- White House helped broker deal to shield the president's son from information about who is buying his work
- White House cited arrangement as part of 'rigorous process' on ethics
- Former Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub called the up-to-$500k prices for his artwork 'grotesquely inflated'
- The exhibition creates a 'risk of influence-seekers funneling money to the Biden family', he added
- Hunter will be displaying and selling his artwork in New York City this fall
- His art dealer Georges Berges has valued the work at between $75K and $500K
- All sales will be kept confidential, despite his alleged corruption over prior business deals in Ukraine and China
The plan will allow Hunter Biden to forge ahead with his new career as an artist after a career change from a high-paid consultant on international deals, by also shielding him from the identities of those who purchase his pricey works.
The deal came about after Biden administration staffers reached out to Hunter's lawyers to forge a plan intended to 'avoid' ethics concerns and let the president's son pursue his new career.
But there are still questions over how the administration and his lawyers will stop individual buyers from reaching out to Hunter or someone revealing how much one of his paintings has been purchased for.
The idea is avoid a situation where he knew who was buying his work so he might be in the position to do them a favor – although it still provides an opportunity for unidentified individuals to shovel large sums to the president's son as he battles high living costs and legal fees.
'The whole thing is a really bad idea,' ethics expert Richard Painter told the Washington Post, which revealed new details of the arrangement.
'So instead of disclosing who is paying outrageous sums for Hunter Biden’s artwork so that we could monitor whether the purchasers are gaining access to government, the WH tried to make sure we will never know who they are. That’s very disappointing,' tweeted ethics expert Walter Shaub.
'The idea’s that even Hunter won’t know, but the WH has outsourced government ethics to a private art dealer. We’re supposed to trust a merchant in an industry that’s fertile ground for money laundering, as well as unknown buyers who could tell Hunter or WH officials? No thanks,' the former director of the Office of Government Ethics in the Obama administration added.
The terms have been negotiated with Hunter's lawyer as art shows in New York and his home of L.A. approach.
President Barack Obama's ethics chief has slammed Hunter Biden's 'shameful and grifty' sale of his art pieces for up to $500,000 to anonymous buyers as part of an upcoming exhibition that has sparked bribery and potential money laundering concerns
This oil on canvas artwork is titled St. Thomas: Biden, who detailed his drug habits in his memoir, said making art wasn't a form of therapy for him
Experts are already warning of the risks of influence peddling or at least the appearance of ethical conflict when people buy paintings by the president's son in a market where sales are already murky and prices extremely difficult to evaluate in an industry that can be used for money laundering.
Hunter's New York art show is set for this fall, after his consulting work caused political headaches for the president during and after his campaign. Hunter also penned a memoir, Beautiful Things, that detailed his struggles with substance abuse and family trauma.
That negotiated structure is meant to keep Hunter Biden, who still communicates regularly with his father and travels with him, from knowing who is plunking down cash for...
This oil on canvas artwork is titled St. Thomas: Biden, who detailed his drug habits in his memoir, said making art wasn't a form of therapy for him
Experts are already warning of the risks of influence peddling or at least the appearance of ethical conflict when people buy paintings by the president's son in a market where sales are already murky and prices extremely difficult to evaluate in an industry that can be used for money laundering.
Hunter's New York art show is set for this fall, after his consulting work caused political headaches for the president during and after his campaign. Hunter also penned a memoir, Beautiful Things, that detailed his struggles with substance abuse and family trauma.
That negotiated structure is meant to keep Hunter Biden, who still communicates regularly with his father and travels with him, from knowing who is plunking down cash for...