Hunter Biden business partner Eric Schwerin's closed-door testimony before members of two House committees on Tuesday shot down a claim by President Joe Biden that there was an "absolute wall" between his vice presidency and his son, a source familiar with the proceedings told Newsmax.
Schwerin was interviewed by members of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Capitol Hill as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, and told members "he completed tasks for then-Vice President Biden but was not paid." The tasks included "bookkeeping, paying bills, tax preparation, and financial disclosures" between 2009 and 2017.
"In my discussions with the vice president concerning his personal finances, he was always crystal clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the law," Schwerin said in his opening statement, which was obtained by media outlets.
"Vice presidents are not permitted to accept professional services as gifts," the source told Newsmax.
It also refutes Joe Biden's contention that he had no interactions with Hunter Biden's associates. Schwerin was a co-founder of Rosemont Seneca Partners along with Hunter Biden and others.
The House Ways and Means Committee outlined in December 54 times that Joe Biden "exclusively" communicated with Schwerin through his pseudonym email accounts. Further, the communications increased when the then-VP traveled to Ukraine.
In fact, Ways and Means tabbed Schwerin as "the architect of the Biden family's shell companies."
Hunter Biden joined the board of gas firm Burisma Holdings in April 2014. Joe Biden emailed with Schwerin five times in June 2014 and 27 times before going back in November 2014, according to the committee. The time frame runs in parallel to the investigation into Burisma led by former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, whom Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire in March 2016.
In another part of his opening statement, Schwerin said he "had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden's bank accounts while he was vice president."
"Based on that insight, I am 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," Schwerin said.
The source told Newsmax that Schwerin's opening remarks were "narrowly tailored."
"When Eric Schwerin makes statements about Hunter Biden's financial transactions, during today's interview he admitted he had no insight into the payments from Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakhstani, and Romanian entities and individuals," the source told Newsmax.
"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.
The testimony marked the first formal testimony given by Schwerin, who met with House Oversight staffers last March. Hunter Biden is set to sit for a deposition on Feb. 28.
Newsmax left messages for Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell for comment.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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