President Biden’s brother, James, was secretly taped by the FBI during a corruption investigation into a Mississippi trial attorney who funneled $100,000 to his consulting firm in the late 1990s, a report said Sunday.
Richard Scruggs, a trial lawyer, hired the D.C. consulting firm of James and Sara Biden while trying to gain support for tobacco legislation being considered by Congress in 1998, the Washington Post reported.
Neither James, 74, nor his brother President Joe Biden, 81, were involved in any major criminal wrongdoing in the case. But the revelations come amid an impeachment inquiry into alleged influence peddling by members of the president’s family.
“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs told the Washington Post about why he spent cash on James Biden’s firm.
“Jim was never understated about his influence,” he added. “He didn’t brag about it or talk about it. He doesn’t have to. He is the man’s brother.”
Scruggs, who was later sent to prison in a separate bribery scheme, had come close to a deal to push the tobacco companies to shell out billions of dollars in a lawsuit alleging they hid information that their products were addictive.
Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs served about five years in prison. NBC
Seeking about $368 billion, Scruggs needs Congress to waive antitrust provisions as part of the settlement agreement. Joe Biden in 1997, initially said, he was “not yet convinced that this settlement is a good deal.”
Although initially reluctant, Joe Biden, who sits on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee as the ranking member, eventually became one of her most important supporters.
Ultimately, the bill failed to clear Congress. Biden, at the time, cited a fierce campaign by the tobacco industry that he claimed influenced Republicans.
Hall of Lions
While seeking support from the then Delaware senator, Scruggs made several $10,000 payments to Lion Hall, James and Sara Biden’s consulting firm, over about a year, according to the Washington Post.
Scruggs isn’t sure if James convinced his brother to support the bill, but told The Washington Post, “I hope he does.”
A lawyer for James Biden insisted that “his work never involved talking to or providing access to his brother.” The attorney has not responded to a request for additional comment from The Post.
Sara and James Biden’s financial tricks have drawn attention from House GOP investigators. AP
Lion Hall has been the focus of Republican congressional investigators looking into whether the president’s brother has used the company to funnel money to the entire Biden family.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has marked a $40,000 check marked “loan repayment” from James to Joe in 2017.
Comer claimed that the payments were “laundered” money from the Chinese government-linked CEFC. As evidence, Comer showed a series of transactions to the account of the president’s relatives.
James Comer and Jim Jordan have investigated the business dealings of the Biden family. Getty Images
The White House, however, has forcefully rejected that notion and highlighted bank records showing the president did make loans to his brother.
In November, the House GOP impeachment inquiry subpoenaed James and Hunter Biden to testify this month, but both men skipped it. Hunter Biden offered to testify publicly, but Republicans slapped him, insisting that he appear behind closed doors.
Last week, the GOP-led House voted to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into Biden over the alleged transactions.
Republicans have been mulling the possibility of insulting Hunter Biden, who will then go to the Justice Department to decide whether or not to prosecute.
The recording
Years after the tobacco bill uproar, FBI authorities began investigating Scruggs over an alleged bribery scheme involving a plan to funnel $40,000 to a local judge.
During the investigation, agents recorded phone calls, including one from James Biden, according to the report. At the time, James Biden was reportedly trying to create a firm with a Scruggs partner.
Although James Biden was never involved in the bribery scheme, Scruggs and several of his associates were eventually sent to prison.
A lawyer for the president’s brother insists he was never aware of the scheme and that the new plan for the partnership “never came to fruition.”
President Biden is reportedly very disturbed by the attacks on his family. Corbis via Getty Images
Recordings reviewed by the Washington Post show multiple calls James Biden recorded, discussing a potential partnership.
“I told him that we have formalized our relationship with you guys,” attorney Tim Balducci told him during one call.
“I told him about the real presence of Washington, that this was not going to be a bull -, you know, a shingle hanging somewhere on the window,” he added. “That this is the real deal, that Sara is coming in, you know, as a named partner, an equity part of the venture, that we’re changing the name of the firm to include that.”
“Hunter will be involved, and you will be involved.”
Scruggs told the Washington Post that he never really intended to be a part of the potential venture.
How Scruggs met Biden
Scruggs became friendly with Biden’s brother because of his relationship with Steve Patterson, an aide to former Sen. John Stennis (D-Miss.), the Washington Post reported.
Stennis was an isolationist who differed dramatically from Biden during his early days in the upper chamber.
The president eventually became friendly with Patterson in the following years, as did his brother James. Patterson reportedly connected James and Scruggs in the 1990s.
“Biden wouldn’t know anybody in Mississippi if it wasn’t for me. That’s just a fact. I took ownership of that,” Patterson told the outlet. “Biden loves Mississippi.”
The president insisted he was not involved in his family’s financial affairs. AP
The Post reached out to the White House for comment. Scruggs was unavailable for comment.
The White House has argued that there is insufficient evidence to launch an impeachment inquiry and bolstered some Republicans who have publicly voiced their doubts about the inquiry.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
