White House refuses to say whether Hunter Biden has divested his 10% investment in a Chinese firm after Psaki said he is a 'private citizen and not part of the administration'
The White House wouldn't say Monday whether Hunter Biden has sold his 10 per cent stake in a Chinese private equity firm despite President Joe Biden's campaign promise that his family would steer clear of foreign business dealings.
In a tense briefing room exchange, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a reporter for Newsmax to not yell when asking about the president's son's involvement with Bohai Harvest RST Equity Investment Fund Management Co.
'I'd point you to his representatives on that. He doesn't work in the administration,' Psaki said.
When pressed on the matter, she dismissed the question by saying: 'Again, I conveyed to you, and then I think I'm going to have to move on, that you should talk to his representatives – there's no reason to yell, I'm certainly not yelling.'
'He's been working to wind that down, beyond that, I would talk to his representatives,' Psaki reiterated.
According to Psaki's comments Monday, Hunter still holds that 10 per cent stake in the firm through Skaneateles LLC, of which he is the sole beneficial owner.
Hunter, 51, sat on the Chinese equity firm's board until October 2019 when he announced he would be stepping down as the position added to scrutiny of his father's presidential bid.
BHR Partners is co-owned by the Bank of China, which is the state-controlled central bank in the communist nation.
This continued involvement in the company by Hunter just adds to the laundry list of Hunter's foreign involvements.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki passed the buck on Monday to Hunter's team for questions related to his controversial foreign business dealings, but did repeat her February statement that 'he's been working to wind that down'
Joe Biden vowed in October 2019 that his family would not hold seats in his administration or get involved in foreign business dealings and, in the same month, Hunter announced he would be stepping down from his position on the Chinese equity firm's board
Also in October 2019, Joe Biden vowed – as a show of ridding himself of foreign conflicts of interest – that his family wouldn't get involved with business dealings in other countries should he become president.
'No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country,' Biden said during his 2020 presidential campaign.
This was a dig at his predecessor Donald Trump, who hired his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner as senior White House advisers.
Asked in February why Hunter hadn't yet divested, Psaki diverted and passed the buck.
Hunter, pictured passed out with a crack pipe in an image retrieved from his hard drive, has caused headaches for the administration mainly due to his foreign business dealings
'He has been working to unwind his investment, but I would certainly point you — he's a private citizen,' she said.
'I would point you to him or his lawyers on the outside on any update.'
Hunter's foreign business dealings have long caused his father headaches, amid accusations that the troubled Harvard-educated lawyer was trading off his family name.
He had business interests in Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan, leading to concern about influence peddling.
President Biden has denied having any knowledge of his son's work.
In particular, Hunter's extremely lucrative Ukrainian business dealings have consistently raised eyebrows. He was on the board of energy company Burisma, one of the largest natural gas companies in Ukraine, when his father was serving as President Barack Obama's vice president.
Hunter has admitted it was 'poor judgment', as his involvement in Burisma became a lightning rod during the 2020 presidential campaign.
No comments