House Republicans have spent almost a year investigating President Biden and his family, regularly promising evidence of wrongdoing but instead embarrassing themselves with old news, debunked conspiracy theories, and innocent transactions.
Even though Oversight Chair James Comer is wrapping up his investigation, he cannot ignore the facts: Republicans have been completely unable to show a single shred of wrongdoing by President Biden. Don’t just take our word for it. New reporting by the Washington Post echoes what we’ve been saying all along: House Republicans “have not produced any direct evidence” that the president improperly benefited from his son’s work. Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson, James Comer, and their MAGA colleagues have one goal in mind – harm President Biden so Donald Trump can return to the White House – and they don’t care what lies and conspiracy theories they have to spread to get it done.
The Washington Post: House Republicans “Have Not Produced Any Direct Evidence” That Joe Biden Improperly Benefited From His Son’s Work. “House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry attempting to show that Joe Biden improperly benefited from his son’s work or used his office to assist the younger Biden, and have subpoenaed Hunter and his uncle James Biden to testify next month. But they have not produced any direct evidence, and their own witnesses at one hearing said the impeachment threshold had not been met.” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
Washington Post Fact Checkers “Found No Sign The Family Patriarch Was An Active Participant In His Son’s Business Efforts.” “A Washington Post review of Hunter Biden’s career found no sign the family patriarch was an active participant in his son’s business efforts. There is also limited evidence that the now-president asked his son to be careful or expressed qualms about how Hunter was wielding the name he made famous. […] Hunter Biden’s legal team referred to past statements that he and his lawyers have made, including from his current lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has said that ‘Hunter Biden did not involve his father in, nor did his father assist him in, his business’ and that ‘it’s been five years of investigations into Hunter Biden and his legitimate business activities, and still Republicans have nothing to show for it.’” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
The Washington Post: House Republicans’ Efforts To Investigate Financial Statements and Emails Have “Come Up Empty.” “House Republicans have searched for ways to show that Joe Biden benefited from his son’s business dealings, but have so far largely come up empty. […] They recently targeted one of Joe Biden’s private email addresses, asking the National Archives to provide messages from an account in which Biden used the alias ‘Robin Ware.’ In response to a separate lawsuit seeking similar emails from the account, the Archives recently said it had identified approximately 82,000 pages of potentially responsive documents. […] A small slice of those emails between Joe and Hunter Biden were authenticated by The Post, and they deal far more with personal matters than business deals. Joe Biden would forward news articles, send photos or remark about how tall a granddaughter had grown. He passed along messages to his children about their ancestors, or about how many miles he’d flown as vice president.” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
Washington Post Fact Checkers “Did Not Find Evidence That Joe Biden Personally Benefited From Or Knew Details About The Transactions.” “Hunter and his uncle James Biden separately signed an agreement with the business executives, who represented a Chinese energy conglomerate called CEFC, and over the course of 14 months CEFC and its executives paid $4.8 million to entities James and Hunter controlled. In a review of that arrangement, The Post did not find evidence that Joe Biden personally benefited from or knew details about the transactions with CEFC, which took place after he had left the vice presidency and before he announced his intention to seek the White House in 2020.” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
Hunter Biden Business Associate Devon Archer Testified That He Knew Of No Instance When Joe Biden Took Official Action On Hunter’s Behalf. “Altogether, [Devon Archer] estimated, he heard Hunter speak with his father on about 20 occasions while in business meetings. ‘It was, you know, just general niceties and, you know, conversation in general,’ Archer said. ‘You know, about the geography, about the weather, whatever it may be.’ Archer said he knew of no instance when Joe Biden took official action on Hunter’s behalf. ‘At the end of the day, part of what was delivered is the brand,’ Archer said. ‘That’s what we’re talking about, is that there was brand being delivered, along with other capabilities and reach.’ ‘Obviously,’ he added later, ‘the brand carried.’ Lowell, Hunter’s lawyer, has emphasized that the phone calls were routine and did not reflect any engagement in Hunter’s business. ‘It’s well known that Hunter and his father speak daily,’ he said in response to Archer’s testimony in late July. ‘And what Mr. Archer confirmed today was that when those calls occurred during Hunter’s business meetings, if there was any interaction between his father and his business associates, it was simply to exchange small talk.’” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
Hunter Biden Business Associates Rob Walker & James Gillar Had No Knowledge Of “Any Involvement” By Joe Biden In Hunter’s Business Dealings. “Another Hunter Biden business partner, Rob Walker, provided a description similar to Archer’s. In an interview with FBI and IRS agents, Walker said the younger Biden was ‘real careful about not crossing any sort of lines.’ […] [Rob] Walker was among the recipients of a May 2017 email that has been repeatedly cited by Republicans suggesting that a prospective deal with Chinese executives would include 10 percent set aside for Joe Biden, referred to in the email as ‘the big guy.’ Walker testified that the author of the email, James Gilliar, included that notion as a bit of ‘wishful thinking.’ He added, ‘It looks terrible, but it’s not. I certainly never was thinking at any time that the VP was a part of anything we were doing.’ Gilliar did not respond to a request for comment, but in 2020 told the Wall Street Journal that ‘I am unaware of any involvement at any time of the former vice president.’” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]
Former Hunter Biden Business Associate: “[Hunter Biden] Avoided Promising Any Particular Actions By His Father.” “Hunter Biden’s legal team referred to past statements that he and his lawyers have made, including from his current lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has said that ‘Hunter Biden did not involve his father in, nor did his father assist him in, his business’ and that ‘it’s been five years of investigations into Hunter Biden and his legitimate business activities, and still Republicans have nothing to show for it.’ As Hunter grew his business, he often sought to give potential clients the impression that he could get things done because of his connections, but he avoided promising any particular actions by his father, one of the former associates said. ‘If there is anything here, it’s an abuse of soft power,’ the person said.” [The Washington Post, 11/18/23]