ICYMI| House Republicans are launching a probe to see if Biden family members are turning a profit from Joe being the alleged president. More specifically, they want to know about the sale of art from Hunter Biden.
Maybe they find it hard to believe that a completely untrained artist’s first paintings sell for half a million. But, why not.
Hunter made a fortune as a board member of Burisma Holdings despite no experience in Ukraine and the energy industry.
House Oversight Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) and other Republicans wrote in a letter:
“Reports regarding President Biden’s family members attempting to profit from their proximity to the White House have been disturbing and recurring. Unfortunately, these reports of President Biden using his former official positions of public trust to swell the coffers of his family members are widespread, and any hope the pattern of family self-dealing would finally stop when he assumed the presidency has been dashed.”
“The prices for these paintings—by someone with no formal training or history as an artist—raise questions about whether the art is being offered for its merit or its connection to the White House.”
The group demanded documents from the White House Counsel’s Office and the National Archives and Records Administration. They cited the curious fact that the White House helped craft the sale, including keeping the names of the buyers a secret. Why would they do that unless the buyers had business before the federal government? Inquiring minds want to know.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said of the arrangement in a recent press conference that “after careful consideration, a system has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards.”
The lawmakers also noted that Biden’s sister plans to publish a book about her time as the president “whisperer” and that the law firm employing Biden’s brother, Frank Biden, promoted the relationship in an advertisement on the same day the president was inaugurated.
The “potential pattern of using the White House for profit” dates back to Biden’s time as vice president, with Frank Biden in 2011 promoting the sibling relationship and Hunter Biden flying to China in 2013 with his father at the same time he was creating a Chinese private equity fund.
