Biden's son reportedly requested $2m to free Libya assets

US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, allegedly sought a $2 million annual retainer plus "success fees" to help unfreeze billions of dollars in Libyan assets during the Obama administration, where his father served as number two. 

According to Business Insider, Biden requested the fees in 2015 after he received emails from donors asking for his aid in freeing up the assets that the Obama administration had frozen before the then-Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi was captured and subsequently executed by NATO-backed rebels in 2011. 

The disclosure was apparently made in correspondence from Democratic donor Sam Jauhari to Obama campaign donor and Saudi tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Al-Rahbani, where they discussed Biden's influence.

"Since he travels with dad, he is connected everywhere in Europe and Asia where MQ [Gaddafi] and the LIA [Libyan Investment Authority] had money frozen," Jauhari told Al-Rahbani.

"He wants to hire his own people," the donor said, adding "It can be a close circle of people for confidentiality. His dad is deciding to run or not."

However, Juahari also mentioned downfalls to hiring Joe Biden's son, including his alleged "alcoholism and drug use" and that he "constantly needs money, liquidity problems and many more headaches".

Business Insider said "there is no evidence that Hunter Biden ever used his relationship with his father to deliver anything of substance for his clients," but the emails are "a glimpse into the way influence-peddling works in Washington".

The Obama presidency initially blocked £30 billion in Libyan government assets - the biggest amount of foreign assets seized at the time - in an attempt to penalise Qaddafi for his violent crackdown against protesters.