When a young Joe Biden embarked on his first political campaign more than 50 years ago, it was his brother Jimmy who dropped out of college and crisscrossed the country to raise money for his bid.
Months later, when Joe Biden’s wife and 13-month-old daughter were killed in a car crash, it fell to Jimmy to go to the hospital to identify their bodies.
And as Joe Biden built his political profile, it was Jimmy who took his brother’s two surviving children under his wing, forming a particularly strong bond with the younger one, Hunter, with whom he shared much in common. That relationship eventually morphed into a business partnership that would bring millions of dollars from overseas deals to both men — and has now thrust them under the scrutiny of the congressional Republicans who are bent on impeaching President Biden.
On Wednesday, James Biden, known in the family as “Uncle Jimmy,” testified to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees leading the impeachment inquiry that his business ventures were above board, that his older brother was not involved in them and never did anything wrong, and that, if anything, it was the elder Mr. Biden who helped him out financially — not the other way around.
In a 10-page opening statement obtained by The New York Times, James Biden also painted a portrait of himself as a dutiful though sometimes troubled brother who had sacrificed to support his family after it was rocked by tragedy, even as he denied allegations that he sought to leverage access to his brother to enrich himself.
“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures,” James Biden, 74, said in his opening statement during a closed-door interview in a House office building. “Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None.”
