First appeared on FOX: One of President Biden’s former top advisers, who for nearly a decade was a business partner of a wealthy Chinese businessman with multiple ties to the Chinese Communist Party, appeared in a Delaware courtroom on Monday alongside friends and family of Hunter Biden to assist him with the jury selection process for his gun trial, Fox News Digital has seen.
Frances “Fran” Parsons, who served as an adviser to Biden during the Obama administration and as a special assistant to Obama from 2009 to 2014, was seen sitting with Hunter Biden’s family and friends, including first lady Jill Biden, his sister Ashley Biden and his wife Melissa Biden.
Parson was described in a 2014 Politico profile as Biden father’s “best friend” and “like a son to Joe and me.” Jill Biden said Parson had been close friends with Hunter Biden for more than a decade and would often act as his liaison in the vice presidential office when Hunter was trying to reach her father. Biden father also praised Parson in the profile, which highlighted his move from the White House to South Carolina, saying, “People know he’s always available to listen to me whenever he wants to.”
Less than six months after Parson left the White House in the summer of 2014, he helped found Harves Global Entertainment, a Washington, DC-based affiliate of China-based Harves Century Group, a multi-billion dollar real estate development company.
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Fran Parson is a former adviser to then-Vice President Biden and an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in 2016. (Fran Parsons/YouTube Screenshot)
Parson’s sister worked for Hunter Biden’s now-disbanded firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners, before joining Biden’s vice presidential office in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, Parson exchanged frequent emails with Hunter Biden and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, who was then president of Rosemont Seneca, about business dealings with Herbs Entertainment and Washington, D.C.-based Herbs-related companies.
According to visitor records reviewed by Fox News Digital, he visited the White House multiple times during that time, including attending a White House holiday reception with his Chinese business partner, Zhang Bo, in December 2015. He previously told Fox News Digital that his White House visits were “personal in nature” and that he was “visiting old colleagues and friends.”
Parson introduced Hunter to the Harvest brand in a detailed July 2015 email inviting Hunter to China to meet Zhang and his family, writing, “They are a wonderful family who are highly respected and well-connected in China.” Court records relating to the ongoing legal battle between Zhang and the New York City designer reveal that Zhang is the son of a “Chinese billionaire” and that Zhang has allegedly defaulted on more than $4 million in payments to the designer.
“I want you to know Bo. He is an incredible guy, raised to carry on the family dynasty, yet very humble. He will achieve great things one day, but he needs good people around him,” Parson said in an email in 2015. “They are very introverted and will not tell anyone you are coming. Bo’s father-in-law is actually the governor of Hainan (Chinese Hawaii), but he does not advertise this at all.”
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Fran Parsons emailed Hunter Biden in July 2015, explaining how much power the Zhang family had in China with their real estate empire and how they were being “groomed to take over the family dynasty.” (Fox News)
Liu Cigui is a decades-long member of the Chinese Communist Party who has held several leadership positions over the past 15 years and is likely the father-in-law mentioned in the email, based on the timeline and leadership positions. He currently serves on the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), according to a recent article in state-run media China Daily. The CPPCC is considered the “core” of China’s united front system, which functions to “integrate and neutralize potential opposition to the policies and authority of the ruling Communist Party of China (CCP).”
Another of Zhang’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party was revealed in a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) document filed with the Department of Justice in December 2013, in which Zhang was listed as a “foreign representative.” The document also documented Zhang’s relationship with Liu Guoqiang, a senior Chinese government official who was vice chairman of the Liaoning Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
“This is not about a partnership or selling anything,” Parson continued in his email to Hunter. “We just want to grow the relationship and there are lots of big things we have coming up.”
