James Biden says his brother 'has never had any involvement' or any 'financial interest' in business ventures

 

James Biden testified Wednesday that his brother, President Biden, "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures, 

The president’s brother arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

James Biden went on to defend his brother, the president, saying that because of his "intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else," James Biden said. "In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships—and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother."

He added: "Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying."

James Biden stressed that Joe Biden "played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits" from his work with Chinese energy company CEFC, or the healthcare company Americore.

"With my appearance here today, the Committees will have the information to conclude that the negative and destructive assumptions about me and my relationship with my brother Joe are wrong," James Biden said.

House Republicans have heard testimony from a number of the first son's former business associates, like Tony Bobulinski, who testified before the committees earlier this month that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business ventures. He also testified that he personally met with him. 

Days before Bobulinski's testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm CEFC that his brother and son did business with. 

After Walker's testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son." 

With regard to CEFC, James Biden testified that he decided to become involved with Hunter Biden’s efforts to develop a business venture with the chinest energy during a difficult time in his nephew’s life.

At the time, it was clear that Hunter was having substantial personal struggles and was in deep emotional pain dealing with Beau’s death and the end of his marriage. I agreed to help, and I hoped that by staying nearby, I could provide Hunter with guidance and additional emotional support."

James Biden did confirm that he worked on the structure of the joint-venture with CEFC, along with his nephew Hunter Biden and business associates Rob Walker, James Gilliar and Bobulinski.

He testified that he and Hunter "were responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities for the joint venture."

At the end of the day, CEFC was a straightforward business venture—albeit less successful than we had hoped. I was involved in the project from early 2017 through 2018, a period during which my brother was a private citizen who held no office. I added substantial value and identified real opportunities," James Biden said.

"There was never any effort to disguise that our joint venture was with a Chinese company. We made that fact clear to everyone with whom we spoke," he continued. "In short, my role and experience with CEFC bears no resemblance to the false narrative that some have promoted. My brother played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits from my work with CEFC."

So far in the investigation into Biden family businesses, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he has found that Biden family members, their business associates and their "related companies" received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania."

Comer said the committee has learned throughout its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates brought in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019 by "selling Joe Biden as ‘the brand’ around the world."

Republicans have also focused on a "$200,000 direct payment" in the form of a "personal check" from James Biden and Sara Biden. That check was labeled "loan repayment." 

"On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account — not their business bank account," Comer continued. "And then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden."