Hunter Biden denied his father’s involvement in his business activities
In a fiery six-hour hearing before a Republican-controlled congressional committee, Hunter Biden has spoken of the now-infamous email reference on his abandoned laptop.
The infamous reference to ‘the big guy’ in emails found in Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop was to Joe Biden, the president’s son Hunter has admitted in sworn testimony, where he also said his father had “never received a cent” from any of his business activities.
In a combative six hours of testimony before a Republican-controlled congressional committee, which emerged on Thursday (Friday AEDT), the president’s son conceded he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from foreign business entities but never illegally or with the involvement of his father.
“My father’s never been involved with my business. He’s never benefited from my business, and he’s never taken an action to benefit me or any of my business,” he told the committee, echoing similar testimony his uncle James Biden gave last week.
Hunter Biden was subpoenaed by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee in November last year following months of allegations by Republicans that he and his father had corruptly received millions of dollars in income from foreign sources, including from businesses in Ukraine and China.
The discovery of Hunter Biden’s laptop, which included troves of business correspondence along with salacious images testament to his well-known struggle with drugs and alcohol, ultimately prompted Republicans to launch a series of investigations into the Biden family’s finances last year, including launching a rare ‘impeachment inquiry’ into Joe Biden in December.
“I’m certain my dad has called me. My dad calls me like I’m sure a lot of your parents do or a lot of you do with your children, and if I’m with people that are friends of mine, I’ll have him say hi,” Hunter Biden said in testimony, defending revelations by Republicans that he had put his father on speaker phone in the presence of foreign business associates.
In October 2020 the New York Post, the first outlet to obtain contents of the laptop, alleged a May 2017 email reference to setting aside 10 per cent ‘for the big guy’, in relation to a proposed business deal with China firms, sent by former Hunter associate James Gilliar, was possible evidence of corruption.
“I think that it was pie in the sky. Like Joe Biden’s out of the office. Maybe we’ll be able to get him involved” Hunter Biden said in deposition, implying the reference was to his father.
“Remember, again, is that Joe Biden, for first time in 48 years, is not an elected official and is not seeking office. And so James is probably, like, wow, wouldn’t be great if a former Vice President could be in our business together?” he explained.
Hunter Biden also denied ever dropping off the laptop to the computer story in Delaware, which then turned it over to the FBI and Rudy Giuliani, even though the FBI had verified it as real as early as December 2019.
“There are many different things in there that are either — that are either fabricated, hacked, stolen, or manipulated 100 per cent,” Mr Biden said, referring to the laptop.
Dan Goldman, a Democrat congressman who was part of the group that interviewed Hunter, said the testimony confirmed that Republicans investigation into the family was a “baseless sham investigation with no facts and no evidence”.
Congressman Nancy Mace, one of the Republican interrogators, said Hunter had “admitting to receiving millions of dollars from China and receiving a $250,000 wire from the CEO of a state-backed investment fund.:
Republican chairman of the Oversight Committee James Comer said it “was a great deposition for us”, confirming his intention to hold a further public hearing with Hunter.
“There were also some contradictory statements that I think need further review”
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