A legal delay will push the release of White House records related to Hunter Biden until after the 2024 presidential election.
The New York Post reported that recent legal developments have set the stage for a delayed release of certain White House records involving Hunter Biden. The release, initially scheduled for September 2023 following legal mandates, has been deferred to November 2024 post-election, based on requests from attorneys representing President Joe Biden.
The records in question are being sought by America First Legal following a lawsuit against the National Archives and Records Administration.
The timing of this release ensures that Democrats will feel no fallout from the inevitable damaging information that will come out of these records.
The saga began when America First Legal filed a lawsuit in September 2022, aiming to access records associated with former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and his brother James Biden.
These records particularly pertain to official activities and include correspondence, photographs, and financial documents up until the year 2015. They are believed to involve significant engagements and transactions that have recently come under scrutiny.
As per a preliminary schedule by the National Archives, the release of these documents was slated for September 23. This schedule adhered to legal stipulations that provide a 60-working-day window to review executive privilege concerns before public release. However, as the deadline approached, it became clear that an extension had been negotiated.
The extension was officially requested by attorneys for President Biden, which led to the records' deferment beyond the 2024 presidential election.
According to a notice by the Justice Department to America First Legal, this delay was enacted as the review of potential executive privilege continued. Critics argue this is a strategic delay, as the contents could be politically sensitive.
America First Legal has expressed frustration over what they describe as arbitrary deference to presidential wishes, thus delaying the transparency expected of public records.
Vice President of America First Legal, Dan Epstein, criticized the situation, stating, “NARA has arbitrarily deferred to former President Obama and current President Biden’s requests to delay disclosure of likely embarrassing records until after the election.”
According to the National Archives, the institution itself does not have the authority to either grant or deny extensions but must comply with requests that involve executive privileges.
A representative from the Archives noted, “NARA does not grant or approve the extension and cannot deny it,” highlighting the procedural limitations faced by the agency.
A major focal point of the withheld documents includes interactions involving the now-defunct Rosemont Seneca firm co-founded by Hunter Biden, notably his involvement with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings in 2015.
The financial and professional engagements of Hunter Biden during this period have intensified public and legal interest, especially following his recent guilty plea to tax evasion and conviction of felony gun charges.
President Biden has made it clear that he will not pardon his son, reinforcing his stance of not interfering with the legal proceedings. This reiteration has come at a time when public and political scrutiny is intensifying due to the upcoming presidential election and the controversies surrounding his family's dealings.
The records also purportedly contain photographs from a White House visit and materials used in the preparation of Vice President Biden’s final tax forms and financial disclosures for the year 2015. The comprehensive nature of these records hints at a broader narrative that encompasses various aspects of Biden’s vice-presidential tenure and his family’s business undertakings.