The White House said President Biden was not involved in a business transaction between his son Hunter and a Chinese businessman, as presidential aides tried to address questions about a WhatsApp message in which the younger Biden invoked his famous father in a coercive manner.
Ian Sams, a White House spokesman for oversight and investigation, responded to the fervor Friday as House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee investigation the 2017 message provided to Congress by Gary Shapley, an IRS agent.
In the message, Hunter Biden told businessman Henry Zhao he was sitting next to his father and wanted to see action on an energy deal.
“As we have said many times before, the president was not in business with his son. As we have also said many times before, the Justice Department makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved,” Mr. Sams said. “As the president has said, he loves his son and is proud of him accepting responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life.”
House Republicans are looking into claims that Hunter Biden traded on his father’s name in foreign business dealings, and whether the older Mr. Biden was involved. The WhatsApp revelation added intrigue.
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Hunter Biden wrote in 2017 about the proposed deal. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.”
Reporters at a White House briefing Friday brought up the WhatsApp message, which dropped on top of whistleblower claims that Hunter Biden got slack from investigators before he agreed to plead guilty to charges of failing to pay federal income taxes and will have a felony gun violation eventually erased from his record.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Chris Clark, issued a statement Friday saying claims that investigators cut corners or cut his client slack were “preposterous and deeply irresponsible.”
“The DOJ investigation covered a period which was a time of turmoil and addiction for my client,” he said. “Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
Earlier Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to weigh in on the WhatsApp message, which was provided to the House Ways and Means Committee.
“I would refer you to my colleagues at the White House counsel,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.
Ms. Jean-Pierre also defended the president’s decision to invite Hunter Biden to Thursday’s state dinner with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just two days after Hunter Biden reached a plea agreement.
“I’m not going to get into personal family discussions,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “As you know, Hunter is his son.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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