[Fox News] Hunter Biden admits he put his father on speakerphone, invited him to meetings, but denies ‘involvement’
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Hunter Biden admitted during his deposition Wednesday that he put his father, Joe Biden, on speakerphone with his business associates, and invited him to drop by business lunches, while maintaining that his father was never involved in his business dealings, a transcript of his testimony reviewed by Fox News Digital reveals.
Fox News Digital obtained the transcript of Hunter Biden’s highly-anticipated testimony. The first son sat for a deposition on Capitol Hill Wednesday for more than seven hours as part of the impeachment inquiry against his father.
During his deposition, Hunter Biden testified repeatedly that his father was not involved in his business dealings.
When pressed about testimony from his ex-business associates like Devon Archer and Rob Walker — both of whom claimed Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone when doing business and attended business lunches and meetings — Hunter Biden testified that it was normal behavior, as he was speaking to his father, and spending time with his father.
Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee last year that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone at least 20 times with business associates.
When asked if he ever placed his father on speakerphone with his business associates, Hunter Biden testified that “certainly my dad has called me.”
“My dad calls me like I’m sure a lot of your parents do or a lot of you do with your children, and if I’m with people that are friends of mine, I’ll have him say hi,” he testified.
“I’m surprised my dad hasn’t called me right now, and if he did, I would put him on speakerphone to say hi to you and to Congressman Raskin and everybody else in the room,” Hunter Biden said. “It is nothing nefarious literally.”
The first son detailed his relationship with his family, describing that when the president was 29 years old, “he woke up one day, went to work, and got a phone call and lost his wife and his daughter. And, in that same accident, he also lost almost my brother and myself. And then, when I was 46 years old, my 47-year-old brother died.”
“And in our family, when you have a call from — I call him or he calls me or I call one of my — his grandkids or one of my children, you always pick up the phone,” Hunter Biden said. “It’s something that we always do. And you can ask anybody that I know; it does not have to do with Devon.”
He added: “If my dad calls me and I’m in the middle of something, I either get up from the table or I answer the phone at the table if it’s with people that I have a long-term relationship with.”
As for business lunches, Hunter Biden said: “Would you call it involvement if my dad was in New York City at the same time I was in New York City and I was having lunch with some of my business associates, and I said, Hey, dad, come by for lunch?”
“Who wouldn’t do that? Are you saying that you wouldn’t do that with your father if he was in town at the same time?” Hunter Biden asked investigators.
The first son was asked explicitly about his business deals with Chinese energy company CEFC, which has been said to be linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Hunter Biden testified that he began his work with CEFC in the spring of 2017, and admitted that he had received money from working with CEFC, but maintained that his father was not involved.
“I received money from a Chinese company,” he said. “I don’t know the exact amount, but I know that it was all completely legal, it was incredibly ethical…And I do know this: is that my father never received any money or any benefit from any of the businesses that I’ve ever done.”
Biden’s ex-business associate Rob Walker testified that Joe Biden met the chairman of CEFC, Ye Jianming, but Hunter Biden could not recall the meeting.
“I do not recall the date of the meeting,” he said. “And so number one is this: is that my business with CEFC, which was completely legitimate and completely, 100 percent in line with my experience and my abilities, was done when my father wasn’t even in office. He was out of office. It had nothing to do with my father.”
He added: “My father never benefited from my business. My father never made any decisions as it related to my business to benefit me. My father was never financially, nor any other way, of benefit of my business. And the business that you’re talking about now wasn’t even when he was in office.”
Meanwhile, the infamous email, from Hunter Biden’s ex-business associate James Gilliar, was presented to him during the deposition, which states: “10 held by H for the big guy?”
That email was in reference to a renumeration package breakdown for associates involved in the joint-venture between Hunter Biden’s company and CEFC. That failed joint-venture was known as SinoHawk Holdings.
Hunter Biden testified that he “never” called his father “the big guy,” and stressed that his father was not involved.
“I truly don’t know what the hell that James was talking about,” he said. “All I know is that what actually happened. All I know is that what was executed in the agreement, and the agreement didn’t have anything to do with my father. My father’s never been involved with my business. He’s never benefited from my business, and he’s never taken an action to benefit me or any of my business.”
When asked why Gilliar would draft something apparently referencing the president, Hunter Biden testified:
“Because I think that it was just as Rob Walker said. I think that it was pie in the sky. Like Joe Biden’s out of the office. Maybe we’ll be able to get him involved,” he said. “Remember, again, is that Joe Biden, for first time in 48 years, is not an elected official and is not seeking office. And so James is probably, like, wow, wouldn’t it be great if a former Vice President could be in our business together?”
“And I say you’re out of your mind. My dad knows less about doing cross border blah, blah, blah, than he does about — I mean, it’s just ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he testified, adding that he “shut it down.”
“And the evidence of me shutting it down is the actual things you have as evidence. Remember that,” he continued. “The agreement, the executed agreement, the executed agreement to create a company that was never operated, that’s what happened. That’s the evidence you have. You have the evidence of the executed agreement between Hudson West III, me, and Mr. Ye. You have that.”
He added: “Nothing to do with my dad, zero.”
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