The transcript from Hunter Biden’s friend, Kevin Morris’ closed-door deposition last week undercuts the corruption case House Republicans are trying to build as their basis for impeaching President Joe Biden.
Morris, an entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles, told the committee that he met Hunter in Brentwood, California, in 2019 at a presidential fundraiser for his father.
He has loaned Hunter nearly $5 million since then to cover expenses and pay his outstanding tax bill. Morris explicitly told the committee that he “100 percent” expects Hunter Biden to pay him back, according to the transcript of his testimony released by the House Oversight Committee.
House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry into allegations of corruption against President Biden, but are yet to provide any evidence.
After Morris’ testimony last week, House Oversight Committee chair, James Comer (R-Ky.) released a statement saying, “Kevin Morris’s massive financial support to Hunter Biden raises ethical and campaign finance concerns for President Joe Biden.” Comer also claimed the loans were to “insulate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden from political liability.”
But, the transcript shows that Morris told the committee his goal was simply to help his friend who was “getting the s*it beat out of him by the world,” not to help elect Joe Biden as president.
Comer also suggested the loans from Morris to Hunter were not real “and may ultimately be forgiven.”
Morris told the committee that lawyers drafted promissory notes for the loan that included interest, terms and default provisions.
“At all times we have had our separate attorneys advise us on these transactions. With respect to the loans, I am confident that Hunter will repay,” Morris told the committee. “I did not and do not have any expectations of receiving anything from Hunter’s father or the Biden administration in exchange from helping Hunter, nor have I asked for anything from President Biden or his administration. My only goal was and is to help my friend.”
The transcript also shows that Morris never once said the loans would be forgiven as Comer suggested.
It was Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) who brought up loan forgiveness while asking about potential consequences a borrower could face if they defaulted on their loan.
“They can come over and wash your car for the rest of their life,” Morris joked.
“Yeah, or you can forgive. You can forgive it,” Biggs said.
Morris agreed that a lender could forgive the loan but never told the committee that he would forgive Hunter Biden’s loans.
The transcript of the testimony was released days after Morris’ attorney send a scathing letter to Comer accusing him of releasing “cherry‐picked, out of context and totally misleading descriptions” in his statement about the private deposition.
