White House national security spokesperson John Kirby on Friday refused to answer a question about Hunter Biden from Newsmax correspondent James Rosen.
During a press conference, Rosen brought up a message reportedly sent by Biden on WhatsApp in 2017 to a Chinese business associate that referenced President Joe Biden, which was released by the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.
Rosen quoted the message in full and said: "So just a couple of questions about this. First, does this not undermine the president's claim during the 2020 campaign and the reaffirmations of that claim by his two press secretaries since then that he never once discussed his son's overseas business dealings with him?"
Kirby responded: "No, and I'm not going to comment further on this."
Kirby added: "Let me save you some breath if you're going to ask about this … I am not going to address this issue from this podium. I'm just not going to do it."
Kirby then thanked the reporters, told them to have a good weekend, and ended the press conference.
Hunter Biden, 53, was charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon and has reached an agreement with the Justice Department, according to a letter filed in U.S. district court in Delaware.
As part of the agreement, made public Tuesday, Hunter Biden will plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user. It is somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time the charges are filed in court, though it is not totally unheard of.
The agreement came days after a 37-count indictment came down against former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents on his Florida estate, another case with even more dramatic political implications.
Republicans called Hunter Biden's deal too lenient.
"It's no coincidence that less than a week after President Trump is arraigned, Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to a sweetheart deal with no jail time," Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote in a statement, denouncing Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland. "The DOJ is going for the low-hanging fruit by charging Hunter Biden with a gun felony and two tax misdemeanors, after years of slow walking their investigation."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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