During a closed-door deposition of Hunter Biden before the House Oversight Committee, Democrats said the president’s son pointed to foreign business dealings secured by Jared Kushner after leaving office to push back against GOP questioning of his own overseas work.
Hunter Biden reportedly drew a contrast between working independently versus with foreign governments, alluding to Kushner obtaining a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia just months after being a senior White House adviser overseeing Middle East policy.
Rep. Dan Goldman said, “He drew the distinction between what he has done in a business world with independent businessmen, versus foreign governments, which he did not do any business with — unlike Jared Kushner.”
While the questioning was largely cordial, Hunter Biden was said to be more assertive when raising the issue of double standards given Kushner’s deal compared to scrutiny of his business activities.
Rep. Jamie Raskin said, “He may be a little bit frustrated by some of the double standards relating to Jared Kushner and money that’s just been openly pocketed by Donald Trump in office,” Raskin said. “And Jared Kushner of course brought back $2 billion from Saudi Arabia. And all of that has been a part of the conversation, and he was assertive about that.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz said, “There’s no cameras in there, [so] Donald Trump ain’t watching, right?”
He continued, “For the first time Republicans said they do have a problem with that. But they should do something about it.”
Some Republicans privately acknowledged issues with Kushner’s Saudi arrangement according to Democrats.
