Art, Ethics and the Bidens

In spite of his family name, Richard Painter is not a specialist in the visual arts. But he believes that he can recognize an ethical problem when he sees one. And the upcoming sale, at substantially high prices, of canvases painted by Hunter Biden, now a full-time painter, is such a problem in his eyes.

“The whole thing is a really bad idea,” asserts the former ethical adviser to the White House under George W. Bush. “I mean, those are awfully high prices.”

What prices are we talking about? In the fall, the New York art dealer Georges Bergès will exhibit, in New York and Los Angeles, paintings by Joe Biden’s son, whose prices will vary from $75,000 to $500,000.

Like other ethicists, the lawyer is not only concerned that Hunter Biden is profiting from the presence of his father in the White House in order to get rich by selling junk paintings. He is especially troubled that the buyers want to curry favor with the president by purchasing his son’s canvases.

To a certain extent, the White House recognizes the problem. On July 9, it announced an understanding according to which Bergès promised not to reveal the identity of the buyers, neither to Hunter Biden nor to the White House. And yet, last week, the gallery owner revealed that the president’s son will meet with potential purchasers of his canvases at the exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles. Isn’t that a breach of the understanding reached with the White House?

Painter is persuaded that it is, unlike the White House.

“It’s unfortunate because, on the whole, Biden is a great improvement compared to Trump in ethical matters,” commented Painter, who is today a law professor at the University of Minnesota.

Accusations of Nepotism

The greatest difference is obviously the absence of members of the Biden family within the Democratic administration. Donald Trump, it should be recalled, counted among his principal advisers in the White House his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In spite of their entry into government, the two retained their considerable business interests.

That said, the Biden administration is not itself safe from accusations of nepotism. Three of the four children of Steve Ricchetti, long-standing adviser to the president, have occupied administration posts of varying importance. Monica Medina, wife of White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, has been nominated to the post of assistant secretary of state. Stephanie Psaki, sister of White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, occupies an important position within the Department of Health and Human Services.

And the children of other presidential advisers work at the White House.

The Biden administration rejects accusations of nepotism by claiming that those hired are all “well qualified.”

“But that was never the question. The question is, were they the ones who would have gotten the job? Were they the absolute, most qualified candidate?”

Walter Schaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics under Barack Obama, raised this question during an interview given to the online newspaper The Dispatch.

Painter, for his part, wondered about it while speaking of Joe Biden’s recent choices to serve as U.S. ambassadors to Canada and Germany.

“I am troubled by the nomination of David Cohen as ambassador to Canada and by that of Amy Gutmann as ambassador to Germany,” the law professor said. “Both are friends of Biden in Philadelphia. Both have approved an understanding by which Biden was recruited as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania for $917,000, from 2017 to 2019. And he didn’t teach a single course!”*

From Donor to Ambassador to Canada

Back then, Cohen was president of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. But that’s not all he was. He was also vice president and chief lobbyist for Comcast, one of the giants of American cable. And he was going to become one of the principal fundraisers for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Guttman was herself president of the University of Pennsylvania. In that capacity, she named Joe Biden the first Benjamin Franklin presidential practice professor at the University of Pennsylvania, in which his responsibilities included the direction of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the University of Pennsylvania paid Joe Biden $371,159 in 2017 and $540,484 in 2018 and at the beginning of 2019**. His work boiled down to a dozen public appearances on campus, for which people had to buy tickets. The future president did not teach any regular course.

“That bothers me, although I love President Biden,” Painter said, referring to Cohen’s nomination. “It looks too much like a quid pro quo, a payoff.”*

Certainly, Joe Biden is not the first American president to offer an ambassadorial post to a donor. Nor would it be the first time one has seen a family member trying to take advantage of a relative’s presence in the White House. Billy Carter, the goofball older brother of Jimmy, lent his name to a beer brand.

But Hunter Biden is a case apart. In April 2014, while his father was vice president, he agreed to sit on the board of directors of a Ukrainian gas company for $50,000 per month. Today, he finds himself plunged into a new controversy, sparked by his decision to sell the fruits of an activity that, according to his statements, helped him to fight his dependence on vodka and crack.

“He is perhaps talented overall,” Painter said ironically. “After having been a big man in Ukrainian business, maybe he’ll be the next Rembrandt. But it’s a bit difficult to believe.”

*These quotes, though accurately translated, could not be verified.

**This information, though accurately translated, could not be verified.