James Biden testifies that Joe has ‘no involvement’ or ‘direct ties’ to his business dealings

The testimony was given to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committee during a closed-door deposition into the Biden family's alleged illegal foreign business dealings.

In his opening statement obtained by Fox News, James Biden said: "I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures. Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None."

James Biden went on to defend his brother and added that he has "always kept his professional life separate" from his "close personal relationship" with the president because of his "intimate knowledge of my brother's personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics."

"I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else," said James Biden. "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," he added.

Regarding his business dealings with the Chinese energy company CEFC, or the healthcare company Americore, James Biden claimed that President Biden "played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits."

"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," said James Biden.

James Biden, on the other hand, stated that he joined Hunter Biden's endeavors to establish a business partnership with the Chinese energy company because of a challenging period in his nephew's life.

"At the time, it was clear that Hunter was having substantial personal struggles and was in deep emotional pain dealing with Beau’s death and the end of his marriage. I agreed to help, and I hoped that by staying nearby, I could provide Hunter with guidance and additional emotional support," said James Biden.

James Biden acknowledged that he, his nephew Hunter Biden, and business partners Walker, Bobulinski, and James Gilliar contributed to the structure of the joint venture.

James Biden testified that both he and Hunter "were responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities for the joint venture."

"At the end of the day, CEFC was a straightforward business venture — albeit less successful than we had hoped. I was involved in the project from early 2017 through 2018, a period during which my brother was a private citizen who held no office. I added substantial value and identified real opportunities," said James Biden.

"There was never any effort to disguise that our joint venture was with a Chinese company. We made that fact clear to everyone with whom we spoke, In short, my role and experience with CEFC bears no resemblance to the false narrative that some have promoted. My brother played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits from my work with CEFC," he testified.

The House Oversight and Judiciary Committee alleges that the Biden family and their business associates have conducted illegal foreign business dealings where they received "significant payments from individuals and companies in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Romania."

Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, claims that the committee has uncovered through its investigation that the Biden family and their business associates sold Joe Biden's influence to bring in more than $24 million between 2014 and 2019, per Fox News.

House GOP also claims that President Biden received a $200,000 check from James Biden and wife Sara as a "loan repayment."

"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 then, on the very same day, James Biden wrote a $200,000 check from this same personal bank account to Joe Biden," said Comer. "Americore — a distressed company — loaned money to James Biden, who then sent it to Joe Biden."

Numerous former business associates of Hunter Biden, including Tony Bobulinski, have testified before House Republicans. Bobulinski stated earlier this month that Joe Biden was involved in the family's business dealings. He also attested to having met with him in person.

In addition to Bobulinksi, another business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of CEFC, a Chinese energy company that his brother and son did business with.