(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A scathing report alleges that James Biden, the heavily scrutinized brother of President Joe Biden, was “caught” in an FBI bribery investigation dating back to 2007 when the current president was seeking the DNC nomination (he was later tapped by Barack Obama to serve as vice president).
The Washington Post revealed on Sunday that in 1998, James Biden received $100,000 for advising on legislation targeting tobacco companies to pay billions of dollars. The payment, made by disgraced trial attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, sought to compel a divided Congress, including then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden, D-Dela., who had initially opposed the tobacco-related bill.
While the FBI focused on a separate bribery case involving a judge, unrelated to the Biden family, it led to Scruggs’s downfall in 2007. During this period, James Biden wanted to launch a consulting firm with Scruggs’s associates, a plan that never came to fruition because of Scruggs’s legal mishaps.
The details of the $100,000 transaction surfaced only recently when the Post reviewed recordings of the Biden ties archived at the University of Mississippi. These documents were not available in trial documents, the Post claimed.
President Biden’s brother has for decades benefited financially from his proximity to his powerful sibling, a relationship that is newly relevant as congressional Republicans investigate whether President Biden assisted his family members’ business deals. https://t.co/S6PdGIO6ZN
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 17, 2023
Scruggs told to the Post that he hired James Biden to persuade Joe Biden to support the bill. Despite Joe Biden’s backing, the legislation failed to pass Congress.
“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs said. “Jim was never untoward about his influence… He didn’t brag about it or talk about it. He didn’t have to. He was the man’s brother.”
While it remains unclear if James Biden discussed the bill with his brother, Scruggs expressed hope that he did.
Lion Hall, the company that received the $100,000, is now a focal point in the impeachment inquiry. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., mentioned the company in a subpoena issued to James and Sara Biden, as reported by the Post.
BREAKING: “Therefore today, I will subpoena the bank records of Hunter Biden, James Biden, and their affiliated companies,” James Comer (@RepJamesComer) says at the end of the first hearing of Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry. WATCH pic.twitter.com/KKzgBHNnVb
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 28, 2023
In response to the Post’s report, Paul Fishman, an attorney representing James Biden, refuted claims of impropriety. He said, “Jim Biden’s consulting work has never involved speaking with or providing access to his brother for this or any other client.”
When asked about the 2008 bribery investigation, Fishman added, “More than 15 years ago, Jim and Sara Biden had serious discussions about starting a firm that would provide legal and consulting services. That venture never got off the ground. Jim and Sara were not aware of or involved in any unethical or illegal behavior.”
Despite Scruggs’s own legal troubles, he expressed “empathy” for the Biden family amid congressional scrutiny over potential influence peddling.
“It’s really difficult for the close relative or particularly the sons of prominent men to make it on their own. Anything they do on their own, people say, ‘Well, it’s because their daddy helped them,’” he claimed, according to the Post. “So I’m a little empathetic with the sons and daughters of prominent people. They have a cross to bear that nobody else has.”
