President Joe Biden on Monday denied claims of lying about a 2017 conversation with son Hunter Biden about his business dealings overseas while kicking off the administration's infrastructure tour to mark investment in U.S. high-speed internet.
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich posed the question directly to the president during an event at the White House on Monday announcing the 'Broadband Equity Access and Deployment' (BEAD) program — a $42.45 billion grant program funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
When asked by Heinrich, 'Did you lie about never speaking with Hunter about his business deals?' Biden immediately responded, 'No.'
Q: "Did you lie about never speaking to Hunter about his business deals?"
BIDEN: "No" pic.twitter.com/mWC3Xtd8sS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 26, 2023
Heinrich then asked Biden whether he ever spoke with his son about his overseas business dealings. While it was unclear if Biden responded before other reporters shouted questions to the president, he eventually made his exit after answering Heinrich's initial query.
The exchange follows bombshell allegations of political corruption concerning Hunter Biden amid his recent guilty plea to federal tax charges. He also recently according to a plea deal on a felony gun charge.
The House Ways and Means Committee recently revealed an IRS whistleblower's account of an alleged 2017 WhatsApp message from Biden Jr. to Chinese business associate Henry Zhao, director of Harvest Fund Management.
In the message obtained by whistleblower Gary Shapley, Hunter reportedly told Zhao, "I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.
“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.”
Monday's event marked the White House's largest internet funding announcement in history, awarding $27 million to over $3 billion to states, territories, and the District of Columbia for high-speed internet deployment. Biden also acknowledged the Wagner Group's attempted revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, saying he sought to make clear that the West and NATO were "not involved" in any way.
"We gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West, to blame this on NATO. We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it," said Biden.
Vice President Harris and other senior administration officials will be traveling across the country over the next three weeks to further promote Biden's economic agenda.
The White House's responses to these recent accusations concerning Hunter Biden have been increasingly under scrutiny, particularly following his presence at Camp David over the weekend.
The president continues to maintain that he had no involvement in discussing his son's business dealings, stressing that his son's overseas dealings were conducted in a "private business matter."
Here are Joe and Hunter Biden arriving back at the White House last night after spending the weekend hunkered down at Camp David.
They took no questions. pic.twitter.com/McB4OyyEYN
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 26, 2023