evidence: The corruption claims aren’t limited entirely to Burisma matters. McCarthy has speculated that Chinese companies could have tried to influence the elder Biden when he was vice president, through deals with his son. Trump has tried to imply that Biden was being paid off by the Chinese through a University of Pennsylvania center. (The center received no gifts from China.) Republicans have dwelled on a July 2017 WhatsApp message in which Hunter reportedly threatened a Chinese business associate, writing, "I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled." Hunter Biden’s lawyer has said he was not with his father; there is no evidence President Biden gained anything from the matter being discussed. (The younger Biden was struggling with drug addiction at the time.)