DOJ Documents Highlight Disparity in Hunter Biden, Burisma Lawyer FARA Cases
Lawyer Forced to Register as Foreign Agent While President’s Son Faced No Action
Newly released Justice Department documents show that John Buretta, a lawyer for Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, was required to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for lobbying U.S. officials in 2016, while Hunter Biden, a Burisma board member, engaged in similar activities without facing the same scrutiny. Obtained by The Oversight Project via the Freedom of Information Act, the files raise questions about unequal treatment.
The DOJ determined Buretta, of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, should have registered under FARA for meetings with Obama administration officials—Catherine Novelli, Bruce Swartz, and Amos Hochstein—in March 2016 to influence views on Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky. Buretta retroactively registered in January 2024, over seven years later, after his firm received $350,000 from Burisma between 2016 and 2017.
Mike Howell, president of The Oversight Project, told the Daily Mail: “This document return shows this lawyer, John Buretta, was doing the same activity the [Hunter] was doing, and he had to register.” Hunter Biden, on Burisma’s board from 2014 to 2019, arranged meetings for company executives with U.S. officials, including a 2015 dinner with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, and a May 2015 meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to emails from Hunter’s laptop.
Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm hired by Burisma at Hunter’s recommendation, was also forced to register under FARA in 2022. Its CEO, Karen Tramontano, and Sally Painter joined Buretta in two 2016 meetings with U.S. officials. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified that DOJ officials blocked probes into potential FARA violations by Hunter for his Burisma work in 2014 and 2015. Devon Archer, a fellow Burisma board member, confirmed Hunter’s dealings in grand jury testimony.
In July 2023, a Delaware court hearing revealed Hunter could face FARA charges after a plea deal—criticized by Republicans as overly lenient—collapsed under scrutiny from Judge Maryellen Noreika. Hunter was convicted of gun and tax crimes, facing up to 17 years, but received a full pardon from President Biden in December 2024, covering federal crimes from 2014 to 2024, shielding him from potential FARA prosecution. This contradicted Biden’s June 2024 pledge to ABC News and reporters that he would not pardon his son, a stance echoed by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as late as November 7, 2024.
This story exclusively reported first by The Daily Mail.