White House press secretary skirts question on House investigating Hunter Biden's business deals
Jean-Pierre tells reporters Republicans are focused more on political division than fighting inflation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deflected questions from a reporter on Tuesday, on whether President Biden lied about his involvement in his family’s business schemes.
During a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about claims from the House Oversight Committee – just as Republicans were taking control of the House – and claims of having evidence that the president lied to the American people about his involvement in his family’s schemes.
President Biden waves alongside his son Hunter Biden after attending mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Johns Island, South Carolina, on Aug. 13, 2022. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Members of the House Oversight Committee have alleged that Hunter Biden and Joe Biden participated in "waste, fraud, and abuse" in international business dealings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HUNTER BIDEN PROBE: 2022 MARKED FOURTH YEAR—AND COUNTING—OF INVESTIGATION
Along with those allegations, Republicans said in November they had evidence of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., wire fraud, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, money laundering, tax evasion and other crimes.
"So, look, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. House Republicans promised that fighting inflation during the midterms was going to be their number one priority," Jean Pierre said in response to Doocy’s question. "That’s what they said was important to them, and that’s what they wanted to do. But instead, what they’re doing is wanting to do an investigation on the president and his family. That’s their focus."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hunter Biden's laptop was at the center of a Big Tech censorship campaign in 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
She accused the Republican party of focusing more on what the American people do not want to see, like political division.
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"Look, I’m not going to get into, you know, get into the specifics of any oversight here," Jean-Pierre said, directing questions to White House counsel who would be handling the matter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the center of controversy surrounding Hunter is a laptop, which during the presidential campaign was left at a repair shop in Delaware.
The New York Post reported on the many documents on that laptop in October 2020, which detailed questionable overseas business dealings that are now part of an ongoing federal tax probe into Hunter, who was under federal investigation since 2018. President Biden has claimed he had no knowledge of his son's dealings.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The probe was sparked by suspicious activity reports regarding questionable foreign transactions from "China and other foreign nations."
In 2020, it became known that the FBI subpoenaed the laptop during an existing money laundering investigation.