Former Obama Ethics Chief Walter Shaub slammed President Joe Biden’s “blind spot” over Hunter Biden’s arranged art expose with potential “anonymous” art investors.
“Welp, when I’m right, I’m right. Hunter Biden will meet with prospective buyers of his absurdly overpriced, presidency-profiting art. Good grief. The president has such a blind spot on this issue. I really hope he and his son come to their senses,” Shaub tweeted Wednesday about Georges Berges Gallery spokeswoman Robin Davis confirming to CBS News that Hunter Biden will attend the art events in New York City and Los Angeles.
Shaub continued, quoting Davis’ confirmation:
So the art dealer to whom the White House outsourced government ethics has arranged for Hunter Biden to meet with the richies who will bid on his art: “Oh yes. With pleasure. He’s looking forward to it. It is like someone debuting in the world. And of course he will be there.”
CBS News reported Wednesday Hunter Biden will “presumably socialize with potential buyers” at the event, which is “seemingly at odds with an agreement struck with the gallery owner that aims to keep buyers’ identities secret from Biden, President Biden, the White House, and the public.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday called Hunter Biden’s meeting with potential “anonymous” art buyers “reasonable”:
Psaki also stated July 10 that Hunter Biden “has the right to pursue an artistic career” by selling “artwork” to an anonymous buyer for as much as $500,000, despite concerns that Hunter Biden is still invested in “CCP [Chinese Communist Party]-linked firms.”
Breitbart News reported July 8 that Hunter Biden was working with Georges Bergès, who has links to China:
Bergès is holding an art exhibition in the fall, where Hunter’s art is expected to sell anywhere from $75,000-$500,000. The entire venture has prompted ethics concerns, particularly given Hunter’s past work as his father served as vice president — striking deals with Chinese officials and raking in tens of thousands of dollars per month serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian oligarch-owned oil and gas company, despite having no experience in the energy sector. His father would later brag about threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine unless officials fired the prosecutor conducting a corruption investigation into Burisma.
But instead of making the transactions more transparent and open, the White House is hoping to strike a deal to make buyers of Hunter Biden’s artwork, which is expected to sell for up to half a million dollars, anonymous.
Breitbart News senior contributor and Profiles in Corruption author Peter Schweizer, however, explained the proposal as an utterly “absurd” solution.
“The only way to address these issues is with greater transparency–not less,” he told Breitbart News. “Their proposed solution is greater secrecy, not transparency. And they are essentially saying ‘Trust Us.’ Joe and Hunter Biden’s track record on such matters gives us no reason to trust them.”
On July 8, the Washington Post reported Bergès will set the prices for the “artwork” and withhold “all records, including potential bidders and final buyers.”
Bergès “has also agreed to reject any offer that he deems suspicious or that comes in over the asking price, according to people familiar with the agreement,” the Post explained.
But Bergès and his art gallery have a troubled past in which Bergès was reportedly sued for fraud and breach of contract in 2016 by an investor in his gallery.
Bergès also reportedly filed for personal bankruptcy in 1998, and “his creditors included credit card companies, a bank, a jeweler and furniture retailer Pier One Imports, according to federal court records. Bankruptcy proceedings ended three months later.”
Just months before filing for bankruptcy, Bergès was arrested in California and “charged with assault with a deadly weapon and ‘terrorist threats,’ according to public records from the Santa Cruz Police Department.”
President Joe Biden, for his part, has remained removed during his son’s new scandalous venture, which could earn Hunter up to $500,000 per panting. Hunter Biden told Artnet, “My dad loves everything that I do, and so I’ll leave it at that.”