Psaki abruptly shuts down, calls on new reporter when confronted about Hunter Biden laptop, Chinese firm divestment

White House press secretary Jen Psaki abruptly shut down Monday after she was confronted about Hunter Biden's laptop and asked about his recent alleged divestment from a Chinese investment firm.

What happened?

The Biden administration published Monday a plan to fight corruption. The plan, titled "United States Strategy on Countering Corruption," outlines how the Biden administration will respond to corruption. Biden has identified corruption as a "core U.S. national security interest."

With Biden's plan in hand, New York Post reporter Steven Nelson asked Psaki during the White House press briefing how the Biden administration's plan to fight corruption intersects with the business dealings of the president's son.

Nelson asked:

The Biden administration today put out a big report about addressing corruption. I want to ask you two quick and hopefully pretty easy questions about that. Shortly after President Biden’s virtual meeting with the Chinese president, the first son’s attorney said that he has finally divested from a Chinese investment fund controlled by state-owned entities. I was hoping you could commit to basic transparency about that transaction, including the name of the buyer, the dollar amount, and the timing.

And the second question is: My colleague Miranda Devine has a new book out called the "Laptop From Hell," and I was hoping that you could confirm that the laptop is indeed authentic and not Russian disinformation, as you seemed to suggest on Twitter last year.

Psaki, however, immediately made it clear she was not interested in answering questions about Hunter Biden's laptop or his suspicious business dealings and called on another reporter, instead.

"Well, on the first, the president’s son is not an employee of the federal government, so I’d point you to his representatives," Psaki responded. "And as it relates to the book: I have neither had the time nor interest in exploring or reading the book. Go ahead, Tina."

"But the president's son —," Nelson responded before being cut off, "didn’t give any information on the transaction."

"Go ahead, Tina," Psaki responded over Nelson.

"I think I answered your question. Go ahead — you can go to the representative of the person who is not an employee of the federal government — go ahead, Tina," Psaki said again.

"Yes, but he doesn’t give any information on that," Nelson responded.

"I think we have to move on. Go ahead," Psaki shot back, visibility unsettled by the question.

What about Hunter Biden?

Less than one week after President Biden held a virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, a lawyer for Hunter Biden said his client had finally divested from BHR Partners, a Chinese investment firm.

However, as the New York Post explained, details about Hunter Biden's divestment are shrouded in mystery.

All details regarding the divestment are shrouded in mystery. It’s unclear, for example, whether Hunter Biden was paid by Chinese government-linked entities that control the company — or if he simply transferred his ownership to another person, such as a family member, without compensation.

It’s also unclear if the divestment happened before or after Hunter’s father held the three-and-a-half hour virtual summit with Xi.

Meanwhile, Psaki endorsed the idea last year that the Hunter Biden laptop story was "Russian disinfo," despite the computer in questioning containing a trove of information indicating it could only belong to Hunter.