Throughout a news conference on Friday, Jean-Pierre continually sidestepped questions about the texts and sent reporters to the office of the White House Counsel.
Jean-Pierre yelled at the reporters, “I already answered the question,” and added, “I would send you to them. My colleague at the White House counsel has dealt with this. You have no control over how I responded to the query.
The texts have not been addressed by the White House Counsel’s office.
The counsel’s office said in response to Hunter Biden’s earlier this week plea agreement on tax charges that he would probably escape going to jail that the president and first lady “love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life.”
While Biden has publicly welcomed his son, the White House has declined to comment on the messages.
On Thursday night, Hunter Biden joined Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a high-profile state dinner at the White House.
The president told reporters on Tuesday that he was “very proud of my son.”
The texts were made public by House Republicans on Thursday after IRS agent Gary Shapley’s testimony about them.
Hunter Biden wrote to Henry Zhao in a WhatsApp message on July 30, 2017, claiming he was with his father and asked, “We would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”
Write to the director and say, “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand,” wrote Hunter Biden.
You will regret not following my instruction because of the guy sitting next to me, everyone he knows, and my capacity to harbor resentment for all time.
Hunter Biden said, “I’m waiting here for the call from my father. I really hope that whatever it is you’re doing is crucial.”
The Washington Free Beacon reported on Thursday that photo information from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop shows that he was at his father’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on the day he wrote the texts.
During the conference, Jean-Pierre said that she had no intentions to and has not talked with Joe Biden about the text messages.
Additionally, she reaffirmed her earlier claim that Biden and his son never discussed business matters.
“Nothing has changed,” she said. Nothing has changed, so I’ll end the conversation there.
