House Republicans downplay meeting with key Biden aide

WASHINGTON — A close personal associate of Joe and Hunter Biden met with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee earlier this year to answer questions about the Biden family’s finances.

Republicans now say the meeting didn’t count.

Eric Schwerin, a former business partner of Hunter Biden who also did accounting work for Joe Biden, told committee staff in March that the president was not involved in his son’s business deals, contrary to Republican claims which led to an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. Representatives.

Democrats have cited the interview several times this year, but a Republican committee spokesperson told Fox News last week that the committee “never interviewed Schwerin,” apparently because the session was not transcribed like other witness interviews.

“There was a meeting but it was about the production of documents,” the spokesperson said. “There was never an interview or deposition transcribed.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, rejected the notion that there was no interview in a letter Tuesday to committee Chairman James Comer (R- Ky.).

“I am writing to express my deep concern over the confusing and increasingly embarrassing efforts by you and your team to completely distort and deny the basic and easily verifiable facts about the investigation that has already taken place for eight months” , Raskin wrote.

Raskin suggested that, even without a transcript, the meeting with Schwerin followed the same protocols as other interviews conducted in Capitol Hill offices.

“Mr. Schwerin spent hours answering in-depth questions from Republican and Democratic staff about his relationship with Hunter Biden, as well as the history, structure and operations of Hunter Biden’s various business entities,” wrote Raskin.

A spokesperson for the Oversight Committee said Raskin’s letter barely merited a response and that the committee still intended to proceed with a transcription of the interview with Schwerin.

“The Oversight Committee has never conducted a transcript of any interview or deposition with Eric Schwerin,” the spokesperson said. “The ranking member is well aware of the difference between a formal interview with the committee and an informal meeting. »

Hunter Biden received millions of dollars in fees from foreign nationals, including during the past few years his father served as vice president, which ethics efforts and government officials say , created the appearance of a conflict of interest. Republicans sought evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement in his son’s affairs and previously requested Schwerinlongtime friend of the Biden family, about cash flows between father and son that Schwerin apparently controlled.

So far, Republicans have not found evidence to implicate the president in wrongdoing.

House committees conducted transcribed interviews with several witnesses this year as part of their investigation into the Biden family. The Ways and Means Committee heard from two IRS agents who claimed the Justice Department had slowed down its investigation into Hunter Biden’s nonpayment of taxes, while the Oversight Committee spoke with the Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer. The transcripts of these interviews have become key evidence for and against the president’s alleged corruption.

Raskin has previously highlighted instances where Republicans offered inaccurate or misleading descriptions of their investigative work, such as Comer’s claims about Archer’s testimony regarding Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian gas company.

Raskin said Schwerin provided exculpatory statements during his interview that Republicans found embarrassing.

“During the interview, Mr. Schwerin explained that between 2009 and 2017, he performed a number of administrative and accounting tasks for then-Vice President and Hunter Biden,” Raskin continued. “He further stated that he had the ability to view President Biden’s banking transactions and was not aware of any involvement by President Biden in the financial conduct of his family members’ businesses.”

Schwerin’s attorney confirmed Democrats’ description of the meeting to Fox News, but declined to comment further.