While Hunter apparently was unable to visit China during the period Parson referenced, he and Eric Schwerin met with Zhang several times over the next few years, including in Zhang’s office. Fox News Digital previously reported that Hunter and Schwerin worked with Zhang during Parson’s 2016 loss to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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On the left is Bo Chang, in the center is Hunter Biden, and on the right is Fran Parsons. (Fox News)
Hunter and Zhang stayed in contact while Parson was running for Congress. Hunter called Zhang a “good friend and business associate” in a May 6, 2016 email to Henry Chao, a senior Communist Party official and CEO of Harvest Fund Management, which was previously reviewed by Fox News Digital, according to the New York Post. Chao’s fund participated in a Chinese investment fund called Bohai Harvest RST, and Hunter served as a founding director of the fund until October 2019, the Post reported.
The following year, emails from Schwerin to Hunter revealed that Rosemont Seneca Advisors, 75% owned by Hunter’s LLC, Owasco, held financial interests in several Harbeth-related companies, including a 5% stake in Harbeth Amusement Parks, a subsidiary of Harbeth Group, and ownership of Harbeth Sports and Entertainment, according to a 2017 email found on Hunter’s abandoned laptop.
When Fox News Digital confronted him about multiple emails that Schwerin had previously sent to Hunter that contradicted this claim, Fran reiterated that neither Hunter nor any of his associates ever owned stock in any of the Harvest companies or affiliates. A Washington Post fact check previously confirmed that Rosemont Seneca Advisors “holds a 5% stake in Harvest Amusement Parks and an ownership interest in Harvest Sports and Entertainment in China.”
An email sent to Hunter from Eric Schwerin in March 2017 revealed that Rosemont Seneca Advisors, which is 75% owned by Hunter’s LLC, Owasco, held financial interests in several Harvest-related companies. (Fox News)
Fox News Digital previously reported that in 2017, as Hunter was going through a difficult divorce proceeding, WhatsApp messages released by the House Ways and Means Committee showed Parson telling Hunter that he and Chan “wanted to help” with financial matters.
“$100,000 would get us through at least next month,” Hunter said. “Anything would be appreciated.” [Bo] I am used to it, but it is very unsettling to begin a partnership like this that has turned war into war.”
“I’ve spoken to Mr. Bo before about $37,000 and he didn’t flinch. I’m willing to discuss $56,000, possibly $100,000,” Parson said, according to messages previously seen by Fox News Digital. “It really depends on his liquid assets in the U.S…. I’ll listen. His only problem is getting a lot of money out of China (especially now).”
The next day, Hunter asked Parson if he knew if anything had been sent or was “pending,” to which Parson replied, “It’s not pending. He’s on his way to the bank this morning. I’ll get back to you when I have it.” Fox News Digital could not confirm how much Chang sent Hunter or whether the transfer actually went through.
“He will help you with anything you need. He also said that I would encourage you to travel to China later this month to get away and relax for a week,” Parson added. Emails from late August 2017 show that Hunter was planning to fly first class to Hong Kong, but it is unclear whether that was related to meeting with Bo.
Another WhatsApp message from Parson to Hunter, according to online records, said Zhang offered Hunter a place to stay at his home, referring to a multimillion-dollar mansion in McLean, Virginia. Parson called the six-bedroom home “unreal” and said Zhang “won’t be there much for at least another couple of years.” He added that Hunter Biden “should stay at his house,” which is fully furnished. Fox News Digital could not confirm whether Biden accepted Zhang’s offer.
Bo Chang, pictured, met with Hunter Biden and Eric Schwerin several times when his business partner, Fran Parson, was running for Congress in 2016. (Harves Investment Group/YouTube Screenshot)
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In one earlier text exchange, Parson told Hunter Biden, “selfishly[s] “I want to work with him because I know what you’re capable of and I want to learn from you. Right now I’m putting myself out there and learning fast,” he continued. “But I want to work with you on this. As for raising $500,000 on $10 million in funding, we’re close to getting started and we really need your help. Let’s get through this together. That way it will be less of a burden and you won’t feel like you’re ‘dependent’ on anything.”
“Brother, I have one loyalty, and that is to my family and your family,” Parson added.
Parson did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about his reasons for attending the trial. It is unclear whether he plans to attend multiple days of the trial or if he was just in attendance on Tuesday or Wednesday.
