Biden Suppressed CIA Intel on Family’s Ukraine Corruption Ties, Declassified Docs Reveal

Washington, D.C. – October 7, 2025

Newly declassified CIA documents expose how then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2015 directed the agency to withhold an intelligence report highlighting Ukrainian officials’ concerns over his family’s involvement in corrupt business dealings. The report, buried at Biden’s explicit request, detailed perceptions of a U.S. government double standard on corruption during his oversight of Ukraine policy.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe released the heavily redacted records today, labeling the suppression a clear case of intelligence politicization. The documents, uncovered during a historical CIA review, include a February 10, 2016, email from a Presidential Daily Brief briefer stating Biden “would strongly prefer the report not/not be disseminated.” The intelligence, gathered after Biden’s December 2015 Kyiv visit, captured Ukrainian officials’ bewilderment at his anti-corruption speech amid media scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s lucrative Burisma Holdings board role.

Ukrainian figures under President Petro Poroshenko viewed the Biden family’s alleged ties to corrupt practices as evidence of hypocrisy, especially as Biden pressured for the firing of Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was probing Burisma. Shokin was ousted in March 2016 after Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid. The report noted officials expected substantive discussions but received only a generic address, fueling private musings on U.S. inconsistencies.

A senior CIA official confirmed the report met dissemination thresholds but was never shared beyond the agency due to Biden’s intervention, calling it “extremely rare and unusual” for political motives. Ratcliffe emphasized zero tolerance for such weaponization, committing to further declassifications for transparency.

This revelation ties into broader scrutiny of Biden family dealings, including Hunter’s Burisma position amid investigations, and echoes House findings of impeachable conduct in enriching his family through foreign influence. The declassification underscores ongoing efforts to purge politicization from U.S. intelligence, with Ratcliffe vowing maximum public interest releases.