The White House is adamant President Joe Biden was not in business with his son Hunter after House Republicans hammered the pair over bombshell IRS whistleblower allegations.
"As we have said many times before, the president was not in business with his son," White House Counsel's Office spokesman Ian Smith told the Washington Examiner on Friday. "As we have also said many times before, the Justice Department makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved."
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"As the president has said, he loves his son and is proud of him accepting responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life," Smith said.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre referred questions to Smith after being needled during Friday's briefing regarding the allegations pertaining to Hunter Biden's Chinese business dealings.
One of the whistleblowers, Gary Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent who was involved in the agency's criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, noted a July 30, 2017, text message Hunter Biden sent Henry Zhao, the group chairman of China’s Harvest Fund Management, in which the younger Biden repeatedly mentioned his father as he demanded payment.
"I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Hunter Biden wrote. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father."
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Hunter Biden's personal attorney, Chris Clark, has dismissed the allegations, amplified by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), as "preposterous and deeply irresponsible."
"Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family," Clark said. "A close examination of the document released publicly yesterday by a very biased individual raises serious questions over whether it is what he claims it to be. It is dangerously misleading to make any conclusions or inferences based on this document."