Jean-Pierre Changes the Hunter Line: Biden 'Was Never in Business With His Son' (July 24, 2023)

For years, Joe Biden’s line on his son’s overseas deals was simple: he never talked to Hunter about them. On July 24, 2023, the White House answer came out different. “The President ha- — was never in business with his son,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said [1][4].

The video above shows the exchange from that day’s White House briefing, hours after House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said his committee had evidence that Biden dealt with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1]. The reporter was Fox News’ Gillian Turner, according to The Federalist [2].

”I’ve Been Asked This Question a Million Times”

Turner laid out Comer’s claim. “Chairman James Comer today says that the Oversight Committee — excuse me — has evidence that the President in the past communicated directly with foreign business associates of his son, Hunter Biden, many times,” she said. “Curious 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” [1].

Jean-Pierre didn’t take the bait. “So, I’ve been — I’ve been asked this question a million times. The answer is not going to change. The answer remains the same: The President ha- — was never in business with his son. I just don’t have anything else to add” [1].

That was the whole answer. She called on the next reporter [1].

What Comer Said That Day

Comer’s statement that morning was blunt. “Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he knew nothing about his son’s business dealings,” it read. “Evidence continues to be revealed that Joe Biden was very much involved in his family’s corrupt influence peddling schemes and he likely benefited financially.” The statement concerned then-Vice President Biden “attending dinners and speaking by phone with Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates,” and Comer said the committee looked forward to “speaking soon with Devon Archer,” Hunter Biden’s former partner [3].

From “Never Spoken” to “Never in Business”

The old line was on the record. In September 2019, when Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked about his private discussions with his son, Biden said, “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.” A month later he told a New Hampshire radio host, “I never had a discussion with my son about it” [4]. The Federalist’s David Harsanyi noted that the president had claimed on multiple occasions that he had “never” spoken to Hunter about his business ventures [2].

“Never spoken” and “never in business” are not the same claim, and reporters noticed. Two days after the Turner exchange, RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann asked Jean-Pierre why the White House’s language had changed. “Why the updated language? Which statement is true? Or is this semantics, and they’re both true?” Wegmann asked. Jean-Pierre repeatedly said, “Nothing has changed,” The Federalist reported [2].

Archer Talks: “The Brand”

A week after the briefing, Archer sat for a four-hour transcribed interview with Comer’s committee. Comer said Archer confirmed that Joe Biden was “the brand” his son sold, and that as vice president, Biden “joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times” [5].

Archer’s own account of those calls cut both ways. “There was no business conversation about a cap table or a fee or anything like that,” he told investigators. “It was, you know, just general niceties and, you know, conversation in general, you know, about the geography, about the weather, whatever it may be” [6].

”I Never Talked Business With Anybody”

Biden himself weighed in on Aug. 9, 2023. When Doocy asked about Archer’s testimony that Biden was “on speakerphone a lot with them talking business,” the president shot back: “I never talked business with anybody, and I knew you’d have a lousy question,” Fox News reported [7].

By the Numbers

“A million times”: how often Jean-Pierre said she had been asked about it [1].
2019: the year Biden told Doocy he had “never spoken” to his son about his overseas business [4].
4 hours: the length of Archer’s transcribed interview [5].
More than 20: the dinners and speakerphone calls with Hunter Biden’s associates that Comer said Archer described [5].
100,000+: pages of documents House Republicans had obtained by February 2024 [11].
Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024: the span covered by Biden’s pardon of his son [10].

What Happened Next

An impeachment inquiry. On Sept. 12, 2023, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., directed House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry, citing a “culture of corruption” around the Biden family [8]. The next day, when New York Post reporter Steven Nelson shouted, “Can you explain why the president interacted with so many of his son’s foreign business associates!?” Jean-Pierre left the podium without answering, Fox News reported [9].

Hunter’s answer. In a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28, 2024, Hunter Biden told the committees, “I am here today to provide the committees with the one uncontestable fact that should end the false premise of this inquiry: I did not involve my father in my business.” Comer was undeterred. “This deposition is not the conclusion of the impeachment inquiry. There are more subpoenas and witness interviews to come,” he said. The AP noted that after dozens of interviews and more than 100,000 pages of documents, Republicans had yet to produce direct evidence of misconduct by the president [11].

The report. In August 2024, the Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees released a report finding that Biden “committed impeachable offenses,” calling him “the brand” the family sold [12].

The pardon. On Dec. 1, 2024, Biden pardoned his son, saying he believed “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.” The pardon covered any offenses Hunter Biden committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024 [10].

For Biden’s own brush-off of the GOP probes after the 2022 midterms, see that exchange. More of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.