Comer says Biden WH lied about Hunter’s artwork: Ethics nightmare

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., recently accused the White House of lying about an ethics agreement regarding the sale of Hunter Biden’s artwork.

Comer, who serves as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, cited the committee’s recent interview with Hunter Biden’s art gallerist Georges Bergès in a statement last week, claiming the White House “appears to have deceived the American people about facilitating an ethics agreement governing the sale of Hunter Biden’s art.”

Comer singled out a July 2021 statement from then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who apparently referenced Bergès when she maintained that “a system has been established that allows for Hunter Biden to work in his profession within reasonable safeguards.”

Psaki asserted at the time that all of the business dealings regarding Hunter Biden’s art sales were being handled “by a professional gallerist, adhering to the highest industry standards.”

“And any offer out of the normal course would be rejected out of hand,” she said at the time. “And the gallerist will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities, with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection and transparency.”

According to the commission’s interview with Bergès, the House Oversight Committee’s statement said the gallerist “never had any communication with the White House about such an agreement to make sure there was any sort of ethics compliance at all, and he provided information to the committee revealing how Hunter Biden’s amateur art career is an ethics nightmare.”

“The White House has a lot of explaining to do about misleading the American people,” Comer said.

The committee stated that the vast majority of those who purchased Hunter Biden’s art were Democratic donors and that one of them was Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who was appointed to the prestigious Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad after buying one of his works for tens of thousands of dollars shortly after President Biden was inaugurated.

Bergès reportedly told the committee that Naftali refused to buy any of Hunter Biden’s art “despite [his] best efforts” until Biden became president.

Most of Hunter Biden’s art was purchased by Kevin Morris, a Democratic donor, for $875,000 in January 2023. Bergès said he received a 40% commission.

Other revelations from the interview with Bergès show that he was introduced to Hunter Biden by Lanette Phillips, a Hollywood producer who had held fundraisers for Biden.

Bergès also confirmed to the committee that Hunter Biden’s name “had influence on setting the price for his art” and that he had spoken in person and on the phone with President Biden.

Earlier this week, Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced they would be issuing new subpoenas for Hunter Biden to participate in a closed deposition, which he had refused to do.

On Thursday, Jordan and Comer announced that Hunter Biden will appear for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 28.

“His deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates. We look forward to Hunter Biden’s testimony,” Comer and Jordan said in the joint statement. 

The House Judiciary and Oversight committees voted last Wednesday to approve resolutions to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after he disobeyed a previous congressional subpoena. The House put that on hold this week after Hunter Biden’s lawyers agreed on a date for the president’s son to testify before the committees. 

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