Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre once again played rhetorical gymnastics on Wednesday after being asked about the White House’s changing narrative regarding President Joe Biden’s involvement with his son’s foreign business dealings.
During Wednesday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre was asked by RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann about why the White House’s language has changed from originally saying Joe Biden never “discussed” business dealings with Hunter Biden to now claiming the president “has never been in business with his son.” As The Federalist’s David Harsanyi noted, the president has claimed on multiple occasions that he has “never” spoken to Hunter about the latter’s business ventures.
“Why the updated language? Which statement is true? Or is this semantics, and they’re both true?” Wegmann asked, to which Jean-Pierre repeatedly stated, “Nothing has changed.” Jean-Pierre’s response was fairly similar to the one she gave during Monday’s White House press briefing when she was asked by Fox News’ Gillian Turner if “the White House and the president still stand behind his comment that he’s never been involved and has never even spoken to his son about his business.”
“I’ve been asked this question a million times. The answer is not going to change. The answer remains the same. The president was never in business with his son,” Jean-Pierre said in an apparent shift from Biden’s original claim.
The changing narrative comes following the release of evidence purportedly showing how Biden played a major role in his family’s overseas business ventures. An FD-1023 document released by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office contains claims from a “highly credible” confidential human source that then-Vice President Biden was instrumental in the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the energy company his son was a board member of. That same document also shows that both Bidens received a collective $10 million for Joe’s purported role in getting the prosecutor fired.
In addition to the FD-1023 claims, several former Biden family business associates, including Tony Bobulinski and Devon Archer, have indicated that Joe was heavily involved in his family’s financial affairs. Numerous IRS whistleblowers have also offered similar testimony.
