On Monday, the White House press office barred The New York Post from attending President Joe Biden’s only daytime public event. This exclusion comes as federal prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to criminally charge Hunter Biden for tax fraud and other crimes.
The Post has closely covered the President’s ties to his relatives’ foreign dealings and first reported in October 2020 on files from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that link Joe Biden to ventures in China and Ukraine. The Post has the fifth-largest news website by US readership and is the nation’s second-most-read newspaper online.
In a Monday email, the White House staff said: “We are unable to accommodate your credential request to attend the Investing in Airline Accountability Remarks on 5/8. The remarks will be live-streamed and can be viewed at WH.gov. Thank you for understanding. We will let you know if a credential becomes available.”
BREAKING: @JoeBiden @WhiteHouse Has Just Denied @nypost Access Amid #HunterBiden Indictment Speculation; Press Freedom Concerns Intensify
The New York Post reported on Monday that the White House press office denied the newspaper access to President Biden’s public event earlier… pic.twitter.com/bbCMectn2a
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 8, 2023
The criminal investigation of Hunter Biden appears to be nearing its end. His legal team met with Justice Department lawyers on April 26 in Washington, which could be the final step before a charging decision. President Biden and his younger brother James, who partnered with Hunter on a variety of international dealings, also attracted attention when they attended church in Washington on Sunday.
On Friday, the President declined to take reporter questions and instead sat for a Friday night interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who asked him how a possible criminal charge against his son would impact his presidency. Biden replied, “It will not because he has done nothing wrong. And I’m proud of him.”
There are, however, extensive ties between President Biden and his son’s business dealings. In 2013, Hunter co-founded BHR Partners with Chinese state entities. In a different Chinese venture, Hunter and James Biden received at least $4.8 million from CEFC China Energy. In 2015, Joe Biden hosted his son’s Mexican business associates at the vice president’s residence in Washington. In 2016, Hunter Biden emailed one of them, Miguel Aleman Magnani, complaining that he hadn’t received reciprocal business favors.
The press office’s decision to bar The Post from Monday’s event follows the continuing press access restrictions under the Biden administration. Despite a June 2022 letter from 73 journalists representing nearly two-thirds of White House briefing room seats demanding the end of the mysterious prescreening process for events, the White House has refused to explain the criteria for selection. The White House also moved Friday to close a longstanding legal loophole that prevented authorities from stripping reporters of press badges and unveiled a formal process to do so.
