When it comes to the Biden family’s business activities, the cry from the left-wing media and the White House has been consistent. The common and repeated claim is that there is no evidence Joe Biden financially benefitted from either son Hunter’s or brother James’ many financial deals. That claim has been debunked already; there may not have been proof, but there already exists a great deal of evidence. It just became even more difficult for Biden’s defenders to insist GOP investigators have nothing on the former vice president, though. On March 1, 2018, James Biden wrote a check for $200,000 to his brother, Joe, according to evidence (there’s that word again) released by the House Oversight Committee on Oct. 20.
This is the first piece of direct evidence that Joe Biden did indeed gain financially from a deal made by another family member. One could go as far as saying it’s more than just evidence – it’s proof, unless the senior Biden can himself show that the money was a loan repayment, as James Biden claims. But, even then, this is still a case of Joe Biden obtaining a financial payment from his brother, who in turn procured the money as the result of a business proposal.
In a video statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) by the House Oversight Committee, chair James Comer (R-KY) said, “This summer, Joe Biden said ‘where’s the money?’ Well, we found some.” Citing bank records earlier subpoenaed by the committee, Comer revealed “a $200,000 direct payment from James and Sarah Biden to Joe Biden in the form of a personal check.”
James Biden Selling the Family Brand
The check in question was noted as a loan repayment, and Comer wants to know if the commander-in-chief can produce documentation proving that he had allowed James Biden to borrow that amount from him.
(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Americore Holdings, LLC, was a struggling healthcare company in 2018. It owned a string of regional medical centers in the US, but it needed financial help. This is where James Biden comes in. According to a July 2022 filing at a US bankruptcy court, he received three wire transfers from Americore in 2018. A sum of $400,000 was wired to his PNC bank account on Jan. 12. Then, on Mar. 1, James Biden got another $200,000 – the same amount for which he wrote a check that day to Joe Biden. A third payment of $10,000 was made to the former VP’s brother on June 4.
The first two payments were categorized on the wire transfers as loans. The third was referenced as “Consulting and Marketing – May 2018.” James Biden claims the $610,000 total amount was around the value of consulting and financial services he had provided to Americore. Clearly, the company did not see it that way. It’s difficult to interpret the definition of the word “loan” as meaning payment for a legitimate service.
In the matter of Americore’s bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 trustee was appointed, who then sued the president’s brother, alleging that he did not repay the loan he received from the company just as it was struggling to remain solvent.
According to the 2022 court filing, James Biden “procured the $600,000.00 in loans from Americore Health (the “Loans”) based upon representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections.” The trustee claims Biden never did obtain the investment.
Additionally, Americore, believing Joe Biden’s brother could rescue it from its financial difficulties, provided him with business cards that indicated he was a “Principal” with Americore Health. Thus, James Biden had become a fiduciary to the company:
“Instead, [sic] of complying with his fiduciary responsibilities, [James Biden] helped Debtors [Americore] 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, as he never delivered the promised the [sic] large investment from the Middle East.”
The trustee further points out that Biden never repaid the loans even after her – the trustee’s – demands that the monies be returned.
Biden family (Photo by Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images)
Emails and other communications, as well as testimony from Hunter Biden’s business partners, show a pattern of financial assistance from Hunter Biden to his father. This included paying cellphone bills and at least one mortgage payment. In Jan. 2019, Hunter Biden wrote in a text message to his daughter, “I Hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family [for] 30 years. It's really hard. But don't worry, unlike Pop, I won't make you give me half your salary.”
According to the White House and its defenders in the media, the American people are supposed to believe, still, that no evidence exists to tie Joe Biden to any family business activities. The $200,000 check from James Biden to his brother appears to utterly dispel such an assertion.
Could this be the tip of the iceberg? That seems likely. “The House Oversight Committee will soon announce our next investigative actions,” Comer said on X, “and continue to follow the money. The bank records don’t end here. There’s more to come.”
