Senator Chuck Grassley’s office on Tuesday released declassified FBI files that contain informant allegations saying former Vice President Joe Biden met with then‑Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to protect the interests of his son Hunter Biden and Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma Holdings.
The documents, which were publicized by several outlets, include statements from people the files identify as FBI sources who were interviewed in 2017 and 2019. The records allege a foreign bribery scheme involving Burisma and assert that the FBI did not fully investigate all claims linked to the Biden family. The files do not provide a date for the alleged Biden‑Poroshenko meeting.
According to descriptions in the released material, informants told investigators that Zlochevsky had discussed offering Poroshenko $100 million in ownership shares and guaranteed profits from gas sales in exchange for shutting down an Interpol investigation into Burisma. The informants also alleged that the Bidens invested in Burisma through a Latvian company they characterized as a shell company. Those claims appear in the declassified files but have not been publicly corroborated.
Grassley, a Republican, has long pressed federal law enforcement and watchdogs to disclose more information about alleged foreign payments and other financial records connected to the Bidens. At a recent hearing, Grassley said Congress has not received answers from the FBI about whether it investigated text messages, audio files and financial records referenced in one of the informant submissions.
The newly released documents follow a separate informant file that Grassley’s office made public in July 2023, which accused Joe and Hunter Biden of accepting a $5 million bribe from Zlochevsky to shield Burisma from a corruption probe overseen by Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. That document also comprised allegations and has been a focal point of Republican scrutiny. The GOP majority in the House launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s conduct in 2023; the inquiry did not result in a formal impeachment vote.
The records echo long‑standing Republican criticism that while vice president, Biden used his leverage over Ukraine to benefit family business interests. Those critics note that in December 2015, Biden, then vice president, publicly urged Ukraine to remove Shokin and pressured Ukrainian officials by saying the United States would withhold about $1 billion in loan guarantees unless the prosecutor was fired. Shokin was later removed by Ukrainian lawmakers.
The New York Post and other outlets reported the latest allegations after reviewing the files released by Grassley’s office; the Daily Mail said it reached out to the former president’s office for comment. The FBI has declined to confirm details from declassified informant files, and the claims in the documents have not been independently verified by major U.S. law enforcement agencies.
The release of the files is likely to intensify partisan debate as the 2026 campaign cycle approaches. Supporters of the former president and others aligned with him say multiple investigations have not produced evidence that Joe Biden acted to protect his son’s business dealings, while Republican lawmakers contend the declassified materials point to unexamined leads. Federal authorities have previously investigated Hunter Biden’s taxes and business activities, and those matters remain distinct from the unproven assertions contained in the newly disclosed informant files.