Democratic congressman Ro Khanna is vouching for the character of Tony Bobulinski, the military veteran and former business associate of Hunter Biden who has taken center stage in the final weeks of the election.
In a Friday email Khanna sent to Bobulinski, the California Democrat writes that he has pushed back against attempts to discredit Bobulinski by both the media and his Democratic colleagues. "I did give an on the record statement to The NY Times that I know you, you have always acted honorably with me, and you and other family members supported me," Khanna wrote, adding that he has also "made it clear that I do not think you are a Russian agent."
Khanna, who has received over $21,000 in political contributions from Bobulinski during his political career, also said in the email that he has told others that Bobulinski has talked about "putting country over party" in their past conversations.
Democrats including Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, have said the story about emails on Hunter Biden's laptop is part of a Russian disinformation plot. No evidence has been put forward to support the allegation.
Email this morning from @RoKhanna to Tony Bobulinski. The redactions are mine pic.twitter.com/EA2bsusSJY
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) October 30, 2020
Social media companies have taken steps to limit the reach of Bobulinski's allegations, which stem from emails contained on a computer that allegedly belonged to Hunter Biden. Sinclair Broadcast Group reported that Bobulinski has spoken to the FBI for the bureau's active money-laundering investigation into Hunter Biden.
Khanna, who represents California’s 17th district, was an official in the Obama administration and a co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I., Vt.) presidential campaign.