James Biden arrives on Capitol Hill for grilling in his brother’s impeachment probe: Republicans set to question him on Joe’s ties to shady business deals in highly-anticipated interview

President Biden’s brother James Biden arrived on Capitol Hill to face criticism from Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into whether Joe profited from his family’s shady deals.

The long-awaited behind-closed-doors interview Wednesday morning is part of Republicans’ investigation into whether President Joe Biden profited from the business dealings of his son Hunter and brother Jim.

James, 74, who looks strikingly similar to his older brother Joe, 81, ignored shouted questions before going through security.

A reporter asked him, “Did Hunter smoke crack in the White House?” as he entered the O’Neill House office building, referring to his drug addict nephew.

He is expected to sit for hours as lawmakers on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees question him. They plan to ask James specifically about a $200,000 payment he made to Joe shortly after a lucrative business deal with Chinese energy company CEFC.

Immediately before the impeachment, top Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said James’ testimony will be a crucial piece of the puzzle in unraveling how the Biden family acquired more than $20 million in foreign money over the years.

Last week, however, the Republican Party suffered a blow in their impeachment case after special counsel David Weiss accused FBI informant Alexander Smirnov – the source behind the alleged $10 million “bribery scheme” between a Ukrainian oil giant and Joe and Hunter – of to lie. about Biden’s business dealings and had “high-level” contacts with Russian intelligence officials.

But that hasn’t deterred Republicans, who have dismissed the informant as just part of a complex money trail involving the Bidens and foreigners they are trying to unravel.

Jordan told reporters that the indictment against Smirnov does not change “the basic facts” of Hunter’s work on the board of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company.

“We will focus on James Biden, he was involved in the pre-candidate stuff, the chapter that I call the money, the company, the brand,” Jordan also said on Fox News earlier Wednesday.

“20 different companies, pouring over $20 million into the Biden family members, all by selling access to the brand,” he continued.

Democrats insisted that the indictment against Smirnov blew up the entire basis of the investigation.

“The entire impeachment inquiry is built on the foundation of lies and conspiracy theories, propaganda and disinformation promoted by Russian intelligence operatives,” top House Speaker Jamie Raskin told reporters on the way to the statement.

“We found that out yesterday, so I don’t know why we have to continue the charade any longer,” he added.

Republicans have brought in a steady stream of Biden family members and associates in recent weeks as their investigation gathers pace.

Biden family members Mervyn Yan, Rob Walker and Eric Schwerin testified behind closed doors earlier this year. In addition, former business friends Joey Langston and Tony Bobulinski were last questioned by investigators last week.

Bobulinski gave the clearest indication yet that Joe was well aware of his family’s deals, telling lawmakers that “the Biden family business was Joe Biden, period,” DailyMail.com learned.

Joe was involved in the lucrative CEFC deal, Bobulinski alleged, calling the president an “enabler” who was “buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability.”

His testimony runs counter to the White House’s claim that Joe was never involved in his family’s affairs.

And next week, Hunter Biden, the Republican Party’s star witness, will serve for Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

Republican lawmakers claim Joe was paid directly by his brother, who used their last name to “open doors” and provide opportunities to enrich the family.

Despite not being a public health consultant or medical expert, James Biden was hired by Americore — as the healthcare startup sought to build hospitals in rural America while his brother was leaving the vice presidency in 2017.

But unfortunately for Americore, James Biden and his connections fell flat.

The company imploded in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy amid a pile of lawsuits and a federal investigation into fraud allegations. Americore also accused Jim Biden of defaulting on $600,000 in loans.

This week, sources told Politico that Jim used his relationship with his older brother to make deals and pitches that rewarded the company with money for rehab, cancer treatments and lab tests.

And at least three of the president’s relatives were also employed by Americore, including Jim’s wife Sara and his son Jamie.

Americore Trustee Carol Fox had an interview with the Oversight Committee in December, during which she revealed that he used his last name to “open doors” and increase his business opportunities.

Fox has sued James Biden, alleging that he “claimed that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could get a major investment from the Middle East based on his political connections.”

Fox alleged that James Biden helped obtain “an ill-advised bridge loan from a hedge fund that had a damaging impact on the debtor’s financial affairs and ultimately forced the debtors into bankruptcy, as (James Biden) never received the promised major investment from the Middle East has delivered. East.’

Jim Biden ultimately paid Americore back $350,000 to settle the lawsuit — although his lawyers said he played no role in the company’s demise and that he had received the money for consulting work, not loans, as the Fox trustee had claimed .

According to a source familiar with the interview, Fox determined that James Biden had provided no services to Americore — and that Americore provided a “loan” to James Biden without documentation in exchange for a promise of Middle East financing that never materialized came.

Another source with direct knowledge of the interview insisted that Fox said she had no evidence that Joe Biden was involved in his brother’s affairs and that she believed the settlement was fair and equitable.

According to bankruptcy court documents, James Biden took money from his healthcare company Americore and sent it directly to his brother Joe Biden.

The documents show that James Biden received $600,000 in loans from Americore in 2018. James was able to receive the loans based on “representations” that his last name, “Biden,” could “open doors.”

On March 1, 2018, Americore transferred a $200,000 loan to James and Sara Biden’s personal bank account.

That same day, James Biden wrote a check for $200,000 to “Joseph R. Biden” from his personal account for “loan repayment.” At that time, Joe had already left the position of vice president.

Democrats point to bank records showing that Joe had lent the exact same amount to James via wire transfer weeks earlier.

But Republicans say that cable didn’t say “loan” or “Joe Biden,” and there’s no definitive answer as to exactly which account the money came from.

Republicans leading the investigation into the Biden family’s “influence peddling scheme,” which is at the heart of their impeachment inquiry into the president, say this personal audit directly shows that Joe knew about — and was involved in — the actions of his family.

James’ attorney Paul J. Fishman previously stated that “at no time did Jim involve his brother in any of his business relationships.”