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President Biden’s younger sister will kick off her book tour Thursday night in Washington, D.C., ahead of the release of her memoir next week, which could create a headache for the White House as she continues to cash in on her brother’s political career, conflicting with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s statement last January about the White House’s ethics policy.
“It’s the White House’s policy that the President’s name should not be used in connection with any commercial activities to suggest or in any way – in any way they could reasonably be understood to imply his endorsement or support,” Psaki said.
Valerie Biden Owens, a longtime campaign adviser and political confidante to Biden, will be releasing her memoir titled, “Growing Up Biden: A Memoir” next Tuesday. The book includes a childhood photo of her, Joe Biden, their two brothers, and their mother on the book cover. Not only did Owens serve as Biden’s campaign manager for all seven of his successful Senate campaigns, but she also advised Biden during all three presidential campaigns and has played an integral role in his family’s life.
The upcoming book tour and expected media blitz of Owens’ memoir about growing up as a Biden comes a little over a year after the transition team’s lawyers told Vice President-elect Harris’s niece she could no longer produce clothing or write any new books with Harris’s name or likeness, the Los Angeles Times reported in early 2021.
WHITE HOUSE LAWYERS TELL MEENA HARRIS TO STOP USING AUNT KAMALA TO BUILD BRAND: REPORT
Transition team lawyers for the Biden-Harris team reportedly told Vice President Harris’s niece she could no longer write new books with Harris’s name or likeness.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
During Biden’s second presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008, Owens served as her brother’s national campaign chair. It does not appear that Biden’s campaign paid her directly, but the Democratic consulting firm Joe Slade White & Company, where Owens was serving as an “Executive Vice President,” raked in over $2.5 million from Biden’s presidential campaign and the “Citizens for Biden” committee between March 2007 and October 2008.
Owens’ daughter, Valerie J. Owens, who goes by “Missy,” also cashed in by working for her uncle’s presidential campaign, where she made tens of thousands of dollars.
Missy would go on to score multiple high-level positions during the Obama-Biden administration. She served as the deputy chief of staff in the Energy Department between Feb. 2009 and June 2011, according to her LinkedIn page. She then served a year as the chief of staff to the deputy Commerce secretary for a year. Owens then worked at Coca-Cola in its government relations department for a decade, including while the company was reportedly lobbying against a bill cracking down on the use of Uyghur forced labor in China. Two months ago, General Motors hired her to a senior position in the company’s regulatory affairs department.
Valerie’s other daughter, Casey, also got a job in the Obama-Biden administration, serving as a special assistant to the senior coordinator for China at the Treasury Department for over two years. Her LinkedIn says she “managed a range of workstreams essential to the execution of the US-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue – one of the largest bilateral foreign economic policy initiatives of the Obama Administration.” She would later work up the corporate ladder at Starbucks, where she is now a vice president.
Near the end of the Obama-Biden administration, Missy reached out to her first cousin and then-Vice President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, about helping her mother get a position in the administration, saying it would be “good for her” and that she “needs it more than I do right now,” according to emails reviewed by Fox News Digital. A little over a year later, Owens was appointed to a four-month ceremonial position serving as “an Alternate Representative of the United States to the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations,” which paid approximately $26,000.
The March 2015 email exchange between Missy and Hunter came in response to a White House press release announcing that Hunter’s longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
“Is this our Eric?” Missy asked, prompting Hunter to confirm that it was.
“How did he/we find that one, and do you think we can find something for my mom?” Missy asked Hunter. “I wanted to do it, but I think Mom needs it more than I…what do you think?”
“I didn’t know she wanted to do that me [sic] of these. Eric asked for one of these the day after the election in 2008. You know better than me what are real and interesting appointments. Let’s go through the list with Steve and see what makes sense,” Hunter replied, appearing to reference Biden’s then-Chief of Staff Steve Ricchetti. “I don’t know how much 2016 and nepotism plays into it.”
After the Obama administration, Owens would go on to serve in leadership roles at the Biden Foundation, the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, and currently the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, where she is currently the chair. The university has previously declined to release her contract at the University.
Valerie’s husband, John Owens or “Jack,” who has been friends with Biden since their law school days at Syracuse, has also benefited from Biden and Hunter. In 2014, Owens requested help from Hunter in an email saying he needed a Chinese business license “secured very quickly” so he could expand his telemedicine company into China.
“Time pressures are very tight, plus the fact that we do not yet have one has caused a slight credibility bump in the company’s mind. This all translates into a need for a Business License, and one secured very quickly,” Owens wrote. “While this might seem to be a mundane task, I have come to understand that matters such as a Business License can end up taking an inordinate amount of time… time we just do not have.”
Joe Biden’s brother-in-law, Jack Owens, emailed Hunter Biden in 2014 to help him obtain a Chinese business license, so he could expand his telemedicine company into China.
(Photo by Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images)
He would go on to tell Hunter that he would be “most appreciative of any help,” which resulted in Hunter forwarding the email to some of his business partners with close China ties, saying, “Is there a way we can help him expedite this? Time is of the essence here.”
It is unclear whether Hunter’s business partners were able to successfully secure a business license for Owens or whether one of the business partners’ “WOFE” sufficed for China’s laws. However, MediGuide’s website says it has come to “an agreement with AnyHealth Shanghai.”
“MediGuide and Any Health intend to expand MediGuide’s business in China under the name of ‘MediGuide China,’” the website reads. “AnyHealth Shanghai will be legally representing MediGuide International LLC in China. ” It is unclear if AnyHealth Shanghai is the same company referenced in the emails.
Owens also benefited during the Obama-Biden administration by getting invitations from then-Vice President Biden’s executive assistant Kathy Chung to attend events at the White House. For example, a little over a year after Owens sent the email to Hunter about the business license, Owens received an invitation to attend the State Department luncheon honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping, which was hosted by Biden.
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“Yes Kathy,” Owens responded. “I would like to attend this one. I know I have passed up everything else, but this is a bit different. I just rec’d this so I do not know what VBO [Valerie Biden Owens] is going to do. Do you have my info to respond with picture, etc, or do you want me to do that.”
Over the last year, Jack has played golf several times with Biden, in addition to other family members.
The White House, Owens, and Owens’ book publisher, Celadon Books, did not respond to requests for comment.
