Matthew Whitaker told Newsmax on Wednesday congressional testimony by Joe Biden’s brother James Biden is important because it locks in his story regarding allegations of influence peddling and other criminal activity by the president and members of his family.
"The most important part of having a witness sit down for a recorded interview or a deposition under oath is that they are locked into a story," Whitaker, a former acting attorney general in the Trump administration, told "American Agenda." "They can't change that story without perjuring themselves or lying to Congress.
"This is an important step and, obviously, the president's brother has a lot of information as to how they conducted business."
James Biden on Wednesday was deposed behind closed doors by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which is leading the impeachment inquiry into the president. Among the many issues surrounding James Biden is a $200,000 check he gave to his brother as a "loan repayment" on the same day he was paid that amount by now-defunct Americore, a large hospital operator that has since gone bankrupt.
James Biden reportedly testified his brother "never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest" in his business ventures over the past 50 years.
"Based on what I read just a few minutes ago about this interview and his opening statement, he covered this loan that his brother gave to him and how it was repaid, suggesting that the president didn't know where the source of those funds came from," Whitaker said. "It always seemed like a strange transaction.
"I think they're going to get into some pretty detailed information about how the two brothers did business together, where the sources and uses of those funds were, and that could lead to some interesting places. But the most important part is locking them into a story."
Whitaker said the same will hold true for when Hunter Biden, the president’s son whose foreign business dealings are central to the impeachment inquiry, testifies privately next week.
"Just like Jim Biden, this is a good opportunity to finally get [Hunter Biden] on record and to say what he knows," Whitaker said, "say how he got these various jobs in Ukraine and China and elsewhere, to lock into a story about the money transfers through these 20-plus limited liability companies that were used to launder the money for the family and why so many members of the family ended up receiving some of this money as part of his business endeavors.
"There's a lot of questions that only Hunter Biden can answer. Remember, [House Republicans] did this the right way. They got the documents. They have the bank statements. They have all the information.
"Now we'll see how Hunter Biden tries to weave this story because it seems to me that Joe Biden lived a much better lifestyle after he left the vice presidency than he ever had during his 40 years of public service."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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