As for US president Joe Biden’s claim that he didn’t know what was happening with Australia and the French, that’s in dispute too.
According to The Australian’s Cameron Stewart, “there is a confidential 15-page document that raises serious doubts about the President’s claim that he believed France knew ahead of time that its $90 billion contract with Australia would be terminated.”
“The document shows Joe Biden’s advisers in the White House National Security Council were fully aware France had not been told ahead of the announcement of the new Australia-US-UK AUKUS pact in September that its contract to build French Attack-class submarines was doomed,’’ the report states.
“Mr Biden told French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 leader’s meeting in Rome: ‘I was under the impression that France had been informed long before that the (French) deal would not come through. I honest to God did not know you had not.’.
“The document, which Mr Biden’s closest advisers signed off on, made it clear Australia would tell France on that day, September 16.”