White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre turned into a stuttering mess when a reporter asked her about a new report revealing Hunter Biden sought help from the State Department on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings while Joe Biden was Vice President.
The New York Times was first to report on Hunter Biden reaching out for help from a US ambassador.
Other outlets such as CNN and ABC News also reported on the heavily redacted State Department documents obtained by the New York Times through a FOIA request.
According to reports, Hunter Biden reached out to the US Ambassador for Italy in 2015 for assistance for Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
In 2015 Hunter Biden was being paid $80,000 to sit on the board of Burisma Holdings even though he had no experience in gas or energy in Ukraine.
The White House laughably claimed Joe Biden had no idea his son reached out to the US Ambassador for Italy on behalf of Burisma.
The New York Times reported that a Commerce Department official based in Italy told Hunter Biden that the US government shouldn’t be “actively advocating with the government of Italy” without Burisma first going through the Commerce Department.
Hunter Biden still has not been charged with acting as a foreign agent (FARA violations).
Excerpt from ABC News:
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, attempted to enlist support from the U.S. Ambassador to Italy in 2016 to arrange a business meeting on behalf of Burisma for a prospective energy deal, according to his attorney.
The New York Times reported that it had secured records related to Hunter Biden’s request after a lengthy legal fight with the State Department. The newspaper said in Tuesday’s news article that it initially filed the request for these records in June 2021 and later sued when the department failed to turn them over.
The Times also reported that a State Department official said the timing of the release of these particular documents — just weeks after Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign — was a coincidence.
The actual text of Hunter Biden’s 2016 letter to Ambassador John Phillips was not included in the documents obtained by the Times. But according to Lowell, Hunter Biden reached out to the embassy to see “if they could make a simple introduction of Burisma’s Geothermal company to the President of Tuscany where such projects were being considered.”
ABC’s Selina Wang asked Karine Jean-Pierre about the New York Times report on Hunter Biden.
“The New York Times is reporting that Hunter Biden sought help from a U.S. ambassador on behalf of Burisma while he was on the company’s board and while Biden was vice president. So what’s Biden’s reaction to this, and is he concerned about what this looks like to the American public?” Selina Wang asked KJP.
Karine Jean-Pierre stuttered as she reverted back to her ‘Hunter Biden is a private citizen’ talking points.
“So, I’ll just report what I’ve said before is that the President has never — has never done business with his son and — uh — he was not aware of this and — uh — and for anything further, I would have to refer you to — uh — Hunter Biden’s representative — personal representatives. I can’t speak beyond that, but again, I’ve said this before, the President was not in business with his son, and this is the first time as I — the first time he’s — uh — he was not aware of this — uh — uh — uh and for anything further you would have to reach out to Biden — Hunter Biden,” KJP said.
WATCH:
ABC’s @SelinaWangTV: “The New York Times is reporting that Hunter Biden sought help from a U.S. ambassador on behalf of Burisma while he was on the company’s board and while Biden was vice president. So what’s Biden’s reaction to this, and is he concerned about what this looks… pic.twitter.com/hmLmi3qo88
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 14, 2024
Selina Wang pressed Karine Jean-Pierre: “And, you said from the podium that President Biden would not pardon his son. If Vice President Harris is elected, would he tell her also to not pardon?”
“I mean, that’s a hypothetical that I — look, the President — I could speak for the President — uh — and he said he would not pardon his son, and I’m just going to leave it there,” Karine Jean-Pierre.
WATCH:
ABC’s @SelinaWangTV: “And, you said from the podium that President Biden would not pardon his son. If Vice President Harris is elected, would he tell her also to not pardon?”
KJP: “I mean, that’s a hypothetical that I — look, the President — I could speak for the President — uh… pic.twitter.com/vKRQbQdDAm
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 14, 2024
