President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, noted that he could not recall information about his business dealings at least 29 times during a closed-door deposition with House Republicans Wednesday. What he could remember, as he explained to members of Congress, was that his dad was not involved in any of his foreign business ventures.
Hunter Biden appeared for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into his father. The first son agreed to testify in front of Congress after previously defying a subpoena in December 2023. Hunter Biden repeatedly appeared to contradict himself throughout the testimony and seemed to have a faulty memory.
Despite having the president’s son behind closed-doors, the transcript failed to produce any significant, new lines of inquiry for Republicans desperate to find a smoking gun in the palm of the president.
“I am here today to provide the committees with the one uncontestable fact that should end the false premise of this inquiry: I did not involve my father in my business, not while I was a practicing lawyer, not in my investments or transactions, domestic or international, not as a board member, and not as an artist, never,” Biden said in his opening statement before going on to note that he “did not recall” information about certain business meetings.
At one point Hunter claimed that he never involved his father in business deals, but then later admitted that he put Joe Biden on speaker phone in front of some business associates, according to the transcript of the deposition. (RELATED: Here’s All The Evidence Connecting Joe Biden To Hunter Biden’s Foreign Business Dealings)
“Rob Walker testified that there was a meeting at the Four Seasons with Ye Jianming, your father, and you were present as well, was his testimony,” a member of Congress asked Hunter. “You don’t recall that?”
“What was the date of that meeting?” Hunter responds.
“He could not recall the date of the meeting,” the congressional member answers.
“Yeah. And I do not recall the date of the meeting,” Hunter adds.
The Hunter Biden transcript is up and we’re already finding contradictions:
Hunter: “You can read anything … about CEFC during that time period [(2015-2017)]… they were not state-owned”
In actuality a 2015 article: “Hybrid Warfare with Chinese Characteristics” had already… pic.twitter.com/XIOUHlYYdZ
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 1, 2024
Other lapses and contradictions in Hunter Biden’s deposition centered around foreign business affairs, the transcript shows. Hunter Biden claimed that he never “fully read” an email sent to him from James Gilliar, who detailed the equity structure of the Oneida Holdings joint venture with CEFC, a Chinese Energy company, the testimony shows. In the email, according to the committee, Gillar appeared to suggest that Hunter hold 10% equity for “the big guy.”
Despite claiming now that he didn’t read it, Hunter Biden responded to the email and did not push back on the suggestion to give “10% for the big guy,” the committee notes in a press release.
When asked if the “big guy” was referring to his father, Hunter continued to insist that his father was not involved in his dealings.
5. Hunter Biden said that he did not recall sending a message to a Chinese business partner where he stated “I am sitting here with my father. . . .”
But he said that he if did send the message he was certain his father was not sitting next to him and in fact he sent the…
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 29, 2024
During his congressional testimony, Hunter Biden said that he was likely high on drugs when he sent an infamous text to a counterpart at CEFC regarding the conclusion of a business deal. In the text, sent on July 30, 2017, according to the committee, Hunter told a CEFC associate Henry Zhao that he sitting with his father while they waited to discuss the deal on a phone call.
“You will regret not following my direction,” Hunter Biden wrote, according to the committee.
While Hunter Biden told Congress that he sent the text to the wrong individual, Zhao responded to the text, affirming the first son’s direction.
“Copy. I will call you on WhatsApp,” Zhao responded, according to committee records.
A few days later, on Aug. 4, 2017, CEFC then wired Hunter Biden’s law firm, Owasco LLC., $100,000, committee records show.
The first son claimed to have no formal association with Rosemont Seneca Bohai despite receiving payments from Burisma into the Rosemont Seneca Bohai bank account, according to the committee. Devon Archer, a previous business partner of Hunter Biden’s, testified that the first son was the corporate secretary for the company.
“He also said that you were the corporate secretary of Rosemont Seneca Bohai,” a Congressional member asked Hunter. “Is that incorrect?”
“The corporate secretary?” Hunter responded.
“Yes, sir,” he followed.
“I didn’t even know that there was such a thing,” Hunter hit back.
According to the new indictment, Burisma cut Hunter Biden’s salary in half two months after Trump took office. That cannot be a mistake. pic.twitter.com/16ASwCVQ7G
— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) December 8, 2023
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz once pushed Hunter Biden over a meeting between his father and Vadym Pozharsky at Cafe Milano, the transcript showed.
Hunter Biden could not remember the exact date of the meeting and engaged in a back and forth with Gaetz over the definition of a meeting.
“What Vadym is talking about is that, the night before, he attended the World Food Programme dinner at Cafe Milano. My dad came to that and stopped by to say hello to people that were there that he had a longstanding relationship with. Vadym was one of the people sitting at the table, and he said hello to them. They did not have a meeting; they met, which is a very, very important distinction with a difference,” Hunter said.
When the conversation pivoted to CEFC, Hunter denied that his father ever benefited from any of his business deals.
“My father never made any decisions as it related to my business to benefit me. My father was never financially, nor any other way, of benefit from my business,” Hunter said as he was questioned about his involvement with CEFC.
The first son and his business partners first started working with CEFC when Biden was vice president to former President Barack Obama. Hunter and his colleagues, however, did not receive payment from CEFC until the vice presidency had concluded, documents previously showed.
State Energy HK, a company linked to CEFC, sent $3 million to Walker in March 2017 and Walker then gave $1 million to the Bidens, according to bank records.
“All I know is this: My father was never involved in any of my business, ever,” Hunter maintained, despite failing to remember many moments he was asked about. “Never received a cent from anybody or never benefited in any way. Never took any actions on behalf in any way.”
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report.