House Republicans press for details of Hunter Biden’s art sales

Oversight panel wants testimony from art dealer of president’s son next month.

The prices for Hunter Biden’s art collection range from $US55,000 to $US225,000, according to the house oversight committee. Picture: AFP

House Republicans on Wednesday pushed for details about sales of Hunter Biden’s artwork, an early move as they step up an investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son.

In a letter, the House of Representatives committee on oversight and accountability renewed a request that Republicans had previously made while in the minority to the younger Mr Biden’s art dealer, Georges Berges.

House Republicans said Mr Berges hadn’t responded to previous requests, but now that they have the majority, their latest demand could carry more weight and presage a congressional subpoena that would ratchet up the pressure on the New York City gallery owner to co-operate with the inquiry.

“Despite being a novice artist, Hunter Biden received exorbitant amounts of money selling his artwork, the buyers’ identities remain unknown, and you appear to be the sole record-keeper of these lucrative transactions, ” wrote James Comer, chairman of the committeein the letter to Mr. Berges.

Mr Comer wrote that, since the house Republicans’ last requests, Mr Berges had held another exhibit featuring Mr Biden’s artwork at his SoHo gallery.

Mr Biden’s latest collection was posted by the Georges Berges Gallery on Instagram earlier this month. The paintings are a mixture of ink and acrylic on metal, depicting abstract flowers and trees. The prices for the art range from $US55,000 to $US225,000, according to Mr Comer’s letter.

Mr Comer asked for a response by February 8 and for Mr Berges to sit for an interview with the oversight committee before February 15.

The White House deferred comment to Hunter Biden’s legal team, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. Mr. Berges didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Oversight Committee has said the younger Mr Biden would be a focus of their investigations this year into the family’s business dealings. They have said they wanted to see if the Biden family sold access to government officials or have been unduly influenced by monetary interests.

“Given Hunter’s history of suspicious activity, it is deeply concerning that the President’s son continues to sell his amateur artwork to anonymous purchasers for sky-high prices,” Mr Comer said in a statement.

Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, said the letter from Mr Comer “shows how far and how early our colleagues have already gotten off track in the new Congress. The purpose of legislative oversight is to make sure government programs and policies are working for the American people. I don’t see how this modern art investigation contributes.”

Amid criticism of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, the White House Counsel’s Office was consulted on a system for the president’s son to sell his art without him, or anyone in the Biden administration, knowing the identities of purchasers. The arrangement directs Mr Berges not to share information about the buyers or sales of Mr Biden’s work and to reject any offer that appears suspicious, such as one that drastically exceeds the asking price.

Hunter Biden hasn’t been charged with any criminal activity. The Wall Street Journal’s previous reporting found no evidence that Joe Biden played a role in Hunter Biden’s enterprises or deals. The elder Mr Biden said he hasn’t been involved in his son’s dealings.

Federal prosecutors have called several of Hunter Biden’s associates and other witnesses to testify before a grand jury looking into whether he violated tax or other laws, including those governing lobbying for foreign governments, through his business relationships in Ukraine, China, Kazakhstan and elsewhere, the Journal has reported.

Hunter Biden has acknowledged his tax matters were under investigation by the US attorney’s office in Delaware, and said previously he was “confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately.” The Justice Department investigation is also focusing on whether Mr. Biden lied on gun-purchase paperwork.

Mr Comer has already asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for any banking transactions by the Biden family and their associates flagged by US banks. The committee also asked several former Twitter executives who were responsible for blocking the sharing of a New York Post story about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop to testify at a hearing on February 8.

The Wall Street Journal