FACT CHECK: Watch Colin Powell’s interview with Bill O’Reilly and learn who actually bet that China would not fail to fully pay off its commitments to the United States on loans.
Senior sources tell Fox News investigative correspondent Heather Nauert that Hunter Biden, the second son of the former vice president, helped secure mining leases for the Chinese based on a confidential intelligence assessment from the Departments of State and Defense.
The report suggests that China agreed to limit its purchases of US infrastructure as part of a deal to pay back its loans. More than two dozen firms have been tapped for the project, including O’Brien Industries and Blumall Resources. They secured numerous mining contracts, according to White House chief of staff John Kelly, and are finding new opportunities with contractors like General Electric in other countries around the world.
Separately, China in turn was responsible for buying more than $60 billion in a set of crude oil swaps that reduced US supply.
Even senior Democrats have defended the trade deal, but without specifics on its nature, the final terms will not be known for months, or even years. But these reports reveal the highly classified nature of the US government’s intelligence and legal assessment, and its potentially wide reaching ramifications for US influence on the world stage.
Heather Nauert is the chief national security correspondent for Fox News Channel. She also serves as a legal analyst for the network. Nauert previously covered politics for Fox News Channel, serving as a White House correspondent and co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Author: Heather Nauert