Democrats claimed Hunter Biden sold his business partners an “illusion of access” to then-Vice President Joe Biden on more than 20 phone calls, citing Monday’s congressional testimony from Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s best friend in business.
According to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and a source familiar with the testimony, Joe Biden was not involved in Hunter Biden’s business affairs, even though Hunter Biden put Joe Biden on speakerphone more than 20 times. Thus, Democrats and the establishment media allege Hunter Biden only sold an “illusion of access” to Joe Biden to his foreign business partners.
“If he [Joe Biden] says, ‘Hello’ to someone that he sees his son with, is he supposed to say, ‘Hi, son. No, I’m not gonna say, ‘Hello’ to the other people at the table or the other people on the phone?’” Goldman questioned.
“It’s kind of a preposterous premise to think that a father should not say, ‘Hello’ to people that the son is at dinner with,” he told reporters.
Goldman further explained his perception of Archer’s testimony on CNN:
The brand that he was talking about is Hunter’s own experience as a lobbyist and a lawyer in Washington, D.C., combined with the Biden name, which, of course, is no different than the Trump name or the Clinton name or any other big political family name.
WATCH — Dem Rep. Goldman: Hunter Wasn’t Promoting His Dad as the Brand, Just “the Biden Name” and Hunter’s Experience
Former Biden business associate Tony Bobulinski contradicted Goldman’s claims.
“Hunter and Jim and I are there, and Hunter gets up and talks to his father when he comes in,” Bobulinski told the New York Post. “He then brings Joe over and introduces me, saying he’s the one who’s helping us with the business we’re doing with the Chinese.”
Democrats want to clear up any confusion. Hunter Biden was not, repeat not, selling access to his father the vice president. He was selling the *illusion* of access to his father the vice president. From NYT: https://t.co/8Hh1PruRyT pic.twitter.com/780YxaAksk
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 1, 2023
Republicans described Joe Biden’s involvement as far more than an “illusion.” They believe the more than 20 phone calls show the Biden family sold its “brand,” a word Archer used in his testimony.
“Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement. “When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Biden’s dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times.”
Breitbart News reported that Archer’s testimony produced evidence implicating Joe Biden in a bribery scheme in which a foreign company paid Hunter Biden in return for the use of the Biden “brand.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
