President Joe Biden has thus far denied any involvement in his son’s or brother’s business ventures while in public office or as a public figure. However, new evidence released by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) shows that in 2018, Joe Biden received a $200,000 payment from his brother James Biden connected to the failing healthcare company Americore.
In 2020, a Biden campaign official told Politico that Joe Biden never talked with his brother about Americore or expressed support for the business. Now, the public has evidence that Joe Biden received a payment from his brother, funds that Comer alleges were made available by a loan payment to James Biden from the near-bankrupt Americore.
Comer’s assertion comes from bankruptcy court documents filed by Americore’s trustees against James Biden. On March 1, 2018, Americore wired a $200,000 loan into James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account – not their business bank account – and on the same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden. This pattern has emerged repeatedly in the House Republicans’ investigations into the Biden family’s extensive business dealings.
The $200,000 check is the first direct evidence that Joe Biden personally benefited from his family’s business dealings. However, there is copious circumstantial evidence that the president may have received other, and even more lucrative benefits.
Previously uncovered text messages and emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop imply that Joe Biden may have received substantial financial benefits from business dealings involving his son. For example, in January 2019, Hunter Biden sent a text message that explicitly stated that his father received money from him: “I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family [for] 30 years.” Other evidence from Hunter Biden’s record make this statement more credible.
After Vice President Biden left office in 2017, Hunter Biden planned to involve him in a multi-million dollar deal with his business partners at CEFC China Energy. The group worked out an equity distribution that benefited the Biden family and their partners.
James Gillliar, one of Hunter Biden’s associates, and Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of Biden, accused President Biden of lying about his involvement in Hunter Biden’s business before the 2020 election. Both Gilliar and Bobulinski confirmed that Joe Biden was “the big guy,” according to a report by the New York Post.
After Americore declared bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 trustee sued James Biden, alleging that the company loaned him $600,000 while it was struggling to stay afloat and that he did not pay the company back. The bankruptcy court document reads that the defendant helped debtors procure an ill-advised bridge loan from a hedge fund that had a deleterious impact on the financial affairs of the debtor and ultimately forced debtors into bankruptcy.
James Biden contested the trustee’s characterization, claiming that the money was similar in value to the financial and consulting services he provided for the company. The president’s brother eventually agreed to settle the lawsuit for $350,000 in September of last year.
