President Biden and his family arrived at the home of wealthy businessmen in St. Croix on Thursday for the final unpaid vacation of his presidency — after a string of freebies as commander-in-chief raised ethics questions and Uproar over not reporting Gift.
Biden, 82, first lady Jill Biden and first daughter Ashley Biden boarded Air Force One the afternoon after Christmas and motored straight to the oceanfront villa of Bill and Connie Neville.
The president hosted the couple at their first state dinner in 2022 and usually gives them an audience on the tarmac as they leave the island after the New Year.
The White House did not confirm whether the Bidens were staying again at the Nevils’ deluxe property, which features an in-ground pool, direct beach access and sweeping views of an offshore island, but the motorcade was seen on the North Shore. Got separated near the house.
The property is usually listed As a Vrbo Rental Available for around $900 per night.
Biden stayed in the same house end of 2022 And 2023 for visits after Christmas to celebrate New Year’s Eve – and also stayed there during his vice-presidency, a fact which was used on publicity material.
Unlike President-elect Donald Trump, who regularly stayed at his properties during his first term, raising various ethics issues, Biden as president has sought unpaid stays with key supporters, in many cases at the home. Concerns have arisen about protecting the reach and influence of its owners.
The Nevils operate the US Viking Software company, which creates an online content platform ENPS is called Used by marketing and news outlets such as the Associated Press.
26 days before Biden’s first presidential visit to the Nevils’ home, the couple received coveted tickets to Biden’s first state dinner, which included French President Emmanuel Macron and a select group of business elite from both countries.
Although the exact sequence of events leading up to the initial visit to the beach house is unclear, Biden months later asked another homeowner directlyMaria Allwyn, widow of a prominent hedge fund operator, if they could use their vacation mansion on Kiawah Island, SC without paying
Biden also enjoyed a four-Thanksgiving-week stay at the Nantucket campus of billionaire private equity titan David Rubenstein — and as a small token of gratitude he spoke at a lunch hosted by Rubenstein in Washington this September. Was.
Those four stoppages are believed to have been unpaid, although neither party has confirmed this.
This August, Biden’s family spend five days free The massive California ranch of medical technology billionaire Joe Kiani, whose substantial government contracts during the Biden administration and appointment by Biden to an advisory board drew Republican outrage.
Last August, the Biden family spent nine days at the billionaire climate investor’s Tom Stair’s Waterfront Lake Tahoe Retreat In Nevada.
The White House initially claimed the Bidens would pay for the stay, prompting a short-lived local investigation into Steyer’s lack of a rental permit, which was closed without explanation.
Critics of the withholdings say they smack of corruption and that Biden’s persistent failure to report gifts on annual ethics forms could be criminal, though Biden’s allies have considered the lack of clarity in federal records to list them. There is no need to do it. Law.
Mark Paoletta, the incoming top White House budget office counsel who served in a similar role during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, criticized Biden’s reporting omissions in May.
“His habit of occupying donors’ homes for the holidays and not paying or disclosing is a reflection of his family’s corruption and corruption,” Paoletta told The Post after the release of Biden’s annual disclosure forms again showed the omissions. “It’s consistent with a long history of corruption.”
Republicans have accused the media of a double standard in aggressive reporting by not disclosing visits by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with billionaire developer Harlan Crow, who had no known business dealings with the court.
Intentionally omitting a gift from the form could constitute a violation of federal law by making a false statement to Biden — a criminal offense. up to five years in jail Under 18 U.S. Code § 1001, former George W. Bush White House ethics counsel Richard Painter previously told The Post.
“It really hurts the Democrats because they have always claimed to be the party of the people, and yet, again and again, you find the president of the United States living in a billionaire’s house,” Painter said. Said Joe Biden, now a Democrat, after stopping by Rubenstein’s campus again.
“The problem is non-disclosure. And it is very difficult for those of us who are very critical of Supreme Court judges who are not disclosing such things.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Ethics(T)Joe Biden(T)US Virgin Islands