Oversight Committee Now Demanding Docs in Questionable Hunter Biden Art Deal

Nick Arama reporting for RedState 

One can never accuse the Biden team of not having colossal gall.

In the wake of concerns about who might be paying Hunter Biden for his artwork, the White House came up with a construct where they said who he was selling his art to was going to be a “secret” from him (oh, and also the public). We were supposed to buy that only his art dealer would know and this would somehow ensure ethics.

The White House said this, as they involved the White House in this agreement—all while trying to claim that they were standing at arms-length from Hunter Biden. It was so much of a major ethical problem even the Obama ethics czar called it out. It screamed of yet another cover-up so that we wouldn’t find out who was buying the art, and maybe funneling money to the Bidens in this manner.

So, it was perhaps not surprising when it was reported earlier this week that not only did Hunter find out who at least two of the buyers were, but one of them allegedly got a plum position from Joe Biden.

Hunter Biden did, in fact, learn the identity of two buyers, according to three people directly familiar with his own account of his art career. And one of those buyers is indeed someone who got a favor from the Biden White House. The timing of their purchase, however, is unknown.

That buyer, Insider can reveal, is Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a Los Angeles real-estate investor and philanthropist. Hirsh Naftali is influential in California Democratic circles and a significant Democratic donor who has given $13,414 to the Biden campaign and $29,700 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this year. In 2022, she hosted a fundraiser headlined by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Naftali was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in July 2022, eight months after Hunter’s first art opening. It’s not clear when the purchase was made — whether it was before or after the appointment.

But what makes it even more interesting is that this position was one that Hunter held sway over in the past.

The Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad is a public agency charged with preserving European historical sites. In the past, Hunter Biden has privately suggested that he could arrange to have friends seated on the commission. Eric Schwerin, Hunter Biden’s longtime business associate, was appointed to the same post by President Barack Obama in 2015. An email apparently from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop written that year suggests that he had sway over Schwerin’s appointment. “Eric asked me for one of these the day after the election in 2008,” he wrote to a cousin who had written inquiring about the possibility of a similar appointment for her mother.

Naftali has also visited the White House 13 times since December 2021. Hunter’s first art show was in November 2021.

That raises all kinds of ethical questions, and now the House Oversight Committee is now demanding answers. They’re asking Naftali to ante up with documents about the transaction.

“These facts raise the Committee’s concerns, and the Committee seeks documents and information regarding your purchase of Hunter Biden art,” the committee wrote to Naftali in a letter Saturday. “Your position on the Commission is particularly suspicious because of Hunter Biden’s previous actions to elevate his business partner — Eric Schwerin — to the same post while his father was Vice President.”

The Committee demanded the following documents/information.

All documents and communications among … [art dealer] Georges Bergés, the Georges Bergés Gallery, or any employee or agent thereof.
All documents and communications between you and any federal employee regarding the purchase of Hunter Biden’s art.
All documents and communications between you and any federal employee regarding your appointment to the Commission.
All documents and communications regarding your visits to the White House since December 2021.

The committee gave a deadline of Aug. 11 to comply.

There’s another set of transactions that should also raise the hackles of anyone looking at this: that one person was responsible for buying 11 pieces of Hunter’s art, paying $875,000 in total, and that was the lion’s share of the $1,379,000 that he’s made so far from his artwork. That sure sounds like a way to funnel money from someone. That amount from one person should raise eyebrows.

Also, can we say that if you’ve made that amount of money, you’re not “poor,” and maybe you don’t need child support reduced?

Finally, I find it fascinating that multiple people leaked this story to Business Insider, which would seem to suggest that although the Bidens think they have this all buttoned up, there are folks in their orbit who aren’t fully going along, and that’s intriguing. It sounds like more and more people are willing to talk about the Bidens.

Add one more question to that list of things to look into for the impeachment inquiry.