On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain claimed that President Joe Biden had not been in contact with the Department of Justice regarding an ongoing investigation into the president’s son, Hunter. He also added that Biden is confident that his family, including his brother Jim, have not crossed any ethical lines as it related to business deals with a Chinese energy company.
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos asked Klain several pointed questions about Biden’s awareness and involvement in various business and potentially illicit legal matters relating to Hunter. In a wide-ranging interview Sunday morning, the host of “This Week” noted that the “DOJ is intensifying its investigation” into Hunter, before saying, “I assume the president’s had no contact with the Justice Department about that?”
“Neither the president or any of us at the White House have had contact with the Justice Department about that,” Klain responded. (sic)
“Is the president confident Hunter Biden didn’t break the law?” Stephanopoulos followed up.
“Of course, the president is confident that his son didn’t break the law, but most importantly — as I said — that’s a matter that’s going to be decided by the Justice Department, by the legal process. It’s something that nobody at the White House has involvement in,” Klain claimed.
On the Biden family corruption scandal, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain says, "Of course the president is confident his son didn't break the law." pic.twitter.com/kn1WHZRDya
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 3, 2022
Last week, the Associated Press reported that a “federal grand jury has heard testimony in recent months about Hunter Biden’s income and payments he received while serving on the board of a Ukraine energy company, according to two people familiar with the probe.”
The AP added that “…the grand jury activity underscores that a federal tax investigation into President Joe Biden’s son that began in 2018 remains active as prosecutors continue to examine foreign payments and other aspects of his finances.”
Hunter and Biden’s brother, James, have reportedly made millions from foreign business deals that many believe were only granted to the Bidens because of Joe Biden’s political connections as a senator, vice president, and presidential candidate.
In January, The Daily Wire reported that best-selling author Peter Schweizer claimed that Hunter and other members of the Biden clan have received at least $31 million from various Chinese elites as part of lucrative trade deals in multiple business ventures. Schweizer detailed this alleged money-making machine in an opinion column for the New York Post, excerpted from his latest book, “Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.”
According to Schweizer, Biden’s brother James played a role in at least one of those business deals with Chinese elites:
Ye Jianming, a wealthy Chinese businessman and the head of CEFC China Energy, provided $6 million to the Biden family, according to a Senate investigation into Hunter’s activities.
In early 2017, one month after his father left office as vice president, Hunter Biden worked for Ye as a counselor and adviser, and Joe Biden’s brother James received some of the funds that Ye transferred to Hunter.
Five million came in the form of a forgivable, interest-free loan. Ethically, a loan is worse than a cash gift for a politician’s family, because the loan giver can always demand their money back if the recipient of the funds is not doing as they like.
That story was also reported on in Washington Post this past week after the paper verified the contents of Hunter’s infamous missing laptop. Like Schqeizer, The Post claimed that “a Chinese energy company paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and the president’s brother.”
While noting the story from the Post, Stephanoplous asked Klain, “Is the president confident his family didn’t cross any ethical lines?”
“Ah, George, the president’s confident that his family did the right thing,” Klain answered. “But again, I want to just be really clear these are actions by Hunter and his brother. They’re private matters, they don’t involve the president, and they certainly are something that nobody at the White House has been involved in.”
Q: "A Chinese energy company paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and the president's brother. Is the president confident his family didn't cross any ethical lines?"
BIDEN CHIEF OF STAFF: "Ah, George, the president's confident that his family did the right thing." pic.twitter.com/hNZAMQ85Kg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 3, 2022
The Daily Wire also reported last week that the White House claimed Thursday that Hunter did not make any money off business deals in China despite documented payments worth millions of dollars made to Biden-controlled entities.