'Access granted': Biden's free vacation at friend's California mansion draws ire of critics

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President Biden wants to establish an enforceable ethics code for Supreme Court justices, but the lame-duck president has been criticized over his own apparent conflicts of interest, including his relationship with friend and billionaire donor Joe Kiani.

Following his address at the Democratic National Convention Monday, Biden and his family flew to Santa Ynez, California, to vacation at Kiani's ranch-style estate. The first family is reportedly staying there for free, said White House officials who described Kiani as a "friend," according to the New York Post. 

Kiani has given Biden's super PAC, foundation and inaugural committee nearly $3 million, according to House Republicans who have taken issue with the relationship. Meanwhile, in September 2021, Kiani won an appointment from Biden to sit on his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which advises the executive branch on policy matters involving Kiani’s medical tech business, Masimo. Since Biden took office in January 2021, Masimo has received nearly $3 million in federal contracts, according to Republicans. 

In addition to his appointment, Kiani received tickets from Biden in 2022 to attend a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Post reported. The outlet said it granted the billionaire CEO access to trans-Atlantic business officials and other global elites.

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News of the first family's vacation at Kiani's ranch comes amid Democratic efforts to reshape the Supreme Court, including an enforceable ethics code for justices and term limits. These efforts were largely spurred by Justice Clarence Thomas' relationship with Republican Party donor Harlan Crow. 

Thomas, who has described Crow as one of his family's "dearest friends," has been under fire from critics for vacationing with Crow and accepting other gifts from him.

President Biden and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which oversees executive branch ethics, declined to comment, telling Fox News Digital it does not "discuss specific individuals or circumstances."

"The self-proclaimed most ethical and transparent administration in history strikes again," said Michael Chamberlain, director of the conservative nonprofit Protect the Public's Trust.

"The Biden-Harris EPA is already doling out its Greendoggle billions to organizations with ties to the administration and its political allies. Now, we have this type of arrangement with a donor who has business before the government. Seems to be just how things get done in this administration." 

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In April 2022, a team of 12 House Republicans penned a letter to Shalanda Young, the director of the federal government's Office of Management and Budget. The letter took issue with Biden's relationship with Kiani, noting they want to be sure "political donations are not unduly influencing the Administration’s management of contracts and loans."

While the relationship between Kiani and Biden has drawn scrutiny, so have Biden's relationships with other major Democratic Party big wigs.

A year ago, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer opened the doors of his Lake Tahoe mansion to the Biden family. Steyer manages a green energy investment fund that's working to "take advantage" of federal climate change spending provided through Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. 

Tom Steyer speaks onstage at the 2024 Time Earth Awards Gala at Second April 24, 2024, in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for TIME)

The Center for Renewing America, a conservative nonprofit, filed an ethics complaint with the Department of Justice in April, calling on it to investigate Biden for alleged "serious ethical lapses" in failing to disclose free vacations that do not appear to qualify under certain exemptions in the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). The complaint lays out at least four questionable vacations taken by Biden and his family, including the trip to Lake Tahoe.

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Other trips mentioned in the complaint include a trip to the South Carolina beachfront mansion of Democratic Party donor Maria Allwin, a stay in Nantucket at private equity founder David Rubenstein's $39 million mansion and a New Years trip to Bill and Connie Neville's private Island property in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The Nevilles were invited to a 2015 state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping around the time they began sharing their house, according to the complaint. Additionally, in December 2022, the same month Biden stayed at their mansion, the Nevilles were White House guests, attending a state dinner with Macron. 

President Biden, first lady Jill Biden and their grandchildren, Natalie and Robert, take a selfie before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Dec. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Kendra Arnold, executive director of the nonprofit Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, asserted Biden's trip to Kiani's mansion "reinforces the popular notion that individuals who give large amounts of money to politicians are rewarded with increased access and various perks that are unavailable to others." 

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"When, like is the case here, there is an apparent circular beneficial relationship, it is difficult to believe that, at a minimum, there has not been increased access granted," Arnold concluded. "As a rule of thumb, our elected officials are encouraged to even avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest, and, in this case, President Biden has certainly fallen short."