How far have the goalposts shifted in evaluating Joe Biden's involvement with his son's shady overseas business dealings? Karine Jean-Pierre began the week by refusing to deny that the president was on speakerphone while Hunter was conducting business calls.
"I've been asked this question a million times," the White House press secretary said. "The answer remains the same: The president was never in business with his son."
BIDEN CAMPAIGN COULD COUNT ON THESE SURROGATES TO EXCITE VOTERS ABOUT REELECTION
But that wasn't the question. The reporter noted that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) claims that Biden was in contact with Hunter's business associates, and Jean-Pierre deflected.
Recall that throughout the 2020 election and up through this year, Biden has maintained that he never spoke to his son about his overseas influence peddling, the one defense insulating the president from attacks that he allowed his family members to trade their last name for favor from the White House. This has remained the party line despite a 2018 voicemail unearthed last year that proved otherwise and then a slew of texts released last month showing that Hunter directly threatened associates with his father's name.
So why the shift in goalposts? Because evidently, Comer has the goods. A former BFF and ex-business associate of Hunter's is slated to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee as soon as this week, alleging that Biden did indeed talk with Hunter at least 24 times related to the latter's business affairs.
Given his utter lack of credibility, Hunter texting threats implicating his father may not have done any damage, but a former associate under oath could make this personal disaster for Biden a very, very political nightmare.