James Biden is swearing up and down he wasn’t “hired to help resolve a $140 million dispute between a U.S. construction company and the Saudi Arabian government because of his family name.” That’s what family lawyers pushed him out in front of media to say, when word of the scandal broke. They’re in full damage control mode, pointing to the evidence which surfaced as nothing but “hearsay.” That’s not allowed anywhere near a courtroom. Maybe not, but it gives investigating watchdogs on House oversight committees a trail to sniff along.
James Biden cashed in
It may turn out to be one hundred percent true that James Biden wasn’t “hired” just because of his last name. Even so, it sure looks like he was paid a bundle, for doing not much.
There is also a whole bunch of “circumstantial” evidence which suggests he knew exactly what he was doing. Including sworn affidavits. They weren’t his affidavits so the lawyers can use that to shield the family from the fertilizer splattering back.
Court papers hit the headlines on Tuesday, February 14, when The New York Post started screaming out the news that “the now-73-year-old told a private investigator in July 2017 that he was often picked to attend meetings with Riyadh on behalf of Philadelphia-based Hill International because ‘the name didn’t hurt.‘”
President Trump was calling out James Biden’s business dealings in the Middle East way back in 2020 now NYPost headline:
Biden’s brother was hired to broker secret $140M Saudi deal when Joe was VP . To sum it up – Trump was right again! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/4502diOJLC— VeBee🇺🇸✝️ (@VeBo1991) February 15, 2023
A spokesperson for James Biden at the lawyer’s office issued a statement in response, noting, “Mr. Biden never negotiated with the Saudi Government on behalf of Hill or any other entity.” Nobody said he was there to negotiate. Defense attorneys insist “this entire story is yet another attempt to smear Jim Biden.” A real good one, too. Maybe someday one of them will stick.
In May of 2021, two affidavits were filed in a civil case between Hill International and the Saudi Government. They were fighting over the $140 million bill for “a desalinization plant constructed in the Middle Eastern country during the 1980s.” Lawyers had already come up with a workable agreement. The company wanted to screw them out of their 40% legal fee.
The lawyers at Lankford & Reed went to court alleging that Hill “hired James Biden in 2011 to help secretly settle the dispute and get out of paying Lankford the 40% cut outlined in their contract.” All he had to do was show up in meetings, smile and keep his mouth shut. Hill took care of all the rest.
Private Investigator gets the dirt
Lankford sent their PI out to dig into what happened with the deal that collapsed out from under them. Thomas Sullivan knew what to look for. He was a former Treasury Department official-turned-private investigator.
The trail of warm breadcrumbs led to the suburban Philadelphia doorstep of James Biden, in 2017. He rang the doorbell, told him who he was and asked to talk about Jim’s “alleged involvement in the Hill deal.” He gave his report under oath for use as an affidavit.
Once he relaxed into the interview, James became more and more forthcoming. He “recalled attending a February 2012 meeting with Saudi officials.” The only reason he was there was “because of his position and relationship” with Joe, “who at the time was Barack Obama’s vice president.”
Sen. @ChuckGrassley explains how he uncovered financial transactions linking Hunter and James Biden with Communist China and how FBI Whistleblowers revealed it was discredited as “disinformation”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 9, 2023
The affidavit relates that during the meeting, the Saudis assured him that Hill would get their “final payment” for the desalination plant. They worked out an arrangement for “both cash and ‘a very large amount‘” of future business. No need to involve all those expensive lawyers in the deal.
After the interview, Biden’s wife Sara walked Sullivan to his car. She mentioned that James and Joe “were very close, and that they told each other everything.” Even so, it wasn’t a good idea for him to be saying anything about the little meeting. Joe “doesn’t like us talking to people.”
Another affidavit filed by Sullivan documented a separate interview with Hill International CEO Irvin Richter. Richter admitted that “he’d retained James Biden because the Saudis ‘would not dare stiff the brother of the Vice-President who would be instrumental to the deal.‘” Instrumental just by being there.