First Son Hunter Biden continues to own a large stake in a Chinese private equity firm, in defiance of President Joe Biden’s pledge that his family would divest in foreign business interests, New York Post reports.
Hunter’s company, Skaneateles LLC, holds a 10 percent stake in Chinese private equity firm Bohai Harvest RST Equity Investment Fund Management Co.. BHR Partners is co-owned by the state-controlled Bank of China, the outlet noted.
In 2019, then-candidate Biden vowed that his family would be free of international financial entanglements; a contrast to the Trump Organization’s global footprint.
“No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country,” Biden said at the time.
Hunter stepped down from BHR’s board in 2019 over increased scrutiny of his father’s bid for the Democratic nomination.
“Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests,” his lawyer said at the time.
In February, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Hunter was still an investor in BHR, but was selling his shares.
“He has been working to unwind his investment but I would certainly point you — he’s a private citizen — I would point you to him or his lawyers on the outside on any update,” Psaki said, in response to a question from The Post.
In December, Hunter disclosed the federal government was investigating his overseas business dealings, after The Post reported he helped arrange a 2015 meeting between his then-vice president father and his Ukrainian energy firm executive boss — whom the elder Biden later helped shield from investigation.
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