Global Courant 2023-04-27 14:00:50
President Biden spoke on Tuesday with a powerful union leader who once credited Hunter Biden with giving him access to the White House during the Obama administration.
Biden delivered remarks Tuesday at the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) legislative conference, hours after announcing that he and Vice President Kamala Harris would seek re-election next year.
While the performance was officially a White House event, the president delivered a campaign-style speech that echoed the themes in his re-election launch video.
The president was introduced by NABTU President Sean McGarvey who praised Biden for “building an economy that works for working people.”
“Hello Building Trades! And thank you, President and my friend Sean McGarvey. You have been a longtime friend of mine, as have many of you,” Biden remarked after McGarvey gave him the floor. “I wouldn’t be standing here, I wouldn’t have been elected to the United States Senate in what was initially a ‘right to work’ state if it weren’t for American union labor.”
“Well, you know, I’m here because there’s no better place to talk about the progress we’ve made together. And it wouldn’t have been made without you. And that’s not an exaggeration; that’s a fact,” he continued . “Our economic plan is working. We have to get the job done now, but there is more to do.”
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President Biden addresses the North American Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Legislative Conference on Tuesday as NABTU President Sean McGarvey (left) and NABTU Secretary-Treasurer Brandon Bish (right) applaud. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
While the event was not an official campaign event, Biden used the phrases “finish the job” six times and “more to do” four times. It was also his first public appearance since announcing that he would run for re-election.
Biden’s relationship with McGarvey, meanwhile, appears to date back to 2010, when his son Hunter Biden arranged for the two to meet, according to emails obtained from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop and verified by Fox News Digital. At the time, Biden was vice president and McGarvey was NABTU’s secretary-treasurer.
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According to a December 2010 email exchange, Mike Mathis and Chuck Harple — two political consultants who founded the Mathis Harple Group and lobbied on behalf of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and AFL-CIO, two NABTU affiliates — contacted Hunter Biden and informed him that McGarvey was frustrated that he could not arrange a meeting with then-Vice President Biden.
McGarvey had sent a letter to the then Vice President in late 2009, unsuccessfully requesting a meeting. McGarvey also asked if former NABTU president Mark Ayers could attend the meeting.
Political adviser Hunter Biden asked in 2011 if he could arrange a meeting between McGarvey and “the big man.” (Getty Images)
“My real question is, if I have the boss call, will it be Mark Ayers or Sean?” Hunter Biden said in a Dec. 14, 2010, email to Harple.
Harple replied “Sean” and in another email shared McGarvey’s email address and phone number with Hunter Biden.
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“By the way, I just got out with Sean. I told him we talked. He and President Ayers personally thanked me and said it’s good to know that maybe what we thought about the VP was all wrong,” said Harple in another email. “I don’t even want to get into what I heard they were told why the vice president couldn’t meet.”
“I’ll work on it – but is there a problem I should know before I bypass everyone and go straight to him – if I ask, he will – but if I miss something legit, I’ll be killed by staff,” Hunter Biden responded.
Chuck Harple emails Hunter Biden on December 14, 2010, after speaking with NABTU boss Sean McGarvey. (Fox news)
“You shouldn’t worry about being ‘shouted at’ by the boss or his staff – they should shit their pants thinking that – miscommunication makes the Building Trades think they are being insulted by the vice president,” said Harple. “If it was my union, I would have wedged the president, the vice president, or their BoS and made sure they knew.”
“That being said, what works best – for you and me – is that you call Sean first. Say you talked to me and you want all the facts before you talk to the big guy. This is good for both of us,” concluded Harple.
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“You shouldn’t worry about being ‘shouted at’ by the boss or his staff – they should shit their pants thinking that – miscommunication makes the Building Trades think they are being insulted by the vice president,” said Harple in another email to Hunter. (Fox news)
Less than a week later, on Dec. 20, Hunter Biden helped arrange a phone call between Ayers and then-Vice President Biden, noting in an email that the pair also planned to meet in early 2011.
“Talked to Sean. He and Mark Ayers fully commend you for saving the day,” Harple said in an email to Hunter Biden later that day. “I was a little surprised by their enthusiasm, but they really felt – for once – that they were being heard.”
Months later, in April 2011, Harple emailed Hunter Biden, recounting a meeting recently arranged between then-Vice President Biden, McGarvey, and Ayers. Harple said the two union leaders were again frustrated that while the meeting was productive, White House staff remained unresponsive.
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“I just spoke with National Building and Construction Trades Secretary Treasurer Sean McGarvey. You may remember how you saved the day by addressing the Building Trades issue with the Vice President – a request to see him was more than been repeatedly unanswered for a year,” Harple said in the April 30, 2011 email. .”
“Since then, the construction companies have contacted the VP’s economic policy director, who was in the meeting, and have not heard back,” the email continued. In addition, there have been over 6 unanswered phone calls and letters requesting meetings to be followed up. As Sean told me, ‘The VP was incredible in the meeting, but I’m afraid it was a dog and pony show after our attempts to contact them have been in vain.'”
“You may remember how you saved the day by addressing the Building Trades issue with the Vice President — a request to see him had repeatedly gone unanswered for over a year,” Harple told Hunter in the email. of April 30, 2011. (Fox news)
Additional emails revealed that Hunter Biden and McGarvey had played golf together numerous times in 2012.
And McGarvey emailed Hunter Biden on November 7, 2012, congratulating his father on winning re-election.
“Lost last night was the old man’s work for the past year! We know!!! so please tell him well done and rest!!” McGarvey said.
The White House and NABTU did not respond to requests for comment.
Thomas Catenacci is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
