White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday dismissed questions from a New York Post reporter who wanted to know how the Biden adminis...
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday dismissed questions from a New York Post reporter who wanted to know how the Biden administration navigates conflicts of interest created by the business activities of Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has extensive business connections in Ukraine, Russia and China.
“I’ve got a quick clarification and two questions about presidential conflicts of interest in foreign affairs,” reporter Steven Nelson began, according to a White House transcript of the briefing. “The first brief clarification is: The New York Times reported this week that the first son remains under criminal investigation. Does the president still intend to stay out of that case?”
“Yes. It’s the Department of Justice, and I would point you to them,” Psaki said.
Nelson was referring to reports that the Justice Department is investigating Hunter Biden’s activities.
Nelson then homed in on reports that Hunter Biden received $3.5 million from Elena (also spelled Yelena) Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow with a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes.
“On Russia: You told me last year that you were unfamiliar with the Senate report that alleged that the first son — or a company linked to the first son received $3.5 million from the richest woman in Russia. Subsequent reporting indicates that President Biden, when he was Vice President, had a dinner in Georgetown with the same woman in 2015,” Nelson said.
“This — Yelena Baturina, she has not been sanctioned yet by the U.S. government. How is President Biden navigating conflicts of interest when it comes to sanctioning people who have done business with his family? And can you explain to us what this $3.5 million was for?” he said.
Although the allegation was contained in a Senate report, Psaki said, “I don’t have any confirmation of the accuracy of that report, so I have no more further details.”
Nelson asked how sanctions worked when Russia and China are minefields of conflicts of interest.
“Can you say anything about the conflicts of interest, though — how he’s navigating those when deciding sanctions?” he inquired.
“What would be his conflicts of interest?” Psaki asked.
“Well, his son’s company allegedly got $3.5 million from …” Nelson began, only to have Psaki cut him off, saying she had no confirmation of what Nelson was saying.
Psaki then tried to call on someone else, but Nelson refused to give way.
“But she hasn’t been sanctioned, though,” he said, eventually getting Psaki’s attention to ask the second part of his question.
“My question about the conflict of interests when it comes to China is: Last year, the first son’s attorney said that he divested from a Chinese investment fund controlled by Chinese state-owned entities. We have received not even basic transparency about who bought out his stake, when this happened, and how much money changed hands. Did he actually divest? And if so, can you agree to basic transparency?” he said.
“He’s a private citizen. He doesn’t work for the government. I’d point you to his representatives,” Psaki said, trying to call on another reporter.
“But there’s a blaring conflict of interest for his father’s role as President, dealing with China,” Nelson said.
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