‘I’m not some hooker’: GOP senators release Hunter Biden texts buried by DOJ
The article centers Republican elected officials as primary sources, presenting their characterization of the documents with minimal scrutiny or counternarrative. Language choices ('buried,' 'quietly sat on,' 'double standard of justice') amplify GOP framing without equivalent Democratic response or DOJ explanation. While the article quotes the actual text messages, it frames their existence as evidence of wrongdoing rather than presenting legal or investigative context about why charges may not have been pursued.
Primary voices: elected official, state or recognized government, media outlet
- This article does not address DOJ's rationale for any prosecutorial decisions or lack thereof regarding these messages.
- This article does not include comment from the Biden administration or Democratic officials responding to the GOP's allegations.
- This article does not explain the legal threshold for Mann Act prosecution or whether the text messages alone constitute sufficient evidence.
- This article does not address Hunter Biden's response or his legal counsel's position on these allegations.
As this article appears dated May 2026 (future date, likely an error), framing may shift if formal charges are filed, legal proceedings commence, or additional evidence emerges.
Government-sourcedEstablishment framingCharged language
Years-old text messages allegedly from Hunter Biden appear to show discussions about paying women for sex, arranging their interstate travel, and wiring them money in exchanges released on Monday that Republican lawmakers say the Biden Justice Department quietly sat on for years without pursuing potential Mann Act or prostitution-related charges.
The tranche of 150 pages of text messages, released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI), was obtained after years of congressional requests to the DOJ tied to broader Republican investigations into former President Joe Biden and his family.
“These records show the Biden DOJ possessed text messages from Hunter Biden indicating potential trafficking/Mann Act violations,” Grassley wrote Monday on X. The Mann Act prohibits transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution or other illegal sexual activity.
Sen Johnson&I released records 2day showing DOJ possessed text messages from Hunter Biden indicating potential trafficking/Mann Act violations Records support concerns we raised in our Sept 2020 Biden family report+ show double standard of justice
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) May 11, 2026
The senators say the materials, provided to them by President Donald Trump‘s DOJ, show former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s DOJ possessed potentially incriminating evidence but failed to provide it to Congress during earlier oversight efforts.
Among the records released were messages from December 2018 and January 2019 that suggested the younger Biden, whose father was gearing up for a presidential campaign announcement that April, was allegedly seeking to spend time with one or more undisclosed women in exchange for payment.
In one Jan. 17, 2019, exchange, Hunter Biden allegedly asked an intermediary whether he had “anyone in the Boston area” while stating he planned to remain there for “2weeks.” Another message the following day stated, “Ok Tomorrow coming new girl.”
Text messages from the following day included discussions about payments and transportation. One message stated, “I can only pay through cash app,” while another appeared to quote a price of “3600” plus Uber costs.
In another exchange on Jan. 18, Hunter Biden allegedly asked, “How much would another 8 hours cost. I’ve paid 5000 for first eight hours,” before later discussing wiring additional money. One reply stated, “9500 ok.”
Additional Jan. 22-25 messages from that year referenced delayed wire transfers and certified checks mailed to a P.O. box. One person complained that “no money arrived yet,” while another message allegedly from Hunter Biden responded, “did you receive the two certified checks I sent to the P.O. Box.”
The records also included a Dec. 26, 2018, exchange in which a woman argued with Hunter Biden over travel arrangements and compensation before telling him, “I’m not some hooker or escort.”
Republicans argue the communications showed investigators possessed substantial evidence of activity that warranted deeper scrutiny under the Mann Act.
“Records support concerns we raised in our Sept. 2020 Biden family report + show double standard of justice,” Grassley said of the previously unreleased messages.
The records also appear to back up previous reporting by the Washington Examiner about an October 2020 investigative summary released by the senators, which stated that communications reviewed by federal authorities “suggest” women may have traveled interstate “to see” Hunter Biden and referenced escort-related language in the messages.
Grassley and Johnson first raised concerns about potential prostitution-related activity in their September 2020 report examining Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings while his father served as vice president. That report cited transactions involving women from Ukraine and Russia that investigators said appeared linked to “an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.” Hunter Biden did not face charges for prostitution-related offenses, nor did he face charges related to alleged illegal foreign lobbying tied to his years of overseas business dealings.
IRS whistleblowers who later testified before Congress about alleged favoritism toward Hunter Biden during his tax investigation also said investigators uncovered evidence suggesting possible Mann Act violations. One whistleblower alleged the younger Biden deducted payments to prostitutes as business expenses and financed interstate travel for women.
Under Biden, the DOJ charged his son with tax and firearms offenses but never publicly pursued prostitution-related or Mann Act charges. He was ultimately convicted in 2024 on three felony gun charges and pleaded guilty in September that year to nine tax-related charges.
In the final days of his presidency, then-President Joe Biden issued sweeping preemptive pardons to several family members and political allies for potential federal “nonviolent offenses” dating back to Jan. 1, 2014, including a separate pardon for the former first son one month before.
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