EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker arrested for spray-painting ‘daddy’ on art gallery where Hunter Biden’s art will be displayed and throwing money on the floor
- Rod Webber was taken down by the NYPD at the Georges Berges Gallery in Soho
- His arrest comes hours after the White House defended Hunter’s right to pursue a career in art
- Ethics experts thing his art deals could lead to influence peddling
A filmmaker has been arrested for spray-painting ‘daddy’ at the New York art gallery where Hunter Biden‘s paintings will be displayed.
Rod Webber was taken down by the NYPD at the Georges Berges Gallery in Soho on Wednesday afternoon after throwing money on the floor, according to pictures obtained by DailyMail.com.
His arrest comes just hours after the White House defended their bid to carve out a deal with Hunter’s lawyers where the buyers of his paintings would be kept secret.
Hunter’s paintings are being valued at up to $500,000. The show is not set to begin until the fall.
Ethics experts have slammed the gallery showing and say it could lead to influence peddling.
A filmmaker has been arrested for spray-painting ‘daddy’ at the New York art gallery where Hunter Biden’s paintings will be displayed
Rod Webber was taken down at the Georges Berges Gallery in Soho on Wednesday afternoon
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Hunter Biden had a ‘right to pursue an artistic career,’ as she tried on Friday to justify the administration’s role in brokering arrangements for the sale of his paintings.
It followed revelations that the White House helped set up a deal for buyers’ identities to remain hidden to ensure they did not win presidential favors.
This White House has frequently promised full transparency in pursuit of the highest ethical standards. Now that means secrecy.
‘I think it would be challenging for an anonymous person, who we don’t know and Hunter Biden doesn’t know, to have influence,’ said Psaki during her daily briefing.
The plan will allow Hunter Biden to forge ahead with his new life as an artist after a career change from high-paid consultant on international deals.
The deal came about after Biden administration staffers reached out to Hunter’s lawyers to forge a plan intended to ‘avoid’ ethics concerns and let the president’s son pursue his new career.
Psaki confirmed that the White House had been involved.
‘Of course he has the right to pursue an artistic career just like any child of a president has the right to pursue a career, but all interactions regarding the selling of art and the setting of prices will be handled by a professional gallerist, adhering to the highest industry standards, and any offer out of the normal course would be rejected out of hand,’ she said.
‘And the gallerist will not share information about buyers or prospective buyers, including their identities with Hunter Biden or the administration, which provides quite a level of protection and transparency.’
Hunter Biden’s artworks could sell for as much as $500,000 raising questions about whether buyers will think their money is buying access or favors. The White House says it was involved in making arrangements to keep their identities hidden from officials and to ensure the gallerist would not accept inflated bids
He also threw money on the floor when he walked in, and was then arrested
This Biden art work is titled ‘Self portrait’ and is a mix media work on paper that measures 48in x 32in
This artwork by Biden is untitled but measures 24in x 48in and was created on sheet metal. His art dealer has priced Biden’s artworks between $75,000 and $500,000