For years, Joe Biden has unflinchingly denied that he has had anything to do with his son Hunter Biden’s international business affairs. This claim is almost universally scoffed at by anyone with any knowledge whatsoever of the situation.
In fact, these blatant deceptions have been a key criticism of the Biden administration of late, and Republicans in the House of Representatives have been honing an investigation into the matter for some time.
The latest revelations from the saga put the current President much closer to the action than he had previously admitted to. Many Americans are concerned about the influence this might have on the White House’s foreign policy decisions.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden approved an official statement in December 2015 about Hunter Biden’s position on a Ukrainian energy company’s board despite claims he was not involved with the family’s business, emails obtained from the National Archives show.
The elder Biden has made a habit of denying any and all connection to Hunter’s affairs.
Since assuming office, at least seven times Joe Biden or his communications team have outright denied, and deflected questions about, involvement in the Biden family enterprise.
Biden “acted at all times in a manner consistent with well-established executive branch ethics standards,” Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the president’s campaign, said in 2019. “He carried out the Obama-Biden administration’s policies without regard to any interests other than the public’s and neither discussed this with his son nor was involved in any way with his son’s private business pursuits.”
But the evidence says otherwise.
Emails previously released from the Archives show Hunter advised the Office of Vice President Biden in 2014 on how to handle media inquiries regarding his position on the board of Burisma, a potential violation of federal law due to Hunter failing to register as a foreign agent.
That trend appears to have continued well into 2015 when Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s former communications director, told Hunter’s top financial lieutenant Eric Schwerin via email that Joe Biden approved a statement regarding Hunter’s board position.
Notably, Bedingfield departed the White House in 2023 just as the House Oversight Committee probe into Joe Biden heated up.
“VP signed off on this — will give this quote to reporters in my name shortly,”she said, including the quote below in the email:
“Hunter Biden is a private citizen and a lawyer. The Vice President does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company. The Vice President has pushed aggressively for years — both publicly with groups like the US-Ukraine Business Forum and privately in meetings in with [sic] Ukrainian leaders — for Ukraine to make every effort to investigate and prosecute corruption in accordance with the rule of law. It will once again be a key focus during his trip this week.”
The news will almost certainly reinvigorate the House GOP’s angles of investigation, which could make Hunter and Joe Biden’s role in the Biden Crime family a central issue in the narrative of the 2024 election.
Cross-posted with Liberty Hub