A former Biden family associate said Congress during a recent closed session interview that it entered into a joint venture with Hunter Biden in 2017, but he did not know any relevant sector expertise from his first son.
Mervyn Yan, who established a business relationship with the president Joe BidenHunter’s son and his brother James in 2017 testified that the first son appeared to have no knowledge of energy infrastructure, despite that being the industry in which they were doing business.
A Republican aide asked Yan about the topic, according to a transcript of the interview released Thursday by the House Oversight Committee. The aide repeatedly asked what Yan thought Hunter Biden brought to the table.
“I don’t know,” Yan said.
“I don’t know what he can bring to the…” Yan added before being interrupted.
Yan said his company with Hunter and James Biden would operate as an investment management company in energy infrastructure projects in the United States, but would bring in third-party experts to advise and deliver the projects. The company was called Hudson West III and was entirely financed by a Chinese company linked to CEFC, a now-defunct Chinese energy company linked to the Chinese government. Hunter Biden, who had previously been involved in business dealings with CEFC, owned half of Hudson West III, while Yan owned the other half.
Asked again about Hunter Biden’s contribution to the company, Yan said the first son was well stocked in the United States.
“He’s going to show us the infrastructure investment projects in the United States,” Yan said. “That fits within the framework of what’s going to happen in the Hudson West III transactions.”
The business was poised to be lucrative for the Bidens. An August 2017 agreement showed Yan, a signatory to Hudson West III’s bank account, would pay Hunter Biden $100,000 per month and James Biden $65,000 per month.
Hunter Biden received an initial retainer of $500,000 in addition to salary, according to bank records obtained by the oversight committee.
However, Hudson West III never secured any investment projects and the company was permanently dissolved in the winter of 2018, Yan said.
The interview came as House Republicans continue to question witnesses as part of their impeachment inquiry into the president. They have examined whether Joe Biden abused his political power as vice president to help his family profit from his overseas projects, but they have yet to provide evidence that he was directly involved in the company.
Although the interview with Yan reinforced claims that members of the Biden family provided no real goods or services in exchange for massive payments from foreign companies, it did not provide any new information linking Joe Biden to agreements involving his son and his brother.
Yan was sometimes asked whether Joe Biden’s name had ever come up during Yan’s working relationship with Hunter Biden, and Yan said no.
“Not to my knowledge,” Yan said. “I don’t think he talked about it.”
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Yan was also asked about an email Hunter Biden sent to him and others in 2017, referencing how a new financial proposal from a CEFC executive “was so much more interesting to me and my family “.
Yan said he did not know who Hunter Biden was referring to when he mentioned his family and emphasized that he only knew Hunter and James Biden personally.
