Hunter Biden’s artwork was sold to a major Democrat Party donor and Biden administration appointee, according to a new report.
On Monday evening, Insider revealed the identities of two individuals who have purchased Hunter’s artwork, including Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a Los Angeles-based real estate investor who is “influential in California Democratic circles and is a significant Democratic donor.” In the past year alone, Hirsh Naftali has reportedly given $29,700 to the Democratic National Campaign Committee and $13,414 to Joe Biden’s campaign. A fundraiser she put on last year was headlined by none other than Vice President Kamala Harris.
Notably, the White House rolled out a game plan in July 2021 that sought to allow Hunter to — as The New York Times described — sell his works “without him, or anyone in the administration, knowing who bought them.” According to the Times, the arrangement would allow New York City art gallerist Georges Bergès to sell the paintings without disclosing “any information about the buyers or prices of Hunter Biden’s work” to “anyone” — including Hunter himself.
According to Insider, however, Hunter did learn the identity of two of his buyers, one of whom was Hirsh Naftali.
While Insider was unable to verify exactly when Hirsh Naftali purchased Hunter’s painting, the outlet did discover that she had been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in July 2022. According to Insider, “[m]embership on the commission is an unpaid position that is often filled by campaign donors, family members, and political allies — the same crowd that often winds up with US ambassadorial appointments.”
Hirsh Naftali’s appointment occurred eight months after Hunter’s art first went on display.
When pressed on the matter, an administration official denied there was any connection between Hirsh Naftali’s art purchases and her appointment, further claiming it was former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who recommended Hirsh Naftali to the president. The White House did not, however, clarify whether Hirsh Naftali purchased Hunter’s artwork before or after her appointment to the commission.
“Hunter Biden is a private citizen who is entitled to have his own career as an artist,” White House spokesman Ian Sams asserted. “We are not involved in his art sales, and any buyers of his art are not disclosed to the White House.”
Hunter Biden’s counsel, Abbe Lowell, separately claimed Hunter only “learned the identities of Hirsh Naftali and a second buyer after they had purchased his art through his gallery, because they were his friends.”
It’s worth noting that Hunter has indicated before that he could use his influence to have confidants appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. In 2015, for instance, President Barack Obama appointed Eric Schwerin — a “longtime business associate” of Hunter’s — to the commission. According to Insider, email communications from Hunter’s laptop suggest the then-vice president’s son “had sway over Schwerin’s appointment.”
“Eric asked me for one of these the day after the election in 2008,” Hunter purportedly emailed a cousin “who had written inquiring about the possibility of a similar appointment for her mother.”
In addition to Hirsh Naftali, another alleged Hunter Biden art buyer is Kevin Morris, a Los Angeles attorney “who has become [Hunter]’s confidant and financial backer.” According to Insider, Morris reportedly “lent Hunter Biden upwards of $2 million, helping him pay off back taxes and avoid felony penalties under a June settlement with the Department of Justice.” As The Federalist previously reported, Hunter struck a plea agreement in which he will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entered a pretrial diversion agreement for a felony firearms offense.
Internal documents obtained by Insider also show an unidentified buyer purchased 11 pieces of Hunter’s art for a whopping $875,000 total, representing a majority of the roughly $1.38 million “in receipts that Hunter Biden’s gallery received for his work.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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