THE HUNTER COVERUP

How media ignored Biden son’s troubles until AFTER election

They claimed it “wasn’t a story,” before t he election. Now the media is finally reporting on Hunter Biden’s suspicious business dealing, columnist David Harsanyi writes.

A pricey diamond given to Hunter Biden by a since-vanished Chinese energy tycoon is part of the ongoing probe into possible tax fraud — and maybe more — by President-elect Joe Biden’s son, according to reports.

Investigators have examined CEFE China Energy founder’s Ye Jianming 2017 gift of the 2.8-carat gem to Hunter, CNN reported Thursday, citing a source briefed on the matter.

It’s unclear whether the diamond — which has been estimated to be worth as much as $80,000 — remains a focus of the probe that Hunter and his father’s transition team unexpectedly revealed on Wednesday.

E-mails from Hunter’s laptop that were exclusively revealed by The Post in October show that the jewel became a sticking point during his divorce from his first wife, Kathleen Buhle, with her lawyer threatening to seek an emergency injunction against Hunter “to enjoin his further dissipation of assets, including the diamond.”

Last year, Hunter told The New Yorker that Ye gave him the sparkler following an introductory dinner meeting in Miami amid his divorce.

Hunter claimed he gave the gem to two unidentified associates who also attended the dinner, saying, “I knew it wasn’t a good idea to take it. I just felt like it was weird.”

He also disputed its estimated value, as claimed by his ex-wife, and said it was probably worth around $10,000.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have also scrutinized Hunter’s finances, while investigators in both Delaware and Washington, DC, were looking into possible money laundering by him as of early last year, according to Politico.

Multiple reports said investigators are focused on Hunter’s business dealings in China, where, according to a September report by Senate Republicans, nearly $6 million in payments to him may have originated.

In addition to the probe of Hunter, FBI agents have been asking questions about Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden, in connection with an investigation involving a bankrupt hospital company, Americore Health, Politico said.

Neither Hunter’s lawyer nor James returned e-mails seeking comment.