The White House issued a response Friday about Hunter Biden’s alleged text about Joe Biden sitting next to him during a business deal, responding to the revelation only after a chaotic press briefing ensued.
Documents published Thursday revealed an IRS whistleblower testimony about the 2017 text message in which Hunter Biden allegedly told his Chinese business associate that he was sitting next to Joe Biden and “we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.” (RELATED: IRS Revelations: Hunter Said Joe Was In The Room In Message Threatening Chinese Partner)
The full text message allegedly read, “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. 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.”
The White House Counsel’s office responded, “as we have said many times before, the President was not in business with his son.”
“As we have said many times before, the President was not in business with his son. 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. 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,” White House Counsel spokesperson Ian Sams said.
The White House’s response marks an apparent change from what the president has said himself — that he knew nothing about his son’s business.
“was not in business with his son” is a goalpost shove from “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings” https://t.co/cP3U2sXwtH
— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) June 23, 2023
Hunter Biden’s lawyer also issued a response, saying that his client was “in the midst of a horrible addiction” and any “verifiable words” from him are “solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
Before the White House Counsel’s office had said anything about the alleged text, both White House spokespeople John Kirby and Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer on the topic. Jean-Pierre repeatedly claimed the counsel’s office had already answered the question.
Several reporters pressed Kirby and Jean-Pierre, asking whether the message undermines Joe Biden’s repeated claims that he knows nothing of his son’s business dealings. Kirby refused to respond to inquiries from the Daily Caller, Newsmax and the New York Post, saying he wouldn’t speak to it “from this podium.” He then left the room.
A New York Times reporter then brought the question to Jean-Pierre, asking if she would answer the question about Hunter Biden’s text, since “it’s not an unreasonable question to ask when the president of the United States was involved, as this message seems to suggest, in some sort of coercive conversation for business dealings by his son.”
🚨WATCH🚨
Chaos Ensues at WH Press Briefing as multiple reporters, including Daily Caller’s @DianaGlebova press KJP on whether or not Joe had any knowledge of Hunter’s shady overseas business deals pic.twitter.com/BkPBxg1NNt
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 23, 2023
“I appreciate the question, I believe my colleague at the White House counsel has answered this question,” Jean-Pierre said.
Reporters from NBC and CBS asked follow-up questions to Jean-Pierre, but she refused to say anything about the text message.