John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, refused to answer a reporter’s questions on Friday about a WhatsApp message that appears to connect President Biden with Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings, leading to a tense back-and-forth between the pair.
Newsmax’s James Rosen asked Kirby about an alleged message from July 2017 that Hunter Biden sent to his Chinese associate Henry Zhao, a CCP official, in which the younger Biden wrote that he was “sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”
“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Hunter Biden allegedly wrote in a text to Zhao, whose Harvest Fund Management invested in Hunter Biden’s BHR Partners. “And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
The message, revealed by an IRS whistleblower on Thursday, raises questions about the president’s claims he has not been involved in his son’s foreign business dealings.
Rosen asked Kirby if the message undermines those claims, to which Kirby replied: “No, and I’m not going to comment further on this.”
The reporter tried to follow up, but Kirby interrupted to shut down the conversation.
“James, James, let me save you some breath if you’re going to ask about this. I am not going to address this issue from this podium,” Kirby said. “I’m just not going to do it. All right? I’m not going to do it.”
Rosen tried to say he had more questions to ask. Kirby replied, “I know you do, more than I’d like you to have.”
Kirby then abandoned the podium.
White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams responded to the news of the WhatsApp message by saying, “As we have said many times before, the President was not in business with his son.”
“As we have also said many times before, the Justice Department makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved,” Sams added. “As the President has said, he loves his son and is proud of him accepting responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life.”
An attorney for Hunter Biden said, “Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”