Trump considered China as potential source of Biden dirt
Donald Trump, who has alleged that Hunter Biden got Chinese people to put US$1.5 billion into an investment fund, said during private remarks this week that he raised the matter with a US executive who has served as his intermediary in trade talks with Beijing.
The comments could attract interest in light of the impeachment inquiry under way by House Democrats, which is focused on the president’s efforts to extract information about Biden’s job on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
Investigators may want to try to learn whether the president similarly sought information about Biden and his father, former US vice-president Joe Biden, in China.
Trump said he discussed Hunter Biden’s China work with Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of investment company Blackstone, according to a video of the remarks obtained by The Washington Post.
Replying to a question from Trump, Schwarzman said: ‘‘Maybe I shouldn’t get involved, you know. It’s very political.’’
Schwarzman declined to comment. A spokeswoman said: ‘‘Steve never spoke to the president about Joe Biden or his family, nor has he had any conversations with the Chinese about Biden or his family.’’
Schwarzman travelled to Beijing eight times in 2018 on behalf of the Trump administration during trade negotiations. He is unofficially known as Trump’s ‘‘China whisperer’’.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond request for comment.
Trump for months has alleged that Hunter Biden has made a fortune from business dealings in Ukraine and China due to his father’s connections, citing it as evidence of what he calls corruption.
Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms, has interests in China, and Schwarzman has helped to endow a masters programme at the Beijing campus of Tsinghua University. to
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