President Joe Biden maintained on Monday that he did not speak to his son Hunter Biden about business dealings, days after an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblower testimony revealed an alleged text message showing the two Bidens were in the same room during a business conversation.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden if he lied “about never speaking to Hunter about his business deals.”
The president said “no,” before immediately leaving the East Room.
Biden’s comments are in line with what he has repeatedly maintained — that he knew nothing of his son’s business dealings. On Friday, the White House issued a statement saying Biden was “not in business with his son.”
REPORTER: “Did you lie about speaking to Hunter about his business deals?”
BIDEN: “No.” pic.twitter.com/dbSYAg7aiU
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 26, 2023
Documents published Thursday revealed an IRS whistleblower testimony detailing an alleged 2017 WhatsApp message sent from Hunter Biden to his Chinese business associate.
In the text message — discovered as a part of a larger investigation — 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.”
White House spokespeople Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby refused to say anything about the text message during Friday’s press briefing, despite pressure from several reporters.
After the presser, Hunter Biden’s lawyer issued a response saying his client was “in the midst of a horrible addiction” at the time and any “verifiable words” from him are “solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”