Trump and Schwarzman Disagree on Whether They Discussed Bidens

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is on tape saying he had a conversation with Blackstone Group Inc. founder Steve Schwarzman about former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. On Friday, Schwarzman’s spokeswoman disputed that account.

Trump presented his version of events at a closed-door gathering with U.S. diplomats in New York this week, where he attacked Democratic rival Biden and disparaged a whistle-blower complaint now at the heart of an impeachment inquiry. At one point, the president brought up Schwarzman, who has at times functioned as an intermediary between the U.S. and Chinese governments. Trump asserted that Biden’s son, Hunter, got the Chinese to contribute $1.5 billion for an investment fund.

“I was with the head of Blackstone, which is the big deal,” the president said, before quoting their conversation. “Steve, is that possible?” Trump recalled asking, noting that Schwarzman eventually demurred by saying, “Maybe I shouldn’t get involved, you know it’s very political.”

Jennifer Friedman, a spokeswoman for Schwarzman, denied that any such chat occurred: “Steve never spoke to the president about Joe Biden or his family, nor has he had any conversations with the Chinese about Biden or his family,” she said in a statement to Bloomberg after the Washington Post reported the response.

“Steve was never asked by anyone, and has never had, conversations with the Chinese about Joe Biden or his family,” she added.

--With assistance from Noah Buhayar.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Scheer in Seattle at dscheer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Dan Reichl

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