Republicans launch investigation into incarcerated Hunter Biden associate's claims he is facing 'retribution' in prison for speaking about Joe's involvement in shady foreign deals

House impeachment investigators are demanding the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) turn over documents relating to the detainment of Hunter Biden's imprisoned former associate Jason Galanis. 

Galanis has alleged that he has been targeted by the justice system and denied home confinement that 'would have allowed full and free access to congressional investigators.' 

Galanis spoke with Republican investigators weeks ago from an Alabama prison after he was convicted of defrauding a Native American tribe. 

Biden impeachment investigators traveled to an Alabama prison to speak with Jason Galanis, who is currently serving a 14-year sentence for defrauding a Native American tribe

Galanis and former Hunter associate Devon Archer were both convicted of fraud for convincing a Native American tribe to issue economic development bonds and then diverting the funds for personal use. Hunter Biden was never indicted in the scheme. 

Galanis is a part of a notorious crime family in New York. His father, John Galanis, was a target of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani during his crime crackdown in the 1980s. At 76, the elder Galanis is also currently incarcerated for his involvement in his son's scheme. 

Galanis is currently pushing for home confinement, claiming he has been sexually assaulted in prison. 

'I pleaded guilty. I have had eight years in federal custody to reflect on my actions, and I am profoundly sorry for my role,' he said. 

Galanis has already been denied home confinement once, claiming he had been assaulted by a member of the prison staff. 

'I believe that based on the events I have described, much of which is memorialized in writing, I have been the victim of a pattern of retribution by the Department of Justice in order to prevent my home confinement, which would have allowed full and free access to congressional investigators,' he said.

He also said based on his experiences within the justice system,  he believes he is 'at grave risk within the [Bureau of Prisons] for providing information on these matters concerning the president and his son.' 

Galanis told investigators that in February 2023 he was approved for home confinement under the Covid-era CARES Act by the Pensacola warden, and on June 9, 2023, 'the Bureau of Prisons California staff confirmed their approval of my home confinement in an email to FPC Pensacola staff.'

Days later on June 12, the Oversight Committee announced it would subpoena Devon Archer, Galanis' associate, 'which would, undoubtedly, in my mind expose the dealings of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, and me.'

One day later, he says his home confinement approval was reversed. 

Galanis said: 'I formally appealed the reversal. With each appeal stage, the BOP reason for my denial changed. For example, first, it was that there was too much time left on my sentence. This is not a valid reason for the denial. 

Next, it was that the CARES Act expired on May 10, 2023. This rationale is contrived and is contradicted by the approval on June 9th, a date after the purported May 10th expiration. Moreover, the BOP policy is that all CARES Act applications submitted before May 10th were to be processed, which I witnessed firsthand with fellow inmates being released well into late summer. I was being treated differently.'

By March 19, Oversight Chairman James Comer, Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a member of both committees, asked the BoP director Collette Peters and assistant US Attorney Negar Tekeei to turn over all documents related to Galanis' application for home confinement and the subsequent approval and reversal of it, as well as all documents and communications related to his sexual abuse allegations.  

In testimony released Monday, Galanis told Republican impeachment investigators that the 'Biden lift' was why he did business with the first son, claiming it helped close deals they believed would make them billions. 

Galanis said Archer had encouraged him to bring Hunter into their deals, arguing Joe Biden's son could provide them with the 'Biden lift.' 

'"Biden lift" that we talked about was access. Access meant to us at the time, being in the business of acquiring other businesses, to persuade third-parties to do business with us,' Galanis explained in transcripts made public on Monday. 

'Foreign investors would have a view of political access to the most powerful, admired country in the world, leadership in the most powerful, admired country in the world,' he went on. 

Domestically, Galanis said the 'Biden lift' could help them in closing deals with businesses in sectors where Joe Biden had tight relations. 

'In a domestic context, it was, for example, things like the union pension funds. This particular circumstance was a business plan that included acquiring what ended up being two union pension fund managers, investment managers, and that was a different sort of influence. It was a stamp of credibility.'

Galanis said having Hunter on their team 'lent credibility' with any prospective venture or partner because it 'strongly demonstrated access to the halls of power.'

He said that often they would leverage Joe Biden's contacts within an industry like unions. 

'Part of our business plan was to use the family's contacts with the unions that historically had been developed through I guess political relationships by his father.' 

The embattled businessman told investigators he worked with Hunter Biden and Devon Archer on business deals in the insurance and finance industry from 2012 to 2015. 

Galanis told investigators that 'the entire value-add of Hunter Biden to our business was his family name and his access to his father, Vice President Joe'

He testified the trio 'owned and acquired with total audited assets of over $17 billion.'

Galanis said he gave Hunter and Devon Archer equity ownership of a new business venture, called Burnham Group, at no cost because of the 'relationship capital' they would bring to the company. 

Earlier leaks of the testimony revealed Joe Biden had reportedly mulled joining the board of a Chinese-linked company after he left the vice presidency. 

Hunter Biden served as the vice chairman of Burnham Group, 'and brought strategic relationships to the venture, including from Kazakhstan, Russia and China.'

Galanis testified that, in 2014, he, Devon and Hunter agreed they should form a partnership with Harvest Fund Management, a $300 billion Chinese financial services company with close ties to the CCP. 

Henry Zhao, the director of Harvest, was a contact of Hunter's. 

Zhao was interested in this partnership because of the game-changing value-add of the Biden family, including Joe Biden, who was to be a member of the Burnham-Harvest team post-vice presidency, providing political access in the United States and around the world,' Galanis testified.

Galanis quoted a draft email written by Archer for Hunter that said: 'Please also remind Henry [Zhao] of our conversation about a board seat for a certain relation of mine. Devon and I golfed with that relation earlier last week and we discussed this very idea again and as always he remains very very keen on the opportunity.'

That section was never included in an email Hunter sent. 

Hunter Biden's friend and business partner Devon Archer, far left, is seen playing golf in the Hamptons with Hunter (far right) and Joe (next to Hunter)

'As Devon Archer is mentioned as a direct party to the conversation with the vice president on the golf course, it is clear from his email that Devon believed this was an accurate representation of that conversation,' Galanis said in his opening statement.

'I am certain that the phrase 'a certain relation of mine' refers to Vice President Biden, and Devon told me about this conversation on the golf course shortly after it happened,' Galanis testified. 'And it was one of many conversations that I understood the vice president had expressing his willingness to join Harvest board after his vice presidency.'

An infamous photo shows Joe Biden golfing with Hunter and Archer in August 2014, just before the email was allegedly written. 

Galanis went on to testify that Zhao 'regularly sought reassurance about what he termed the 'intangible goods' that Vice President Biden serving on the Harvest board would bring to the business plan.'