Meena Harris latest Biden, Harris family member to face scrutiny over business ventures

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The White House has come out and stated that Vice President Kamala Harris' name will not be permitted to be used in conjunction with any commercial endeavors that could be seen as having her support, after a report said lawyers told her niece Meena Harris to stop using her name to help her brand.

Meena Harris has leveraged her relationship with the vice president in the past, including for her children's book, "Kamala and Maya's Big Idea." Days before the inauguration, she appeared on "The Today Show" and promoted her new book, "Ambitious Girl," as images of her and her aunt were shown on television.

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The White House now says that this will not be allowed.

"The Vice President and her family will uphold the highest ethical standards and it’s the White House's policy that the Vice President's name should not be used in connection with any commercial activities that could reasonably be understood to imply an endorsement or support," Sabrina Singh, Deputy press secretary for the vice president told Fox News.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a White House officials said that after November's election transition team ethics lawyers told Meena Harris not to use Kamala Harris' name or likeness, she still marketed items inspired by her.

Meena Harris attends the We Vote Next Summit event presented by Eighteen X 18 at TOMS Corporate Office on Sept. 29, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

Now that Harris is the vice president, an official told Fox News, the White House has "a process in place" that includes the White House counsel's office and family representatives, "to address as they may arise any questions of potential conflicts of interest."

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The official said that this process applies to both Harris's family and President Biden's. Fox News reached out to Meena Harris asking if anyone from the current administration has discussed their policy with her as it relates to her endeavors but she did not immediately respond.

The president, meanwhile, has several family members whose business ventures have raised eyebrows.

First, there was his son Hunter's dealings with business in Ukraine and China that former President Donald Trump tried to use against him during the 2020 campaign.

Biden had said in the past that he and his son did not discuss Hunter's business, but Hunter's former business partner Tony Bobulinski claimed this was not true, and that he met the current president through an introduction made by Hunter and President Biden's brother Jim Biden.

Hunter Biden now has a book deal with Simon & Schuster, who will publish his memoir, "Beautiful Things," on April 6.

Additionally, the president's brother Frank Biden reportedly promoted his relationship with President Biden in a newspaper ad for a Florida law firm printed on Inauguration Day.

"The two Biden brothers have long held a commitment to pushing environmental issues to the forefront," part of the ad for the South Florida-based Berman Law Group said, according to CNBC.

The current official who spoke to the Times was concerned that "[s]ome things can't be undone," adding that "[b]ehavior needs to change.

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A former adviser to Harris stressed the issue to the newspaper in light of criticism of the Trump family for their business dealings.

"We've been attacking the Trumps for years on all of the gross grifting," the former adviser said. "We ought to be much cleaner."

Fox News' Peter Doocy and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.