- James Biden told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday that he never used his status as Joe Biden’s brother to advance his own business interests, according to a transcript of his opening statement.
- However, James Biden repeatedly invoked his brother’s name in the course of his consulting work for Americore, a health care company that sourced a $200,000 payment to Joe Biden and now stands accused of engaging in major Medicare fraud, according to Politico.
- “In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgement, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother. Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying,” James Biden told lawmakers.
James Biden told congressional investigators Wednesday that he only ever relied on his own acumen and never used his status as Joe Biden’s brother to advance his business interests.
The president’s younger brother made the claim during his opening statement ahead of a closed-door interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in Washington, D.C, pursuant to the ongoing impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. James Biden repeatedly invoked Joe Biden and his relationship with his brother while he was consulting for a now-defunct health care company that sourced a $200,000 payment to Joe Biden and now stands accused of a massive Medicare fraud scheme, according to Politico.
“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures. Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None. Because of my 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,” James Biden told lawmakers in his opening statement. “I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else. In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgement, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother. Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying.”
James Biden Opening Statement by Nick Pope
However, Politico’s recent reporting on his consulting for a health care company called Americore in the late 2010s shows that James Biden invoked his brother and the Biden name on multiple occasions in the course of doing business related to the company.
Congressional investigators previously discovered a $200,000 payment, made in March 2018, that Joe Biden received from his brother on the same day that Americore transferred $200,000 to the bank account of James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden. Officially, the check was a “loan repayment” between the brothers.
Politico’s investigation of James Biden’s role with Americore did not uncover any evidence that would suggest Joe Biden took any action to benefit Americore or ever became directly involved in the company’s operations.
A draft version of a slide show presentation meant for investors included a slide outlining Americore’s management, listing James Biden just below the firm’s CEO, according to Politico. On the slide, James Biden’s biography describes him as the “brother and campaign finance chair of President Joe Biden” with a “tremendous network of contacts across healthcare, real estate, technology, international unions, federal agencies (specifically the veterans’ administration), post-traumatic stress and the insurance industry.”
James Biden discussed potentially giving Joe Biden a seat on Americore’s board and equity in the company, though neither idea ever actually materialized, former Americore executives told Politico, which granted them anonymity to candidly discuss the matter.
“This would be a perfect platform to expose my Brothers (sic) team to [your] protocol,” Jim Biden wrote to Jonathan Brenner, CEO of a Tampa-area firm that owned the rights to a new cancer treatment, while he was consulting for Americore, according to Politico. “Could provide a great opportunity for some real exposure.”
James Biden also may have invoked his family’s influence when seeking to secure badly-needed capital for the ailing company from Qatari business interests, according to Politico.
“My family could provide a wealth of introductions and business opportunities at the highest levels that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency,” James Biden wrote in a 2017 draft letter intended for Khaled Sultan Al Rabban of the Qatar Investment Authority, according to Politico. “On behalf of the Biden family, I welcome your interest here.”
Federal investigators are currently probing an alleged $100 million Medicare fraud involving Americore, including allegations that the company’s Pennsylvania hospital entered fake agreements and made kickback payments as part of a broader conspiracy to charge the taxpayer for unnecessary medical testing, according to Politico.
James Biden paid $350,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that he played a part in Americore’s collapse, according to The Wall Street Journal.
James Biden was also involved in business dealings with CEFC China Energy Limited, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked energy firm that indirectly paid Hunter Biden and his associates millions of dollars over the course of several years. James Biden received some of these funds, according to the Jan. 26 testimony of Rob Walker, a former Hunter Biden business partner.
The White House did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
