Wednesday, July 14, 2021

The Glaring Loopholes in Hunter Biden’s Art Deal – The White House Thinks Less Transparency Can Fix an Ethics Problem; Former Obama Ethics Chief: Hunter Biden Art-Selling Arrangement ‘Perfect Mechanism for Funneling Bribes’, and related stories

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak
Pinkerton: The Glaring Loopholes in Hunter Biden’s Art Deal – The White House Thinks Less Transparency Can Fix an Ethics Problem:
If there’s a pipeline of big-money influence into the Biden White House, are we supposed to feel better if the exact nature of the flow within that pipeline is secret?
That’s the strange argument reportedly being made by lawyers for the 46th president, as they grapple with the fact that Hunter Biden plans to make millions as an artist even as, of course, Hunter retains his anointed status as First Son to President Joe Biden. Yes, that’s right — the Biden lawyers think that it will be best if we, the American people, don’t know who’s buying Hunter’s art and for how much.
Interestingly, this cover-up approach seemed to be too much even for the Washington Post, an outlet not normally seen as as a critic of the Biden administration. Under the quippy headline, “Deal of the art: White House grapples with ethics of Hunter Biden’s pricey paintings,” the Post reported on July 8 that Hunter will be free to sell his artwork through a New York City art dealer, so long as he, Hunter, never learns the identity of the purchaser, and so long as the dealer rejects purchasers deemed to be “suspicious.”
We can immediately see that this arrangement is completely unenforceable and in fact impossible to make work. If someone buys a Hunter Biden artwork for six figures (or maybe, who knows, even more), that purchase is not going to stay secret, even in the unlikely event that the purchaser wanted his or her buy to remain secret. After all, most art buyers are sociable enough, living, as they do, in a world of galleries and exhibitions. And of course, plenty of reporters—society gossips as well as political journos—as well as others are curious about anything concerning the First Family. --->READ MORE HERE
Jimmy Kimmel Live/via YouTube
Former Obama Ethics Chief: Hunter Biden Art-Selling Arrangement ‘Perfect Mechanism for Funneling Bribes’:
During an appearance on CNN on Friday, former Obama-era Office of Government Ethics chief Walter Shaub called the White House’s arrangement allowing Hunter Biden to sell his art “the perfect mechanism for funneling bribes” to the president.
Shaub’s statement comes amid the development that the White House crafted a deal under which the price tags of Hunter Biden’s artwork sales, some listing as high as $500,000, will be obscured from the artist to prevent ethical violations.
Per the contract, New York gallery owner Georges Bergès will set the prices for the art and also will conceal related records such as prospective bidders and buyers. Bergès has promised to refuse extraordinary offers far exceeding the asking price or those that he deems suspect, sources first told the Washington Post.
The president’s son’s art sale, expected to be held this fall, has been subject to criticism amid concerns that the market he’s dabbling in has a reputation for corruption and shady business activity. --->READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to related stories:

White House: Hunter Biden ‘Has the Right’ to Sell Artwork to Anonymous Buyers for $500K

White House: Deal to sell Hunter Biden’s artwork to anonymous buyers is standard for ‘transparency’

Hunter Biden Thinks Everyone Else Is Stupid

Ethics experts concerned about Hunter Biden’s art show

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