White House press secretary Jen Psaki dodged specifics on Hunter Biden’s ownership stake in a Chinese government-linked investment firm, saying only that “he has been working to wind that down” and directing reporters to speak with the president’s son for further details.
The lack of transparency comes despite promises from President Joe Biden that his family would not have any foreign business ties.
The Washington Examiner reported last week that Chinese business records indicate that Hunter Biden still appears to hold a 10% equity stake in Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management.
The president said his family would not be involved in “any business, any enterprise that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict with an appropriate distance from the presidency and government” during the presidential transition period in December, and a reporter pressed Psaki about his pledge on Monday.
HUNTER BIDEN STILL HOLDS 10% STAKE IN CHINESE FIRM
“I’d point you to his representatives on that. He doesn’t work in the administration,” Psaki said. When pressed again on whether the people deserved answers, she would only add, “You should talk to his representatives — there’s no reason to yell, I’m certainly not yelling — you should talk to his representatives. That remains his policy. He’s been working to wind that down. Beyond that, I would say talk to his representatives.”
When the Washington Examiner asked the Biden administration last week whether Hunter Biden had followed through on his divestment yet, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said only that “we refer you to Jen’s comments and Hunter Biden’s representatives.”
BHR and Hunter Biden’s lawyers have not responded to the Washington Examiner’s questions about whether he would relinquish his holdings in the Chinese firm.
Through one of his lawyers, George Mesires, Hunter Biden promised to leave the board of the Chinese firm by the end of October 2019, but his resignation was submitted to China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System in the spring of 2020. He maintains his ownership stake.
A review of BHR’s financial documents, including 2019 company board meeting minutes found on Hunter Biden’s purported laptop and provided to the Washington Examiner by Jack Maxey, a former co-host of the Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, show the firm had access to tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars for Chinese and global investments and set up a complicated web of China-based and Cayman Islands-based shell companies and subsidiaries.
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BHR has made extensive investments in multiple controversial Chinese companies, including Megvii, sanctioned in 2019 for its alleged participation in China‘s repression and high-technology surveillance in Xinjiang, and the state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group, blacklisted in 2019 for having allegedly attempted to acquire U.S. nuclear technology for military use in China.
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Tags: News, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Jen Psaki, China
Original Author: Jerry Dunleavy
Original Location: Psaki dodges specifics on Hunter Biden investment in Chinese firm
