WASHINGTON – Manhattan art dealer Georges Bergès told Congress that he “chose not” to renew his contract with Hunter Biden after making a $1.5 million sale of his first child’s art to 10 buyers — leaving Hunter without the vendor as House Republicans continue to impeach him in an investigation into alleged corruption. the Biden family.
Bergès said his contract with Hunter, 53, quietly expires on Sept. 1, 2023 — making it unclear who has replaced the eldest son for the past 4 1/2 months as the impeachment inquiry digs into Joe Biden’s ties to the efforts of Hunter and his uncle James Biden in countries like China and Ukraine.
“We have discussed to extend it. At this time I choose not to,” the SoHo gallerist said Tuesday in a closed-door interview with the House Oversight and Judiciary committee, according to a transcript reviewed by The Post.
Working with Hunter “wasn’t the best decision for me,” Bergès testified. “I never expected the whole security issue or the death threats and people assuming political affiliation, which is completely wrong.”
“It was a bit more than I could chew… obviously I wanted my life back. So I do not agree to renew the contract now,” said Bergès.
Manhattan art dealer Georges Bergès told Congress that he “chose not to” renew his contract with Hunter Biden after netting $1.5 million in his first child’s novice art sale to 10 buyers. New York Post
Bergès gets 40% commission on sales – meaning Hunter pocketed about $900,000 over two years, or about the same as his father’s $400,000 annual presidential salary.
The art dealer began working with Hunter after being connected by Hollywood producer Lanette Phillips, who had organized a fundraiser for Joe Biden — with Bergès telling Congress she differed from Hunter Biden politically but liked him as a person.
Bergès would only identify the three buyers whose combined purchases amounted to 70% of the sale — and confirmed that Hunter Biden knew who they were, contrary to earlier reports about an ethics plan the White House was supposed to have devised to keep names anonymous to avoid influence peddling.
Bergès said his contract with Hunter, 53, quietly expires on September 1, 2023. New York Post
Hunter’s “sugar brother,” Kevin Morris, a wealthy entertainment industry attorney who began showering Hunter with at least $4.9 million in gifts and loans to cover taxes and personal bills shortly after meeting him at a late 2019 campaign event, paid $875,000 for 11 paintings on January 2023.
In an unusual arrangement, Morris cut a commission check to the gallery and credited Hunter’s payday against an outstanding personal loan, Bergès said.
Only two other art buyers have been identified: Democratic donor Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali and Bergès gallery co-owner William Jacques.
Naftali received the prestigious presidential appointment after purchasing his first Hunter artwork for $42,000 in February 2021, as well as repeated visits to the White House over the period, and then paying $52,000 for a second piece. He has denied trying to buy influence.
Jacques bought a painting for $40,000 in December 2020, another for $25,000 in February 2021 and a third for $32,500 in November 2021, his business partner said.
The other seven buyers were not named by Bergès, who insisted their motives were not political.
Sources told The Post that congressional Republican leaders intend to force Bergès to reveal the identities of additional buyers and then decide whether they should be revealed or not.
The sale of the art has raised concerns from ethicists and politicians because Hunter was previously involved in lucrative deals in the country where his father held the reins as vice president, often introducing his powerful relatives to people who paid him for obscure services.
Working with Hunter “wasn’t the best decision for me,” Bergès testified. “I never expected the whole security issue or the death threats and people assuming political affiliation, which is completely wrong.” New York Post
Bergès told congressional investigators “I don’t know” if Hunter has sold any work since their business relationship ended. The last sale handled by his gallery closed in November, but was verbally agreed to before that, he said.
Hunter still calls “several times a week,” she revealed — including one the day before her congressional testimony — and “I think she wants to work with me obviously, but, you know, I have business decisions to make, too.”
Among other frustrations, Bergès said she found herself forced to pay for Hunter’s art show.
“I paid for them. Yes, I’m still bitter about a lot of that,” he said.
Bergès said he would have to pay as much as $60,000 to hold an October 2021 Hollywood art show for Hunter attended by his father’s nominee who was then running to be ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, who attended while serving as mayor of Los Angeles.
“I had to do all the framing. I had to do all the shipping. I had to rush it,” he said.
Bergès said, “I gambled and it didn’t really pay off, but that’s one of the reasons I didn’t really renew the contract.”
Bergès gets a 40% commission on sales – meaning Hunter pocketed about $900,000 over a period spanning more than two years. New York Post
Republicans questioned how $1.5 million in revenue could be considered too trivial for an ongoing business relationship — with Bergès pointing out in response that more than half of the sales were made to Hunter’s main benefactor, Morris.
“I’m trying to sell hi[s] art to many people, not just one person,” he said. “I’m not renewing the contract because I need to see the whole sale.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
