James Biden told House investigators he likely invoked all his siblings except his president brother during talks for a failed hospital project, says a transcript released Friday.
During the closed-door February deposition, Rep. Matt Gaetz repeatedly asked James to confirm reporting by Politico that James used his brother’s name to gin up support for Americore, the medical company that went bankrupt and was eventually raided by the FBI in 2020 over fraud allegations.
Previous reports suggested James “introduced Americore’s founder to his older brother,” but the new article said “Joe Biden was a central element of Jim Biden’s pitch to potential partners and investors during this period.” Yet James vehemently denied ever mentioning his eldest brother in conversations with his business partners.
“Have I ever mentioned my brother? You know, I am 75 years old. And, you know, my brother and I are very close personal friends, and I’ve helped my brother in numerous campaigns. I haven’t been really closely involved in any of his campaigns or on his campaign or raising money for him since he joined the Obama administration,” James added.
Americore’s former CEO Grant White filed a lawsuit in 2020 accusing James of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and committing fraud. In the document, he claimed he “always represented himself as the fundraiser for his brother’s campaigns.”
“[James Biden told me] there’s not a single door in the country that we can’t open. So if I wanted to meet, you know, the head of Google, it’s a phone call,” White wrote.
James admitted in his deposition to “possibly” bringing up his other siblings in Americore-focused conversations, but refused to acknowledge any mention of Joe.
“It didn’t come up. Did my sister’s name come up? Possibly, Valerie. Did my younger brother’s name come up, Frank? He’s a great athlete. Possibly,” James continued.
Gaetz pressed James about the context in which “the names of those family members come up,” at which James claimed, “because they’re my best friends.”
“I guess a lot of what we’re trying to discuss today, Mr. Biden, is where your friendships and familial relationships interact with your business activities,” Gaetz explained.
“They didn’t,” James claimed, confirming that if any of the family members he mentioned were, in the words of Gaetz, “in passing, not as a feature of any business deal.”
Several Americore insiders are on the record corroborating claims that James publicly voiced support for his oldest brother to possess Americore equity and even join the company’s board. When investigators asked James if he ever discussed this possibility with anyone at the company, James claimed that allegation was “ridiculous on its face.”
To the news that “One person on the receiving end of Jim Biden’s health care pitch recalled a phone call in which Jim Biden said he was sitting in a car next to his brother, Joe,” James simply replied “no.”
“Does this — quoting an email, does this change any of your other 20 answers about never involving Joe Biden in your business?”
“No,” James replied.
James opened his testimony to the House Oversight Committee by claiming, “I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother” to do business. He accused anyone who says otherwise of being “either mistaken, ill-informed, or flat-out lying.”
Documents, however, show James fundraised and gave his family members jobs based on his brother’s political positions. He also sent money he siphoned from Americore to Joe under the guise of a “personal loan.”
