White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday sidestepped questions about a college recommendation letter President Biden reportedly wrote in 2017 for the son of Hunter Biden‘s Chinese business partner.
“I’ve seen the report. I have no confirmation or comment on a report about whether the president, when he was a private citizen, wrote a college recommendation letter for an individual,” Ms. Psaki told reporters at the daily White House press briefing.
When pressed about whether or not Mr. Biden received anything in return for writing the letter, Ms. Psaki reiterated that he was a private citizen when the alleged letter was written.
Mr. Biden has repeatedly insisted he never discussed his son Hunter Biden‘s business dealings with him.
The involvement of the elder Mr. Biden in his son’s enormously profitable business relationships raises questions about influence peddling by the Biden family.
Emails obtained by Fox News show discussions about the college recommendation in exchanges between Hunter Biden‘s consulting firm Rosemont Seneca and Chinese investment firms Bohai Capital and BHR.
Hunter Biden also had a 10% stake in BHR as recently as last year, the White House said. An attorney for Hunter Biden told The New York Times that he sold his shares
In a Jan. 3, 2017, email sent to Hunter Biden and his business partners, Devon Archer and Jim Bulger, BHR CEO Jonathan Li wrote that his son, Chris Li, is applying to college at Brown University, Cornell University and New York University.
Mr. Bulger responded and copied Hunter Biden and Mr. Archer to say they received Chris Li’s curriculum vitae, which is a form of a resume, according to the Fox News report.
“Let’s see how we can be helpful here to Chris,” Mr. Bulger wrote back, according to the emails.
A few weeks later, Rosement Seneca partner Eric Schwerin joined the conversation, replying to Mr. Li on Feb. 18, 2017.
“The original is being FedExed to Dr. Paxson directly at Brown,” Schwerin wrote. “It should be there by Tuesday at the latest (given Monday is a holiday here in the U.S.). Let us know if you have any questions. Best, Eric,” the email reportedly said.
Dr. Paxson is Christina Paxson, the president of Brown University.
The contents of the recommendation letter of whether or not Christopher Li ever attended Brown is unclear.
A representative for Hunter Biden did not return requests for comment from The Washington Times.