Biden sidesteps questions about his son's foreign business dealings but promises ethics pledge

[brooklynite]

ABC News

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden declined to answer questions on the campaign trail this week about his son's overseas business dealings in countries where the then-vice president was conducting diplomatic work, an issue his political opponents have already begun to wield against him as he wades into the 2020 presidential campaign.

More than once, after his father engaged in diplomacy on behalf of the United States in foreign countries, Hunter Biden conducted business in the same country. At two separate campaign stops on Monday, Biden avoided questions about his son while his staff blocked reporters from approaching the candidate.

Biden's campaign did provide ABC News with a statement saying the former vice president has always adhered to "well-established executive branch ethics standards," adding that if Biden wins the White House he will issue an executive order to "address conflicts of interest of any kind."

"This process will be set out in detail in the executive order," the statement reads, "that President Biden would issue on his first day in office."

[emulatorloo]

1. Check how much money Ivanka made last year off her daddy's presidency

Everything i’ve read sounds like the press is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill over Biden’s son. Afraid that’s what they do, give corrupt venal Republicans a free pass while trying to paint Democrats as horrible.

Probably something all DU’ers should be aware of. I take their “reporting” with a big grain of salt, considering how much water they carry for the venal and corrupt Trump family.

Not in the mood for this year’s version of “But Her Emails.”

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. Wtf?

Did Hunter have an official role in the administration?

Just months before, in December of 2013, there was a similar episode when the then-vice president led an Obama administration effort to tamp down tensions in the Far East. Hunter Biden disembarked from Air Force Two in Beijing alongside his father, ahead of a series of meetings between the vice president and several high-ranking members of China's ruling party. Upon his departure, Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "good friend."

Within weeks of that visit, Hunter Biden was doing business there, as a participant in a firm called Bohai Harvest RST. The corporation formed a novel Chinese-American investment partnership that involved such Chinese state-owned firms as the Bank of China. Reports at the time said they sought to raise $1.5 billion.

In response to questions from ABC News, Hunter Biden maintained that he and his father never talked about his overseas ventures.

[bluewater]

3. K&R