Hunter Biden to step down from Chinese company, refrain from foreign work if father is elected

Hunter Biden, son of former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, said via statement Sunday morning that he will step down from the board of a Chinese company and will not engage in foreign business if his father is elected president, Bloomberg reported.

The Bidens have been battered with allegations that Hunter improperly leveraged his father's influence as vice president to profit from foreign business deals in Ukraine and China—allegations which both have denied, and which Hunter again denied in the statement issued by his lawyer, George Mesires.

Hunter undertook these business activities independently. He did not believe it appropriate to discuss them with his father, nor did he. Hunter always understood that his father would be guided, entirely and unequivocally, by established U.S. policy, irrespective of its effects on Hunter's professional interests. This was the standard observed throughout Hunter's professional career. When Hunter engaged in his business pursuits, he believed that he was acting appropriately and in good faith. He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the president of the United States.

Even though everything Hunter did was supposedly legal and ethical, he has committed to discontinuing those legal and ethical practices if his father is elected president.

Hunter makes the following commitment: Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests. In any event, Hunter will agree not to serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies.

He will continue to keep his father personally uninvolved in his business affairs, while availing himself as necessary and appropriate to the Office of the White House Counsel to help inform his application of the Biden Administration's guidelines or standards to his business decision-making.

The company Biden is stepping down from is BHR (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management, an LLC that invests Chinese money outside of the country.

Hunter Biden sat on the board of directors. His lawyer said in the statement that Biden joined the company "based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese capital to international markets."

According to Mesires, Biden never made any money from the position, nor did he play any role in directing or making investments. Still, he intends to resign at the end of the month.

Read the full statement here.

(H/T The Hill)