James Biden – What Was his Role in the ‘Family Business?’ – Last October, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called for an investigation into a member of the Biden family.
However, it wasn’t President Joe Biden or even his son Hunter – rather it was the president’s younger brother, James Biden, who has been at Joe Biden’s side at nearly every critical juncture in the now-president’s personal and political life.
The James Biden Problem
Grassley had reportedly sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss outlining a number of allegations, which suggested that the FBI “possesses significant and voluminous evidence” of potential criminal conduct by the Biden family.
“Based on recent protected disclosures to my office, the FBI has within its possession significant, impactful and voluminous evidence with respect to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden and James Biden,” Grassley wrote in the letter.
Though never in the spotlight, The Washington Post has described James Biden as a “protector” in the Biden family in a report earlier this year, while the paper of record described him as “the one who made sure the machinery ran while his brother soared.”
He has been a nightclub owner, an insurance broker, a political consultant, a fundraiser, a startup investor, and a construction company executive. By some accounts, he’s been accused of being a unofficial lobbyist who traded on the family name.
James and the Giant Business Dealings
According to court documents, James Biden had been hired to help a Philadelphia construction company resolve a decades-old dispute with the government of Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Joe Biden served as vice president.
An affidavit, first obtained by the UK-based DailyMail.com, was filed in a dispute between the construction company, Hill International, and one of three law firms it hired to help claw back approximately $140 million the Saudis owed for a desalinization plant built by a Hill subsidiary in the 1980s.
That firm, Lankford & Reed, alleges that Hill International had hired James Biden, now 73, in 2011 to negotiate a secret deal with the Saudis to settle the dispute – and get out of paying Lankford the 40% cut outlined in their contract.
The DailyMail quoted an August 2017 letter from James Biden that had first been published on the right-wing news site Breitbart.com in October of last year.
“I would be honored to assist in effectuating the vision of His Excellency but would be remiss in not pointing out the fractured nature of our current administration,” Biden reportedly wrote, referring to the then-newly elected president Donald Trump. “My family could provide a wealth of introductions and business opportunities at the highest levels that I believe would be worthy of the interest of His Excellency.”
James Biden disputes the allegations.
“Mr. Biden never negotiated with the Saudi Government on behalf of Hill or any other entity,” a rep for James Biden told The New York Post in a statement. “This entire story is yet another attempt to smear Jim Biden.”
It appears it isn’t just Senator Grassley who has expressed interest in James Biden’s activities. The GOP-led House Oversight Committee has also probed the first family’s influence-peddling.
“Evidence continues to mount that the Biden family used Joe Biden’s name to secure deals around the world to enrich themselves,” committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) also told The New York Post months back.
“The Treasury Department must provide the suspicious activity reports generated for the Biden family and their associates to inform our investigation about the Biden family’s business schemes and Joe Biden’s involvement,” added Comer.
“If Joe Biden is compromised by his family’s deals, this is a national security threat.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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