House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden are seeking testimony from one of James Biden’s former business associates.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan wrote a letter Thursday to Michael Lewitt, a former business associate of the president’s brother, requesting a transcribed interview before the committees to discuss his relationship with James Biden and distressed healthcare firm, Americore. (RELATED: Jordan, Comer Press White House Over Joe Biden’s Alleged Role In Hunter’s Refusal To Face Congress)
READ THE LETTER:
“As part of the impeachment inquiry, the Oversight Committee obtained bank records related to President Biden’s brother and sister-in-law, James and Sara Biden, and an entity associated with them. According to these bank records, Joe Biden received a $200,000 check from James Biden dated March 1, 2018. James Biden issued the check to Joe Biden from his personal bank account on the same day he received a $200,000 wire from Americore Health,” the letter outlines.
The House Oversight Committee released in October a $200,000 check James Biden wrote to Joe Biden on March 1, 2018, the same day Americore sent James Biden a $200,000 loan payment. The check written out to Joe Biden is classified as a loan repayment. (RELATED: FBI Secretly Recorded Joe Biden’s Brother As Part Of Bribery Probe: REPORT)
A lawsuit filed by U.S. Trustee Carol Fox accused James Biden of failing to repay $600,000 worth of loans he received from Americore, bankruptcy court documents show. James Biden promised Americore his name could “open doors” and vowed to obtain a significant Middle East investment, the lawsuit states.
“Ms. Fox also testified that the source of the March 2018 check for $200,000 that ‘James Biden ultimately paid to [Joe Biden] could have come from two possible sources: predatory loans or senior citizens’ money fraudulently invested by James Biden’s business partner, Michael Lewitt.’ According to public reporting, you were ‘the manager of the Third Friday Total Return Fund,’ and Third Friday was ‘the largest crediting firm for Americore while it was in operation.’,” the letter continues.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Lewitt and Third Friday Management in September for allegedly stealing $4.7 million from investors.
“The complaint alleges that in January 2018 Third Friday suddenly changed course without disclosing to investors, many of whom were elderly, that it had begun making loans to a distressed (now bankrupt) company that acquired and operated struggling rural hospitals. As alleged, between January 2018 and November 2019, the Fund made 45 separate loan advances totaling more than $19 million to that company,” the SEC said in a press release announcing the complaint.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 13: House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) (L) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) talk to reporters in the Rayburn House Office Building on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden defied a subpoena from the committee to testify behind closed doors ahead of a House vote on an impeachment inquiry against his father. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Comer and Jordan are hoping to learn more information from Lewitt about the apparent loans Americore sent James Biden as the company struggled financially.
“In particular, the Committees seek information you possess regarding your business dealings with both Americore and James Biden, including, but not limited to, the ‘loans’ that James Biden received from the financially struggling company,” the letter states.
The Oversight Committee subpoenaed James Biden in November to have him appear for a closed-door deposition in early December as part of the impeachment inquiry. James Biden’s deposition was postponed and his lawyers are negotiating with the committee to schedule it for a later date, the New York Post previously reported.
Comer and Jordan are leading the impeachment inquiry alongside Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith. House Republicans voted Dec. 13 to formalize the impeachment inquiry after Hunter Biden defied a subpoena and refused to appear for his deposition.