New York Times story seen as effort to put spin on bad news Long before the New York Post's blockbuster, election-eve stories on Hunter Biden's laptop in 2020, investigative reporter and author Peter Schweizer documented the Biden family's international business of selling access to the White House for millions of dollars. Schweizer's 2018 book "Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends" and a follow-up, "Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite," presented evidence that five members of the Biden family cashed in while Joe Biden was vice president.