The president’s brother, James Biden, has told House impeachment investigators that he paid President Biden with foreign funds, couched as “repayment” for short-term personal loans he had received from Mr. Biden while he was a private citizen. He also said he only worked with his nephew, Hunter Biden, on a venture in Communist China because the first son needed help during his addiction battle and divorce. 

James Biden, his family, and other associates ultimately made millions of dollars from the Chinese deal alone. House investigators have in recent months detailed how he has spent his 50-year business career trading off his older brother’s name to rake in tens of millions of dollars from foreign and domestic entities. 

In November, the impeachment inquiry disclosed that the president had received $40,000 from James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden, in 2017, when he had recently left the vice presidency and was briefly a private citizen. The check was listed as a “loan repayment” in the memo line. That money flowed to the president shortly after his brother and son, Hunter, received substantial payments from a Chinese energy firm, CEFC. 

James Biden says he did not tell his brother where the funds for the “loan repayment” originated. 

“Because of the episodic nature of the income from my consulting work, there have been a number of occasions when my personal financial obligations have exceeded our available funds,” James Biden told the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Wednesday, according to a copy of his opening statement obtained by the Sun. “In those instances, we have turned to financial institutions, friends, business partners, or family for loans. Some of those obligations were reduced to writing; others were not.”

James Biden describes the loans from his brother as “loans that I received from Joe when he was a private citizen” that were repaid “within weeks.”

“He had no information at all about the source of the funds I used to repay him. The complete explanation is that Joe lent me money, and I repaid him as soon as I had the funds to do so,” the president’s brother said. 

The funds that originated from CEFC totaled in the millions of dollars, with some money going to Hunter Biden and his associates. Ultimately, Hunter Biden himself received more than $1 million of that large payout, with $200,000 going to his uncle. As House investigators have documented, and various other Biden business partners have verified in testimony, that CEFC did business with James and Hunter Biden because they were close relatives of the president.

One large payment from Hunter Biden’s CEFC partner was sent only after the first son sent a threatening WhatsApp message claiming his father was in the room with him. The message was found by IRS investigators and handed over to House investigators when two of the investigators became whistleblowers.

“I am sitting here with my father and would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” the future first son wrote to his business partner, Henry Zhao. 

“I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,” he added. “I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.” 

The president’s aides later told reporters that Hunter Biden was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he wrote those WhatsApp texts. The first son’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, says the messages were fabricated by House Republicans. 

The president’s brother also detailed, when speaking with impeachment investigators, that he only worked on the CEFC deal because he felt bad that Hunter Biden was going through a depressive episode that involved drugs and alcohol following the death of his brother and his divorce. 

“I knew that Hunter respected my business experience and trusted me for advice, not only as a relative but as a friend. 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,” James Biden said. “I agreed to help, and I hoped that by staying nearby, I could provide Hunter with guidance and additional emotional support.”

“Over the course of the spring and summer, Hunter, his colleagues, and I began to brainstorm about infrastructure and other projects that might be suitable for the venture and how we might go about identifying possible opportunities and locations,” he continued. “The group also discussed options for its own governance structure, as well as efforts to secure additional funding from CEFC.”

James Biden made an effort to discredit one of those CEFC partners, Tony Bobulinski, who recently made accusations that the president knew about and was involved in his family’s overseas business dealings, including the CEFC projects. 

“My reaction to Mr. Bobulinski was more intensely negative,” he said. “Whatever his credentials, he was tremendously arrogant; was often disrespectful and a bad listener; acted like a stubborn bully; and seemed intent on assuming control of the deal and undermining Hunter’s role.”

In addition to satisfying his altruistic impulses toward his nephew by joining in the CEFC deal, James Biden also profited handsomely. 

James Biden was paid $65,000 a month by the company, while Hunter Biden was being paid $100,000 a month, according to the opening statement, with the total sum paid out to the Bidens and their associates adding up to more than $8 million