In a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, James Biden, the brother of Joe Biden, told lawmakers that the president never had any involvement in his business dealings.
James Biden, 74, largely ignored questions from reporters as he entered the Capitol to testify before the House Judiciary and Oversight panels, but when asked by a reporter what he planned to tell the committees, he replied simply: “The truth.”
In his opening statement, James Biden said that his brother "has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures. "None."
"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else," James Biden testified, per a transcript of his opening remarks, later adding: "In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, 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."
“With my appearance here today, the committees will have the information to conclude that the negative and destructive assumptions about me and my relationship with my brother Joe are wrong," James Biden said in his testimony. “There is no basis for this inquiry to continue.”
But Republican lawmakers contended, without providing details, that James Biden's responses so far have contradicted his opening statement and that he has made efforts to avoid directly answering investigators' questions.
“He has said a lot of things that have contradicted himself in that testimony,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told reporters. “So when you see the transcript, you'll see.”
The interview is the latest development in House Republicans' impeachment inquiry, which has yet to yield evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden. It comes a week before Hunter Biden is set to testify before the committees after a monthslong back-and-forth between the House GOP and the president's son over the parameters of the interview, which almost resulted in a referral for contempt of Congress.
James Biden's interview comes in the wake of Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant who alleged a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme between Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and a Ukrainian energy company, being charged with fabricating the story. Smirnov's claims were central to the House GOP's impeachment inquiry. On Tuesday, prosecutors said in a court filing that Smirnov had contacts with Russian intelligence.
Both James and Hunter were subpoenaed by the committee in November. A lawyer for James Biden said at the time that there was no justification for the subpoena because the committee had already reviewed private bank records and transactions between the two brothers. The committee found records of two loans that were made when Joe Biden was not in office or a candidate for president.
“There is nothing more to those transactions, and there is nothing wrong with them,” lawyer Paul Fishman said in a statement in November. “And Jim Biden has never involved his brother in his business dealings.”
Republicans have pushed back, saying the evidence they have gathered since early last year paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” by Biden’s family in their business dealings, particularly with international clients. But thus far, nearly every interview they have conducted has failed to support their widespread allegations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.