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Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Hunter Biden on Sunday announced his resignation as a board member of a Chinese-backed equity firm and won't work for any foreign-owned company if his father, Joe Biden, is elected president next year. The decisions come amid unsubstantiated corruption allegations by President Donald Trump against the former vice president's son.
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"Hunter always understood that his father would be guided, entirely and unequivocally, by established U.S. policy, irrespective of its effects on Hunter's professional interests," a statement by Hunter Biden's attorney, George Mesires, read. "When Hunter engaged in his business pursuits, he believed that he was acting appropriately and in good faith. He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the president of the United States."
"Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests. In any event, Hunter will agree not to serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies."
Hunter Biden plans to step down by the end of the month from a management company of a private equity fund backed by Chinese state-owned entities, BHR (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management.
"Hunter neither played a role in the formation or licensure of the company, nor owned any equity in it while his father was Vice President," his lawyer wrote. "He served only as a member of its board of directors, which he joined based on his interest in seeking ways to bring Chinese capital to international markets. It was an unpaid position."
Hunter Biden has invested approximately $420,000 for a 10 percent equity position in BHR, which he still holds. There has been no distributions to BHR shareholders since Hunter obtained his equity interest, according to his attorney.
The younger Biden also has not received any compensation for being on BHR's board of directors.
In April, he stepped down from serving as a non-executive director of Burisma, the largest independent natural gas producer in Ukraine.
"Despite extensive scrutiny, at no time has any law enforcement agency, either domestic or foreign, alleged that Hunter engaged in wrongdoing at any point during his five-year term," his attorney wrote.
Hunter Biden originally was counsel with Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, a major U.S. law firm, and was advising Burisma on its corporate reform initiatives, He received a law degree from Yale.
The former president of Ukraine, Aleksander Kwasniewski, was familiar with Hunter's work on behalf of Burisma and recommended that Hunter join the board in April 2014. He earned $100,000 a month as a board member.
Although Hunter Biden has pledged not to perform work for foreign firms if his father is elected president, Trump's children still work with foreign business partners. He handed the running of the Trump Organization to his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and said they wouldn't do any new overseas deals.
The younger Biden hasn't discussed his own business activities with his father, according to his attorney.
In a July phone call, Trump encouraged new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Hunter and his father. After after the revelations and subsequently a transcript of the Ukraine call in September, Trump publicly called on China to investigate the Bidens.
The phone call, first reported by a whistle-blower, has led to the launch of an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats last month. Last Sunday, a second whistle-blower has come forward, with "firsthand knowledge" of the situation and had also made a protected disclosure under the law preventing them from being retaliated against.
Hunter Biden has kept a relatively low profile despite the allegations.
After the attorney posted the letter, Trump tweeted: "Where's Hunter? He has totally disappeared! Now looks like he has raided and scammed even more countries! Media is AWOL."
Joe Biden has defended his son, telling the Reno Gazette Journal earlier this month: "He's a fine man. He's been through hell. I'm also confident the American people know me, and they know my son."
