The White House has helped develop a system for Hunter Biden to sell his art pieces, or to anyone in the administration, without knowing who bought them, on how President Joe Biden’s son made his money. The latest attempt to respond to criticism.
According to a person familiar with the plan, under the arrangement, a New York City art dealer would sell the painting, which the dealer said would keep all information about the sale a secret, pricing it between $75,000 and $500,000. Used to be.
Gallerist has agreed not to share any information about buyers or prices of Georges Burgess, Hunter Biden’s work with anyone. A person familiar with the matter said Burgess has agreed to decline any offer that appears questionable, such as beyond the asking price.
Hunter Biden has for years been under scrutiny around the world over business deals that often tampered with his father’s official duties. His work in Ukraine in particular became a political flashpoint, helping indirectly lead to the first impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, and his business dealings in China became a campaign issue last year.
Hunter Biden’s taxes are also being investigated by the US Attorney’s Office in Delaware. He has said that he is confident that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
He has begun painting in recent years, and his efforts to sell his works have posed a new ethical challenge for the White House, which has come under pressure to ensure that buyers can curry them as favors. Or will not buy in an attempt to gain access to them. Administration.
While some government ethics watchdogs defended the president’s right to pursue the career of an adult son, others raised concerns that the new system lacked adequate safeguards to prevent undue influence on the administration from potential buyers.
Virginia Cantor, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the chief ethics council under a government watchdog, questioned what would prevent buyers of the artwork from being made public after she had bought a painting by Hunter Biden.
“I think it’s creative,” Cantor said. “I think they want to manage the conflict but the problem will be enforcement. Unless you have the buyer sign a non-disclosure agreement, that information will come out.”
He said the administration should especially stop officials of foreign governments from buying art pieces. The Treasury Department warned last year that the anonymity of high-value art transactions could make the market attractive to those engaged in illegal financial activity or subject to US sanctions.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the arrangement, which was first reported by the Washington Post, would ensure ethical behavior.
“The president has set the highest ethical standards of any administration in American history, and his family’s commitment to such rigorous procedures is a prime example,” Bates said in a statement.
Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark did not respond to requests for comment. Burgess did not respond to a request for comment. An employee who answered the phone at his gallery declined to comment on the arrangement, saying Burgess was not available.
Some ethics watchdogs said the system didn’t go far enough.
Danielle Bryan, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, said: “This was the perfect opportunity for the Biden White House to demonstrate how committed he is to raising ethics and allowing his family to trade in the power of the White House.” don’t give.” . “They’ve let us down. It was a missed opportunity, and I think they’ve gone in the wrong direction.”
The administration is confident that the arrangement, which the White House Council office helped develop, will prevent anyone from citing Hunter Biden’s purchase of art as evidence of ties to the administration, according to a person familiar with the plan. . If a buyer goes public with information about a purchase, administration officials will be discouraged from working with that person, the person said.
Venture into the world of high-priced art appears to be the next step for the president’s son, after years of criticism over his business dealings, particularly during the time his father was vice president.
Hunter Biden was paid $50,000 a month or more to serve on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company owned by an oligarch that was widely seen as corrupt, a wealthy Romanian Advised the business executive to face corruption charges and invested in a private equity fund. Chinese government.
Trump’s first impeachment trial focused on allegations that the president abused his powers in an attempt to harm the Biden campaign by calling on Ukraine’s government to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden’s behavior.
Biden has repeatedly defended his son’s work. Hunter Biden describes painting as a form of therapy following a history of drug and alcohol addiction. The painting “is really making me smarter,” he told The New York Times last year. “For years I wouldn’t call myself an artist. Now I feel comfortable saying it.”
Burgess told Artnet News last month that he expects Hunter Biden’s artwork to sell for $500,000.
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