Hunter Biden’s upcoming art show is facing a fresh coat of scrutiny.
The ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee is demanding the gallery owner hosting the exhibition detail the ethics rules in place to block the identities of the buyers from the White House.
The art show could earn the First Son millions.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) sent a letter obtained by The Post to Hunter’s New York art dealer, Georges Berges, insisting that he provide documents about the ethical arrangements worked out with the White House and brief the panel on the potential buyers who attended the opening, and the purchasers of the younger Biden’s work.
“The documents requested from you will inform and are pertinent to our oversight of any attempts to seek improper influence with the Biden Administration by anonymous benefactors, and understanding the process you are purportedly undertaking to shield the Administration from any influence by those procuring Mr. Biden’s art,” Comer wrote in the letter, which was sent on Thursday.
“Additionally, your documents and information could inform legislation related to ethics regulations,” the congressman continued.
The letter to Berges is a follow-up to one sent on Sept. 7 requesting documents about the sale, in which the novice artist’s works will sell for between $75,000 and $500,000 apiece.
Comer said the committee didn’t receive those documents by Tuesday’s deadline.
”This investigation, which includes your gallery’s role in Mr. Biden’s plans, is meant to prevent fairly obvious opportunities for an ethical or national security breach,” Comer wrote in Thursday’s letter.
In his previous letter, Comer questioned the ethical precautions worked out between the White House and Berges, and raised concerns that people seeking influence with President Biden could purchase the art at wildly inflated prices to pad Hunter’s bank account and curry favor with the president.
Comer also pointed out the scandal-scarred son’s questionable foreign dealings and lucrative work with Chinese and Ukrainian energy companies, which The Post revealed in a series of exposés last October to implicate Joe Biden.
“For years, Mr. Biden has attempted to profit off his father’s position in government, and the art deals are merely the latest iteration of these efforts. The investigation into Mr. Biden’s business ventures, and those who have aided him in his dubious endeavors, has been ongoing for over two years, and, if necessary, will continue into the next Congress,” the letter states.
“The American people will not believe that overnight Mr. Biden simply has had a calling to abandon his previous careers as a lawyer, lobbyist, and ‘unqualified oil-and-gas adviser … working alongside post-Soviet oligarchs’ to become an artist,” Comer added.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
The gallery couldn’t immediately be reached.
Fifteen pieces of Hunter’s artwork will be on display at the Georges Berges Gallery in Soho in October.
”A lawyer by profession, Hunter Biden now devotes his energies to the creative arts, bringing innumerable experiences to bear. The results are powerful and impactful paintings ranging from photogenic to mixed media to the abstract,” the gallery says in its description of the exhibit.
The arrangement between Berges and the White House to keep Hunter from meeting prospective buyers raised ethical eyebrows when a CBS News report in July said the president’s son would meet with buyers at art shows in Los Angeles and the Big Apple.
The report led to White House press secretary Jen Psaki being grilled about whether the agreement had been scuttled.
“He’s not going to have any conversations related to the selling of art. That will be left to the gallerist, as was outlined in the agreement that we announced just a few weeks ago,” Psaki told reporters.
“We won’t know who the buyers are. Hunter Biden won’t know who the buyers are. So I think this line of questioning, which is understandable, is about whether this would provide a situation for undue influence but we won’t know who they are,” she claimed. “So there’s no scenario where they could provide influence.”
Comer has set a Sept. 29 deadline for Berges to respond to the House committee.
Along with the briefing, Comer requested documents and any communications between the gallery and the White House, including a copy of the ethics guidelines for the sale.
He also demanded agreements, contracts or other documents executed between the gallery and Hunter, as well as the documents outlining how prices were set for the artwork.
Comer also seeks information about who attended the opening and who purchased Hunter’s work.
