While he was in the middle of campaigning for the White House, Joe Biden had a conversation with his brother Frank, to warn him over one of his possible business deals, Politico reported on Thursday.
“For Christ’s sake, watch yourself,” Biden told his brother, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation. “Don’t get sucked into something that would, first of all, hurt you.”
According to the report, the goal of the conversation was to protect the younger Frank Biden from “being hurt and vilified” in the event that big brother "Joey" makes his way to the Oval Office.
Politico said that the person described Biden's tone as both “jocular and serious,” as he appeared to well understand that the business dealings of anyone in his family would be in the spotlight should he become the US president.
One can assume that Joe Biden is indeed insightful, as in January his brother Frank appeared to tout their brotherhood in an ad for a law firm he advises.
“My brother is a model for how to go about doing this work,” Frank Biden said in the ad. “One of his central tenets is that one should never question another man’s or woman’s motives or assign blame to them. That way, you avoid creating a disparity that prevents any kind of coming together. You can of course question someone’s judgement, and that’s what we’re doing by bringing this to court.”
After the story was covered by media, particularly CNBC, Frank Biden emailed a statement to the outlet, saying that he has "never used my brother to obtain clients for my firm".
"Our firm has long been involved [with] this lawsuit. Social justice is something I have been involved in for years,” Frank Biden said. “I will never be employed by any lobbyist or lobbying firm.”
His assertion was reportedly echoed by John Morgan, a Florida super attorney and Democratic donor, quoted by Politico as saying: "What Frank told me is ‘my brother loves me dearly, but if I lobbied, he would cut my legs from underneath me.'"
According to the Florida attorney, he - John Morgan - was the one interested in making business dealings with Biden's brother, but nothing has come out yet.
“We are talking about him doing some things inside the law firm,” Morgan said, apparently referring to his law firm Morgan&Morgan.
Morgan also told Politico that Joe Biden had made clear to his brother Frank that the day he got elected "the long knives came out for all things Biden".
The reported comments emerge in light of unproven allegations that the president's son, Hunter Biden, was purportedly in possession of a "laptop from hell" that was claimed by some in the GOP to contain as-yet-unidentified evidence of illegal business dealings in Ukraine and China.
In December 2020, Hunter Biden acknowledged that he was being audited by the Fed.
The newly-sworn US president has repeatedly defended his son, expressing confidence that he has done "nothing wrong".
Now in the spotlight, the Biden family has drawn major attention, facing accusations of shady business dealings with China or because some family members have an alcohol or a drug addiction. Joe Biden stated in early December 2020 that his family would be distanced from government affairs and from any enterprise that could potentially conflict with the running of his administration.
