Newly obtained Justice Department records shed light on the behind-the-scenes investigation that forced prominent attorney John Buretta and his law firm to retroactively register as foreign agents for their work with Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
While Buretta’s FARA registration became public in early 2024, the DOJ’s internal deliberations leading up to that decision—including findings dating back to 2022—were not revealed until now through a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents provide the first detailed look at how the DOJ determined Buretta’s Burisma lobbying triggered FARA requirements, while raising new questions about why similar enforcement actions were not pursued against Hunter Biden.
The documents, obtained by conservative watchdog The Oversight Project under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that the DOJ concluded as far back as 2022 that Buretta should have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for lobbying top U.S. officials in 2016 to help Burisma and its owner Mykola Zlochevsky, who was under U.S. and UK corruption investigations.
A June 2023 DOJ letter from FARA Unit Chief Jennifer Gellie detailed how Buretta and Cravath, Swaine & Moore—alongside Democrat-linked firm Blue Star Strategies—met with State Department and DOJ officials in 2016 to advocate on Burisma’s behalf. Buretta and Cravath ultimately filed under FARA in January 2024, disclosing nearly $350,000 in payments from Burisma.
Oversight Project President Mike Howell said the documents show a double standard, pointing out that Buretta’s activities mirrored those of Hunter Biden, who also arranged meetings between Burisma and U.S. officials—including then-Vice President Joe Biden and current Secretary of State Antony Blinken—yet was never required to register. “The only reason Hunter wasn’t forced to register is because he was the President’s son,” Howell said.
Emails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop, in FBI possession since 2019, show he helped set up a 2015 dinner with a Burisma executive and his father and arranged a meeting with Blinken the same year. Despite this, Blinken later denied contacting Hunter, though personal emails contradict that claim.
The documents also show that Blue Star Strategies, hired by Burisma at Hunter’s recommendation, was forced to retroactively register under FARA in 2022 after a DOJ investigation. Two IRS whistleblowers who worked on the Hunter Biden tax probe told Congress that FARA violations tied to Hunter’s Burisma work were among the leads blocked by DOJ officials.
