Despite President Biden's consistent efforts to separate himself from his family's business affairs during his presidential campaign and subsequent tenure, a recent report reveals the deep involvement of his inner circle in the Biden family's ventures.
According to Fox News, the President shares a personal bookkeeper with his son, Hunter Biden, a personal lawyer with his brother, Jim Biden, and the former head of his Secret Service detail has even assisted Jim Biden in investigating a potential Chinese business partner.
The Bidens have consistently claimed to maintain strict "firewalls" to prevent business discussions among family members. However, the report from Politico suggests a different reality, detailing the significant involvement of those within the President's sphere in dealings with Hunter and Jim Biden.
In one instance, Jim Biden, the President's brother, employed Dale Pupillo, the former head of the Vice President's Secret Service detail, to investigate a Chinese executive that Hunter Biden was scheduled to meet in 2017. During the impeachment inquiry in February, Jim Biden emphasized that he personally commissioned the investigation into the executive to avoid entering the situation uninformed. However, he maintained that he was unaware of the specifics of the potential venture led by his nephew.
"I wanted to know who I was meeting with and if there were any complications at all," he stated during the impeachment interview, adding that it was a common practice in the Biden family to keep business dealings separate from each other. The executive in question, Patrick Ho, was subsequently arrested and convicted on federal corruption charges.
The Politico report also highlights Jim Biden's long-standing practice of leveraging connections to his influential older brother. In 1975, during Joe Biden's first Senate term, Jim Biden secured a loan from the senator's former law firm, Walsh, Monzack & Owens, to fund his nightclub business.
One of the partners, Mel Monzack, later became the President's personal attorney and campaign treasurer. Monzack's current firm also serves as the registered agent for the President's personal S Corporation, CelticCapri, which manages income from activities such as writing and speaking fees. Monzack also acted as Jim Biden's personal attorney, assisting in negotiating a proposed deal that would have given the President's brother's company a 35% stake in the Americore hospital chain.
Despite the deal falling through and raising questions due to Monzack's involvement, Jim Biden has insisted that he is unaware of the attorney's arrangement with President Biden. "I dont have the full depth of what he does or doesnt do," he stated in February. "But I know that hes intricately involved and has been, you know, for the last 40 or 50 years."
Fran Person, another close associate of President Biden, remained involved with Hunter Biden after leaving government service in 2014. Emails reveal that Person, who the Bidens claim became like a son to them during Joe Biden's Senate and vice-presidential terms, proposed a plan to Hunter Biden to develop SeaWorld parks in China in a deal between Person's business and the state-owned Chinese Development Bank in 2015.
WhatsApp messages uncovered during an IRS investigation into Hunter Biden's tax affairs also showed conversations between Person and Hunter Biden. In these exchanges, Person informed Hunter Biden that his Chinese business partner, Bo Zhang, was keen to assist the President's son in resolving his escalating financial issues.
The Politico report further detailed the role of Eric Schwerin, Hunter Biden's business partner and personal bookkeeper, within the family. President Biden relied on Schwerin to manage his own finances. However, Schwerin testified during the impeachment inquiry that there was no overlap between the President's and his son's finances.
The connection between the President's circle and his family even extended to President Biden's personal physician, Army doctor Kevin OConnor. OConnor, who served as then-Vice President Biden's personal physician and grew close to Biden during his tenure, now serves as Biden's White House physician. In between these roles, Jim Biden sought OConnor's assistance as part of his proposed Americore deal. The President's brother aimed to partner with the Veterans Affairs Department "to use vacant space at rural hospitals to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder."
Login