Former White House Ethics Chief SLAMS Joe Biden's Lawyers Over 'Inappropriate' Financial Discussions With Hunter
Oct. 25 2022, Published 4:12 p.m. ET
Former White House ethics chief Richard Painter has criticized Joe Biden’s lawyers for contacting Hunter Biden nearly 12 years ago regarding the then-vice president’s taxes, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The shocking development comes just a few days after Daily Mail revealed that in 2010, while Joe was still serving as vice president under Barack Obama, his White House lawyers contacted both Hunter and Hunter’s business partner, Eric Schwerin, to discuss an audit letter from the IRS about Joe’s 2008 taxes.
Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under the Bush administration from 2005 to 2007 and who recently sat for an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, said the communications between Joe’s lawyers and Hunter and Schwerin were “inappropriate.”
“I don't think the White House Counsel should be contacting family members of the vice president. That's unusual,” Painter said.
“I don't know why Hunter would be involved…And I think it's unfortunate that Hunter Biden's business partner would be handling the vice president's taxes,” Painter added, referencing the fact Schwerin was doing Joe’s taxes at the time of the IRS audit.
Even more surprising was Painter’s claim that Joe’s White House counsel at the time, Cynthia Hogan, should only have reached out to Hunter if Hunter and Joe were doing business together at the time of the audit – although President Biden has regularly denied ever speaking about, or being involved with, Hunter’s business dealings.
“It's okay to discuss it with a White House counsel, because we should be aware of personal tax problems of anybody in the administration,” Painter explained. “But if there's an audit or a dispute with the IRS, we never ever would allow the White House counsel or anyone else in the White House to intervene in that.”
“I think what's unusual is involving Hunter Biden, particularly if the vice president didn't have business relations with him, or didn't say he did,” Painter concluded. “[President Biden] should just be straight up and just disclose what it is. That's the best thing for him right now.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Hunter Biden is currently under federal investigation over alleged tax and financial fraud connected to his overseas business dealings.
Although President Biden has regularly denied being involved with his son’s business dealings, recently surfaced emails and voicemails recovered from Hunter’s abandoned laptop have proved the president was aware to some degree of his son’s business affairs.
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“I thought the article released online, it's going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good,” Joe said during a December 12, 2018 voicemail regarding Hunter’s dealings with a Chinese oil giant. “I think you're clear.”
Painter’s interview with Daily Mail this week also came following an explosive watchdog report suggested President Biden was “complicit” in six alleged white-collar crimes connected to the federal investigation into his embattled son.
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