Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, questioned on Tuesday if the White House turned corruption allegations against President Joe Biden into a strictly legal matter when it referred reporters to the administration’s counsel.
“The White House is trying to use the president’s counsel as Biden’s personal lawyer to shield questions from the media,” Issa’s Communications Director, Jonathan Wilcox, told Breitbart News. “If Biden wants to lawyer up, that’s fine. But he’s going to have to hire his own criminal attorney.”
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether President Joe Biden was part of a shakedown on a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked business partner with Hunter Biden.
“Yes or no, was the president involved in that shakedown attempt?” New York Post’s Steven Nelson asked.
“Steven, Steven, I just answered the question. It’s not up to you how I answer the question,” she replied. “I just answered the question by telling you my colleagues at the White House counsel have dealt with this, and I would refer you to them.”
Wilcox told Breitbart News the White House’s action of referring reporters to the White House counsel begs a follow-up question from the media: Are questions of alleged corruption by President Joe Biden a strictly legal matter?
“This is the strategy everyone uses to not answer questions about a legal matter — refer to your lawyer who obviously can’t comment. But the White House counsel isn’t the president’s lawyer … but the lawyer for the presidency,” he said.
The discrepancy is the motivation behind Issa’s Sunday post on Twitter when it became apparent to Issa that Joe Biden is illegitimately hiding behind White House lawyers. “Joe Biden has officially lawyered up,” Issa said. “This is what a real scandal looks like.”
“The White House has no right to use its counsel to stonewall the media and shield itself from scrutiny and accountability. Congressman Issa will remove that shield and get the truth. He’s done it before,” Wilcox added.
Joe Biden has officially lawyered up.
This is what a real scandal looks like.
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) June 25, 2023
The scrutiny over the White House’s response comes as Hunter Biden’s lawyer admitted the 2017 WhatsApp text demanding money from a CCP-linked businessman while “sitting” next to his dad was indeed Hunter’s message.
Breitbart News reported the Biden family business received $5.1 million within ten days of Hunter Biden’s message to a CCP-linked businessman who worked with Chinese energy conglomerate CEFC Energy, according to the 2020 Senate report on the Biden family.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
