Hunter Biden, the president’s troubled lobbyist-cum-author-cum-artist son and tabloid media curiosity, has been assembling a more combative legal and communications apparatus to defend himself against House G.O.P. investigators looking to probe whether he sold access to Joe Biden. But while the president has publicly distanced himself from Hunter’s legal and personal affairs, which have at times been an embarrassment to the administration, the bare-knuckle tactics of his allies are beginning to aggravate some senior officials in the White House. 

It’s evident by the background quotes from those in Biden’s inner circle, who are questioning Hunter’s new aggressive defense, led by Abbe Lowell, the rainmaker who recently represented Jared Kushner, and supported by David Brock, the former Clinton operative and Media Matters advocate, with his outside super PAC, Facts First. To wit: Brock’s PAC has been working to bloody the noses of House Oversight chair James Comer and his compadre, Judiciary committee chair Jim Jordan, in defense of Hunter. The PAC also recently brought on Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden’s former chief spokesperson in the White House, who often had his wrist slapped for being too aggressive in his defense of the Bidens on Twitter. 

The PAC’s latest digital ad, which runs in Comer and Jordan’s districts, raises questions about their own personal scandals—like the early 1990s allegations that Comer abused his ex-girlfriend and brought her to get an abortion, and the accusations that Jordan covered up sexual abuse at the high school where he coached wrestling. They’ve also been pushing a recent New York Times profile that delves into the Comer allegations.