hunter Biden’s Ex-Business Partner Alleges Father Knew About Venture, Wall Street Journal (Oct. 23,
2020) (online at www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-bidens-ex-business-partner-alleges-father-knew-about-venture-
11603421247); Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview
of Anthony Bobulinski at 264 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 4

venture with Hunter Biden, James Biden, and two other partners, James Gilliar and Rob Walker.
Your client testified that these two conversations both happened within a 24-hour span in Los
Angeles in May 2017. President Biden, then a private citizen, had flown to Los Angeles to speak
at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference about his Cancer Moonshot initiative. In response to
Republican questions, Mr. Bobulinski twice described the detailed content of these
conversations. Both times, he testified that the conversation focused on his “background in
detail,” the Biden “family’s background,” and President Biden’s “appreciation for the military.” 11
Mr. Bobulinski’s account made clear he did not discuss the business venture with President
Biden. 12

Third, in his testimony, Mr. Bobulinski covered how JPMorgan Chase, as the venture’s
bank, conducted extensive due diligence. Mr. Bobulinski, the venture’s point-person in dealing
with JPMorgan Chase, testified that he was truthful and forthcoming with the bank. He
specifically explained that he represented to JPMorgan Chase that the entity was “legitimate” and
pursuing “legitimate business” with the Chinese entity CEFC and confirmed none of his
disclosures to JPMorgan Chase had described President Biden or the “the Big Guy” as having
any share or role in the venture: 13

Q: And you described how for both of these—you know, these were legitimate
businesses that—right? Both of these entities were legitimate entities?

A: Your question is sort of implying that they weren’t legitimate? Is that—

Q: No, I’m just clarifying.

A: Do I believe they were legitimate?

Q: Yes.

A: Of course. I represented this to JP Morgan. If they weren’t legitimate, I would be

committing bank fraud, wire fraud, and a whole host of other things. So, yeah, I
believe they were an operating business and more than legitimate. 14

* * *

Q: Did you disclose to Oneida Holdings [sic] [JPMorgan Chase] that there was a
secret partner with a secret share in Oneida Holdings—

11
Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview of
Anthony Bobulinski at 50–51, 270 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
12
Id. at 48–52, 268–271 (For reference, Mr. Bobulinski’s full account of these two conversations are at pp.
48–52 and 268–271 of the transcript.).
13
Id. at 196, 233–234.
14
Id. at 233–234.
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 5

A: Why would I disclose that to JP Morgan on May 24th?

Q: —referred to as the big guy?

A: I sent them the operating agreement that was fully executed and Oneida’s
operating agreement. They could see exactly, you know, what LLCs were
involved, and they had to actually report that. So I don’t—no, I never had a
discussion with JP Morgan referencing anything about a secret anything.

Q: No big guy secretly being involved in the company in your disclosure to JP

Morgan?

A: I did not. 15

Finally, despite your client’s repeated protestations and proclamations that he was “not a
political person,” the substance of his testimony contradicted this claim and indicate the
gentleman was protesting a little too much. 16 After repeated questioning, he admitted that Jason
Miller, who then served as a Senior Advisor for the Trump 2020 presidential campaign, kicked
off Mr. Bobulinski’s press conference on October 22, 2020, event at which Mr. Bobulinski first
made his public claims against President Biden. He also finally admitted after numerous comical
evasions that when he attended the presidential debate on October 22, 2020, he was “a guest of
Mr. Trump’s.” 17

Despite these pained and grudging admissions, Mr. Bobulinski claimed to have no
memory of any further details regarding the role of Trump Administration and campaign officials
in organizing the October 2020 press conference:

Q: Your October 2020 press conference at the Marriott in Nashville, Tennessee, who
organized that for you?

Mr. Passantino: I guess you can answer, again, to the extent you know.

Mr. Bobulinski: Organized what for me exactly, I'm asking?

Q: There were journalists there with cameras. There was a room. Who put all that
together?

A: I had no involvement in that. I had no involvement in that.

Q: You just happened to waltz into a room with a bunch of journalists eager to hear
your story.

15
Id. at 235–236.
16
Id. at 11, 55.
17
Id. at 147.
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 6

Mr. Passantino: Respectfully, he’s answered this question. I don’t mind, you can answer
it again, but –

Q: Is your answer that you don’t know who organized it?

A: I do not. I don’t. It was—I wasn’t involved in it. 18

In an effort to refresh Mr. Bobulinski’s recollection, I am attaching an excerpt from a

book by Michael Bender, the former Wall Street Journal journalist to whom you, Arthur
Schwartz, and Eric Herschmann, who all had ties to the Trump Administration and family, first
pitched Mr. Bobulinski’s story at Mr. Schwartz’s home in October 2020. Mr. Bobulinski called
into that meeting and was placed on speakerphone to speak with Mr. Bender. 19 As Mr. Bender’s
account makes clear, Trump Administration and campaign officials, and even President Trump
himself, were involved in setting up Mr. Bobulinski’s press conference, even providing Mr.
Bobulinski with a dress shirt for the event: “[Jason] Miller was annoyed to be stuck with the
supremely stupid task of figuring out Bobulinski’s neck size and sleeve length and then finding a
field staffer to hustle to the department store to buy a button-down shirt.” 20 I realize, of course,
that the Wall Street Journal and its journalists were part of the long list of liars Mr. Bobulinski
called out last week, but I do hope Mr. Bender’s vivid account will refresh his memory of how he
got dressed that day and who dressed him.

In light of these quotes of your client’s own testimony under oath, I hope you will
withdraw your claims that I have been “perpetuat[ing] false narratives.” 21 Far from engaging in
“character assassination,” the Committee’s Democratic Members and staff have simply been
working to ensure that the American public have all the facts and context to properly evaluate
Mr. Bobulinski’s overheated claims against the President of the United States. 22 To that end,
please ensure Mr. Bobulinski provides the materials Mr. Bobulinski offered up in his interview,
including (1) the receipt for the private jet he used to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, in October
2020 to give his press conference and attend the presidential debate as former President Trump’s
guest, as well as (2) Mr. Bobulinski’s blackberry device, so that we can examine the full scope of
messages and not simply the cherry-picked excerpts Mr. Bobulinski photographed and turned
over to the Committee’s Republican staff. 23 Further, I trust you will join me in calling on
Chairman Comer immediately to release the video of Mr. Bobulinski’s truly extraordinary

18
Id. at 259–260.
19
Michael Bender, Frankly We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost (2021)
20
Id.
21
Letter from Stefan Passantino to Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, Committee on Oversight and
Accountability (Feb. 14, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Ranking%20Memb
er%20Raskin.pdf).
22
Id.
23
Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Committee on the Judiciary, Transcribed Interview of
Anthony Bobulinski at 65–66, 141 (Feb. 13, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Bobulinski-Transcript.pdf).
Mr. Stefan Passantino
Page 7

interview so that the American people can judge directly who is telling the truth and who is
prevaricating at every turn.

I agree that we are upon “the death throes of a political narrative that will be shattered
upon the imminent public release of Mr. Bobulinski’s testimony before the House Committees on
Oversight and Judiciary,” as you say. 24 That narrative is Mr. Bobulinski’s.

Very truly yours,

__________________________
Jamie Raskin
Ranking Member

Enclosure

cc: The Honorable James Comer, Chairman

24
Letter from Stefan Passantino to Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, Committee on Oversight and
Accountability (Feb. 14, 2024) (online at
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Ranking%20Memb
er%20Raskin.pdf).