Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, held a press conference on Wednesday to detail the latest updates in his investigation of Hunter Biden’s business dealings. The evidence so far does not directly implicate President Biden, but does suggest his son may have profited off of his famous name.
Records of Hunter Biden’s activities also echo the foreign business dealings of the family members of another President. While in office, former President Trump remained connected to the Trump Organization, even as he passed control of the company to his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. Though Trump’s team said the business would not enter any new overseas deals during his term, his family members continued to engage in business abroad. Meanwhile, Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, continued to pursue financial interests in foreign countries.
“We’re going to look at everything,” Comer said Wednesday when asked if he was also investigating the foreign business dealings of Trump and his family. “Former President Trump’s son-in-law had some business deals, right? … I’m not saying whether I agreed with what he did or not, but I actually know what his businesses are. What are the Biden businesses?”
Here’s what to know about the conflict-of-interest questions that have been raised by the foreign business dealings of Trump family members, and how they compare to what’s known about Hunter Biden’s ventures:
Donald Trump Jr.
When Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, he said he would leave his real estate business, the Trump Organization, to be run by others, primarily his sons, Donald Jr., and Eric. Throughout his four years in office, Trump’s continued connection to the Trump Organization drew outrage and scrutiny from Democrats and ethics watchdogs, who argued he was violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution that prohibits a president from illegally profiting from his business while in office.
While his father was in office, Trump Jr. traveled to Asia to promote the Trump Organization’s projects. On a business trip to India in 2018, he appeared with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and flirted with giving a policy speech, but ultimately decided not to as his father faced criticisms that his family’s business dealings overseas could affect his foreign policy approach.
On a trip to Indonesia in 2019 to tout two planned Trump-branded luxury resorts, Trump Jr. defended his continued involvement in the family business amid allegations of conflicts of interest. A year before, the conglomerate of his business partner, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, had announced it was receiving half a billion dollars from an arm of the Chinese government to build a theme park. Tanoesoedibjo, himself the leader of an Indonesian political party, said the Trump resorts were unconnected and not backed by Chinese funding.
