An associate of President Joe Biden’s son told members of Congress on Jan. 30 that he performed financial services for the elder Biden for free, according to a top Republican.
Eric Schwerin “told Congress that he interacted with VP Joe Biden often and provided him free services,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
The free services were provided while President Biden was vice president, Mr. Comer said. President Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017.
Mr. Schwerin, who hasn’t returned requests for comment, appeared before the committee in a closed-door session after being subpoenaed to testify.
His services included bookkeeping, paying bills, preparing taxes, and compiling financial disclosures, according to a source familiar with the testimony. A transcript of the proceedings has not yet been released.
“He provided a very valuable service to Joe Biden for free. That’s an ethics violation,” Mr. Comer said on Fox News. “No politician, whether they’re in Congress or the vice president of the United States, can accept gifts.”
“That is a clear ethics violation by Joe Biden,” Mr. Comer added later.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
President Biden has claimed there was an “absolute wall” between his family’s vast business dealings and his government duties and that he didn’t interact with his son’s business associates. Still, the new testimony undercuts those claims, Republicans say.
Mr. Comer pointed to how Mr. Schwerin also handled the books for several companies owned by President Biden’s son Hunter Biden, in addition to his work for then-Vice President Biden.
Mr. Schwerin “managed almost every aspect of our financial lives,” Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, wrote in her memoir.
Other Parts of Testimony
In an opening statement released to news outlets, Mr. Schwerin told members of Congress that he was “not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates nor any involvement by him in their businesses.”He also wrote: “I cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals, foreign or domestic. In fact, I am not aware of any role that Vice President Biden, as a public official or a private citizen, had in any of Hunter’s business activities. None.”
Mr. Schwerin said he didn’t ask Vice President Biden to “take any official actions for the benefit of Hunter’s clients or any other client” and that he didn’t remember “any promises or suggestions made by Hunter” or himself “to any clients or business associates that his father would take any official actions on their behalf.”
After members started asking questions, Mr. Schwerin acknowledged not having any insight into payments to Hunter Biden from people and entities based in China, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries, a source said.
“Schwerin’s leaked opening statement is narrowly tailored and does not cover most questions about his knowledge and participation in the Biden family’s business schemes,” the source said.
Mr. Schwerin was appointed by then-President Barack Obama to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that “just like every other witness called by House Republicans, Eric Schwerin told the Committee that he never saw evidence of any wrongdoing by President Biden and that President Biden was not involved in, did not profit from, and took no official actions in relation to his family’s business dealings.”
Other Updates
Members recently released several transcripts, including one from when they questioned Rob Walker, who said that payments to Biden family members from a Chinese firm with which they worked were delayed until after Joe Biden exited as vice president.In his opening statement, Mr. Walker said Vice President Biden “was never involved in any of the business activities we pursued.”
Several other former associates of Hunter Biden have recounted his father’s participation in business meetings. One, Devon Archer, said business wasn’t discussed while the senior Biden was present; another, Tony Bobulinski, said Joe Biden did discuss business in 2017.
The House Oversight Committee has been negotiating with Hunter Biden, who defied an earlier subpoena, to appear. It said on Jan. 31 that James Biden, the president’s brother, is scheduled to answer questions on Feb. 21.
