Hunter Biden appeared to use his substantial art sales to pay off the loan debt owed to his fixer who paid off Hunter’s overdue taxes and funded his lifestyle.
Hunter Biden’s art gallerist Georges Berges testified in January before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, and described to lawmakers how Hunter and his financier, Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris, used an $875,000 art sale to allow Hunter to pay back loan debt he owed to Morris, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Hunter Biden’s Financial Backer Feared Political ‘Risk’ Caused By Delinquent Tax Returns, Docs Show)
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JULY 26: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building and United States Courthouse on July 26, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prosecution on an additional gun charge. However, the federal judge overseeing the case unexpectedly delayed Biden’s plea deal and deferred her decision until more information is put forth by both the prosecution and the defense. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Berges told lawmakers Hunter Biden knew Morris purchased $875,000 worth of Hunter’s art out of his $1.5 million in sales.
“And, of that, $875,000 is sold to Kevin Morris, correct?” Berges was asked.
“That’s correct,” he responded.
“And he knows that Kevin Morris was a buyer of his art, right?”
“I assume so,” the gallerist answered.
Berges recalled Morris having a large art collection in his house, including a piece Hunter Biden made that Berges did not sell. Berges said he did not tell Hunter Biden that Morris bought his art, but that Hunter knew about Morris’ purchase because of the debt payment arrangement. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Didn’t Sell Any Art Until Joe Biden Was Elected President, Art Dealer Testifies)
“Hunter did know because of–because he did know because instead of–he did know because I think it went against his payment against the debt that he owed Hunter–that Hunter owed him. So they had–he had to have known who it was, yes. So he did know,” Berges testified.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 29: Rep. James Comer (R-KY) attends a news conference with House Republican leadership at the U.S. Capitol November 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House Republican leadership spoke on a range of issues, including their impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Joe Biden. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed Morris’ purchase in a Jan. 9 press release following Berges’ testimony. Morris has been identified as the third party benefactor responsible for paying off roughly $2 million of Hunter Biden’s overdue taxes. (RELATED: White House ‘Deceived’ The American People About Hunter Biden Art Deals, Comer Says)
Hunter Biden’s failed guilty plea agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicates a third party paid $2 million of Hunter Biden’s overdue taxes. The document does not name the third party.
Hunter Biden’s uncle and business partner, James Biden, thanked Morris “on behalf of the family” for assisting Hunter Biden, according to a memo from a September 2022 interview of James Biden by federal investigators.
Morris paid $4.9 million of Hunter Biden’s personal expenses from 2020-2022 through loans and gifts, IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler testified Dec. 5. The IRS whistleblower provided documents to the House Ways and Means Committee showing Morris was aware of the “risk” represented by Hunter Biden’s alleged overdue taxes and worked in early 2020 to get them sorted out.
Additionally, Morris appears to have taken on Hunter Biden’s stake in Chinese private equity firm BHR partners, the Washington Free Beacon reported. (RELATED: Prosecutor Ignored Apparent ‘Campaign Finance Criminal Violations’ Flagged By IRS Whistleblower, Memo Shows)
Morris is reportedly funding Hunter Biden’s mounting legal bills and advocating for an aggressive legal strategy against his political opponents. Morris is also reportedly funding a documentary about Hunter Biden’s life.
The subject of Hunter Biden using his art sales to Morris to pay off his debt to him came up again later in Berges’ testimony.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 10: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. The committee is meeting today as it considers citing him for Contempt of Congress. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“I think they had an arrangement, because I didn’t pay Hunter Biden his commission, the artist commission, because it was dealt–that’s how I remembered that, yes, he had to have known that he was the buyer because normally the gallery would then write a check for the artist commission but I didn’t,” Berges testified.
“So I just got paid for my portion, for the gallery’s portion, and they–they negotiated there. So like let’s say there is, you know, a dollar and I get 40 and Hunter Biden gets 60. We negotiated this deal. I got paid for my portion. And then that portion was because they dealt with how they’re going to instead of me–instead of him waiting for me to pay him, they were going to settle it together,” Berges added.
Berges proceeded to explain the unusual nature of Morris and Hunter Biden’s payment system where Morris paid the 40% cut to the gallery instead of allowing the gallery to receive all of the funds and distribute them accordingly.
Berges was unsure if Hunter Biden received 60% of Morris’ $875,000 purchase or if they negotiated a different figure. Berges could not say whether there was tax documentation of the purchase.
“The normal protocol is he, they want to buy a piece, he should refer them to the gallery and the gallery executes the sale,” Berges asserted.
Berges said he negotiated the sale with Kevin Morris, and Hunter Biden was not involved in their discussions. Berges and Morris have not spoken for over a year since the art sale.
Morris sat next to Hunter Biden when the first son made a surprise appearance at the House Oversight Committee’s markup hearing on whether to hold him in contempt for skipping a deposition Dec. 13 in defiance of congressional subpoenas.
Hunter: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma. Not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman. Not my investments at home nor abroad and certainly not as an… pic.twitter.com/NWgBrfm7ux
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 13, 2023
Hunter Biden staged a press conference Dec. 13 where he defended his father and said Joe Biden was not involved with his art or business dealings.
“Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma. Not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman. Not my investments at home nor abroad and certainly not as an artist,” Hunter Biden said.
Hunter Biden and his team left the hearing as Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene prepared to speak. Afterwards, he went back to California where he pleaded not guilty Thursday to nine federal tax charges.
Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney, wrote a letter Friday to Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan saying Hunter would sit for a closed-door deposition if they issued new subpoenas. The pair responded with a Sunday letter to Lowell informing him of their plan to issue new subpoenas.
Comer, Jordan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith are leading the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden over his alleged role in Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
The House Oversight Committee is seeking to interview Morris for the impeachment inquiry.
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report