In another example of possible influence peddling conducted by Hunter Biden, the president’s son once introduced a key labor union leader to his father when he was vice president. North America’s Building Trades Unions’ (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey was reportedly frustrated he could not get into the White House to visit with Joe Biden during the Obama administration.
Fox News Digital found emails from Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop that showed Hunter’s father met with McGarvey in 2010 after Hunter intervened. Fox reported that “McGarvey had sent a letter to the then-vice president in late 2009, requesting a meeting to no avail.”
Hunter Biden ‘Saved the Day’
Hunter stepped into the picture after McGarvey and other union representatives became frustrated that they could not schedule anything with the vice president. And even when the meeting did take place, White House staff were still not responding to union concerns. Union leaders said Hunter “saved the day,” but they were disappointed by the VP’s lack of action regarding their issues they raised with the elder Biden.
“Since then, the Building trades have reached out to the VP’s Economic Policy Director, who was in the meeting, and heard nothing back,” one email said. “In addition, there has been over 6 unreturned phone calls and letters requesting meetings to follow up…‘The VP was incredible in the meeting, but I fear that it was a dog and pony show after our attempts to reach out to them has gone for naught.’”
President Biden Leans on the Union
Skipping forward to 2023 and NABTU and McGarvey were back in the news April 25 when the president gave remarks after announcing his official re-election campaign in Washington, DC. NABTU was convening a legislative conference and President Biden has long considered that labor unions are a key constituency in the Democrats’ coalition. He frequently refers to “good-paying union jobs” in speeches and seems to cater to labor unions’ every whim.
“I wouldn’t be standing here, I wouldn’t have been elected to the United States Senate in the state that was a ‘right to work’ state initially were it not for American union labor,” Biden said.
Time to Finish the Job
“Our economic plan is working,” he continued. “We now have to finish the job, but there’s more to do.” Biden said “finish the job” several times during the speech to pound in the message that he is seeking four more years in which he will have pro-union policies.
As for Hunter, it seems like the president’s son has worked closely with his father during the elder Biden’s political career. Hunter did nothing wrong or illegal by intervening and allowing the labor union to meet with his father, but it is interesting that he was in direct contact and was used to troubleshoot problems.
Hunter is currently under federal investigation for tax improprieties and allegedly lying on a federal gun ownership form. The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee is also probing Hunter for his overseas business dealings. The president has maintained that he has no knowledge of his son’s business activity.
But there have been no charges filed against Hunter as of April 27. The FBI and IRS have reportedly finished their investigations against him, and it is not clear if indictments are forthcoming. One thing is clear though – Hunter and his father have worked closely together dating all the way back to at least 2010.
This shows that the president was in contact with his son during that time and depended on Hunter to make decisions for him about access to the White House. It will be interesting to see if that means the president was included on any business transactions with his son that are under investigation now.
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Author Expertise and Experience
Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
