President-elect Joe Biden’s inaugural committee will reportedly return a donation it received from former Sen. Barbara Boxer after she registered as a foreign agent of China.
Boxer, who donated $500 to the committee, reported that she will provide “strategic consulting services” to the United States subsidiary of Chinese surveillance firm Hikvision in a document filed with the Department of Justice, according to Axios.
Boxer justified her position as beneficial for America’s interests overseas.
“When I am asked to provide strategic advice to help a company operate in a more responsible and humane manner consistent with U.S. law in spirit and letter, it is an opportunity to make things better while helping protect and create American jobs,” she said in a statement to Axios.
The scheduled refund comes as Biden battles allegations of improper familial ties to China. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has come under investigation for his dealings with the country. Hunter Biden has been accused of exchanging financial kickbacks for access to the then-vice president.
One of the most high-profile incidents includes a venture between the Chinese Communist Party-linked CEFC China Energy conglomerate and Hunter Biden, along with Joe Biden’s brother James Biden, former business partner Tony Bobulinski, and unnamed additional parties. In emails discussing the venture discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was reportedly a reference to money to be paid to “the big guy,” who Bobulinski claims was Joe Biden.
Joe Biden has dismissed the allegations against his son as a “Russian [disinformation] plan.”
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe rebuked this assertion, saying, “There is no intelligence that supports that, and we have shared no intelligence with [House Intelligence Committee] Chairman [Adam] Schiff or any other member of Congress that Hunter Biden’s laptop is part of some Russian disinformation campaign.”
Boxer and Joe Biden did not immediately return a request for comment.
