Biden Won’t Ask AG Candidates About a Hunter Probe, Aide Says
Biden Won’t Ask AG Candidates About a Hunter Probe, Aide Says
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Joe Biden hasn’t made a decision on who to nominate as attorney general, but won’t ask candidates about a probe of his son Hunter, a spokeswoman said.
Jen Psaki, who’ll serve as press secretary in the Biden White House, told “Fox News Sunday” that Biden’s deliberations are ongoing, but that he won’t ask about the matter, either before making a pick or once an attorney general takes office.
“He will not be discussing an investigation of his son with any attorney general candidates -- he will not be discussing it with anyone he is considering for the role, and he will not be discussing it with a future attorney general,” Psaki said.
“It will be up to the purview of a future attorney general in his administration to determine how to handle any investigation,” she added.
Hunter Biden said earlier this month that he’s facing a federal investigation into his taxes after his foreign business dealings became a flash-point in the 2020 presidential campaign.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded inquiries into Hunter Biden, and some Republican lawmakers, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have called for the appointment of a special counsel.
In an interview with CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert on Thursday, Joe Biden said he believed efforts to use his son as a political cudgel amounted to “foul play.”
“We have great confidence in our son,” Biden said. “I’m not concerned about any accusations that have been made against him, it’s used to get me. I think it’s kind of foul play but -- look, it is what it is.”
The probes include one led by the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s office into whether Hunter Biden violated tax laws, and another by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania concerning his activities in Ukraine and potential money laundering, according to a person familiar with the matter who discussed the sensitive inquiry on condition of anonymity. At least one of the probes has been ongoing since 2018, a third person said.
Attorney general is the last of the four highest-profile cabinet portfolios for Biden to award. The transition has also yet to announce its picks for secretaries of commerce, labor and education. “We have a few more to go,” Psaki said.
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