The White House has been hit with new pressure from Republicans over a report claiming that President’s Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was present during recent meetings with advisers.
NBC News, citing “people familiar with the matter,” reported on Tuesday that Hunter Biden had “popped into” meetings and phone calls between his father and advisers following the president’s unsettling debate with former President Donald Trump last week. Some White House staffers were reportedly taken aback by Hunter’s presence, asking, “What the hell is happening?”
On Wednesday, Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner sent White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients a letter demanding that he provide information on “the official meetings Hunter Biden is participating in” and whether any “classified information is being disclosed.”
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“It is disturbing to learn these events are transpiring in the West Wing, especially via news sources,” Turner wrote. “It is unclear what official meetings and phone calls Hunter Biden is participating in and in what capacity and whether these discussions include classified information.”
“An immediate response is requested, please notify the Committee of the official meetings Hunter Biden is participating in, and if classified information is being disclosed now that Hunter Biden is allegedly taking meetings with the President,” he added.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Wednesday evening.
Despite the concerns and speculation of Turner and other Republicans, no evidence was presented in the NBC report or anywhere else to indicate that Hunter Biden has been privy to classified information while attending meetings at the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that Hunter Biden was in a room with his father while he was preparing to deliver a speech on the Supreme Court’s pro-Trump ruling on presidential immunity, although she framed the encounter as one of many between the president and his family members.
“The president is very close to family,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is a holiday week, Fourth of July. He spent time with his family, as you all know, at Camp David. Hunter came back with him and walked with him into that meeting, that speech prep, and he ended up spending time with his dad and his family that night.”
“He came back with his dad from Camp David, he walked into the speech prep, and he was in the room,” she added. “I can tell you he was in the room. Anything else coming out of that reporting, I can’t speak to.”
Hunter Biden, who was convicted of federal firearms charges last month, has been a frequent target for Republicans, including Trump, since Joe Biden launched his bid for the White House in 2019.
Supporters of Trump’s MAGA movement responded to the NBC report with rage on social media almost immediately after it was published on Tuesday.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.