James Biden tells Republicans his brother was not involved in business deals

When young Joe Biden began his first political campaign more than fifty years ago, it was his brother Jimmy who dropped out of college and crisscrossed the country to raise money for his bid.

Months later, when Joe Biden's wife and thirteen-month-old daughter died in a car accident, it was up to Jimmy to go to the hospital to identify their bodies.

And as Joe Biden built his political profile, it was Jimmy who took his brother's two surviving children under his wing, forming an especially strong bond with the youngest, Hunter, with whom he had much in common. That relationship eventually turned into a business partnership that would net both men millions of dollars from overseas deals — and has now put them under the scrutiny of Republicans in Congress bent on impeaching President Biden.

On Wednesday, James Biden, known in the family as “Uncle Jimmy,” testified before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees leading the impeachment inquiry that his business ventures exceeded expectations, that his older brother was not involved and has never done anything wrong done. , and that in any case it was the older Mr. Biden who helped him financially — and not the other way around.

In a 10-page opening statement obtained by The New York Times, James Biden also painted a portrait of himself as a dutiful but sometimes troubled brother who had sacrificed to support his family after it was rocked by tragedy, even as he denied he accused him of trying to use access to his brother to enrich himself.

“I've had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures,” James Biden said in his opening statement during a closed-door interview in a House office building. “Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in these activities. No.”

The prepared testimony provided a fuller picture of James Biden as a pivotal figure in the president's life, someone who, like his cousin Hunter, has clearly benefited financially from the cache and connections that come with his politically prestigious family name, but who also sees himself as an anchor for family members who have fallen on hard times.

Hunter Biden has called James Biden “my best friend in the world,” who took him in during some of the worst moments of his drug addiction. His uncle told lawmakers that he, too, once struggled with alcoholism, though he has been sober for more than 40 years.

On Wednesday, James Biden also upended one of Republicans' central allegations against the president, saying that payments he made to Joe Biden that Republican lawmakers alleged were a way to launder money from China. were in fact repayments of loans that the elderly president had paid. Mr. Biden extended it when he was low on cash.

“They were short-term loans I got from Joe when he was an individual, and I paid them back within weeks,” James Biden said. “He had no information at all about the origin of the money I used to pay him back. The full explanation is that Joe lent me money, and I paid him back as soon as I had the money.”

Mr. Biden's testimony comes at a crucial time for the Republican investigation after a succession of witnesses undermined Republicans' claims about President Biden's involvement in his son and brother's businesses.

At least three of Hunter Biden's associates denied any involvement by Joe Biden in Hunter Biden's financial deals in recent interviews. One, James Gilliar, said: “I am not aware of any involvement by the former vice president at any time.” Another, Eric Schwerin, who performed accounting duties for Joe Biden during his vice presidency, called the Republican Party's allegations “ridiculous.”

“I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden has received in connection with any business conducted by any of his family members or their associates, nor of any involvement by him in their businesses – none,” the Mr Schwerin.

The GOP investigation took another blow last week when a former FBI informant whose claims were touted by Republicans was indicted on charges of fabricating his claims that President Biden and his son had sought bribes from a Ukrainian energy company. The informant, Alexander Smirnov, claimed to have received information from Russian intelligence. This is evident from a court ruling on Tuesday.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, called on Republicans to drop their investigation.

“The impeachment inquiry ended yesterday in substance, if not in form, with the explosive revelation that Mr. Smirnov's allegations about Ukrainian Burisma payments to Joe Biden were concocted with Russian intelligence agents,” Mr. Raskin said. “It appears that the entire case is not only patently false and fraudulent, but also a product of Russian disinformation and propaganda.”

Mr. Raskin called the mood in the interview room “subdued.”

“It feels to me like everyone knows the impeachment inquiry is over,” Mr. Raskin said.

Rep. William R. Timmons IV, Republican of South Carolina, argued that there remained “a tremendous amount of circumstantial evidence showing that Hunter and Jim are selling the brand and that Joe Biden is benefiting financially.”

“So we're going to find out if that's true,” Mr. Timmons said. 'That's why we're here. And for the ranking member to say that it doesn't exist there, they went after President Trump for much, much less.”

Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Mr. Smirnov's indictment “does not change the basic facts” of Republicans' case against Joe Biden.

Republicans have pointed to the testimony of former Hunter Biden aide Tony Bobulinski, who told lawmakers that “Joe Biden was 'the brand' sold by the Biden family” and that Mr. Biden was “an enabler, despite he was buffered by a complex plan to maintain plausible deniability.”

Democrats counter that while Mr. Bobulinski has made many accusations, he is unhappy that he has backed out of a business deal and has not backed up his claims with any direct evidence against the president.