Painting Hunter

There is a to-do because the identity of one of Hunter Biden’s painting purchasers has been discovered, and she is a significant Democratic Party donor who received a presidential appointment.

The buyer is a woman named Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali and she paid an unknown sum for one of Biden the younger’s works, priced anywhere between $75,000 and a half a million dollars. In 2022, Ms. Hirsh Naftali was appointed to the United States Commission on the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad, and whatever part of me is still libertarian just broke out in hives.

As Jim Geraghty’s piece notes, the USCPAH “identifies, protects and preserves cemeteries, monuments and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are associated with U.S. heritage. I have no idea how this works. I was under the impression that cemeteries, monuments and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe were all older than the United States. I was also under the impression, thanks to Christopher Lee, that the residents of the cemeteries in many parts of Eastern Europe are perfectly capable of maintaining them without U.S. assistance, as they leave their graves for evening strolls and, um, dinner.

What American heritage are we preserving? Was Dracula staked with a filed-down Louisville Slugger that needs a little varnish now and again? Is China sneaking some contraband O-neg to all the toothy crowd and underselling good old red-blooded American…blood?

Anyway, the question now seems to be whether or not Ms. Hirsh Naftali obtained this plum membership as a result of her purchase. The White House denies this, saying that Ms. Hirsh Naftali was recommended by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. I have a simple solution to determine this. Find out where the painting is hanging. If it’s in the guest bathroom, things look a little iffy. If it’s in the house of a least-favorite in-law who might have voted for Reagan, then it’s clearly a grift.