Eric Schwerin 'not aware' of Joe Biden role in Hunter's biz; ex-associate blasts 'carefully worded' testimony
Hunter Biden associate Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators Tuesday he's “not aware" of any role President Biden had in his son's business activities, sources told Fox News Digital.
Hunter Biden’s business partner Eric Schwerin told congressional investigators Tuesday that he did not have insight into foreign payments the Biden family received, and said he is "not aware" of any role President Biden had in Hunter Biden’s business activities, sources familiar told Fox News Digital.
Schwerin appeared behind closed doors for a transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees Tuesday as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
In his opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital, Schwerin told the committee that he "performed a number of administrative and bookkeeping tasks for then-Vice President Joe Biden related to his household finances" between 2009 and 2017. Schwerin testified he also helped Biden’s accountants in their preparation of his taxes and his annual financial disclosure statements.
One of Schwerin's former business associates told Fox News Digital that Schwerin's opening statement sounded "coordinated," adding that emails and transactions could contradict Schwerin's "carefully worded" statement when pressed by House Oversight investigators.
Schwerin’s interview before the committees Tuesday was his first formal testimony. He met with staff of the House Oversight Committee last March.
Schwerin said he met Hunter Biden while working in the Clinton administration at the Commerce Department, and after government service, joined the first son at a law and lobbying firm.
Schwerin co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners along with Hunter Biden and other colleagues – a firm he described as a "consulting and investment firm that offered development and public policy advisory services to a wide range of clients."
HUNTER BIDEN PAID JOE BIDEN FROM ACCOUNT FOR BIZ THAT RECEIVED PAYMENTS FROM CHINA: COMER
"In the course of performing these duties, I had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden’s bank accounts while he was vice president," Schwerin said in his opening statement. "Based on that insight, I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates nor any involvement by him in their businesses. None."
Schwerin also said he "cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals – foreign or domestic."
"In fact, I am not aware of any role that Vice President Biden, as a public official or a private citizen, had in any of Hunter’s business activities. None," he said.
Schwerin testified that regarding his interactions with Biden, he "never asked him to take any official actions for the benefit of Hunter’s clients or any other client."
"Furthermore, I have no recollection of any promises or suggestions made by Hunter or myself to any clients or business associates that his father would take any official actions on their behalf. None," he said. "In my discussions with the Vice President concerning his personal finances, he was always crystal clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the law."
Schwerin added: "Given my awareness of his finances and the explicit directions he gave to his financial advisers, the allegation that he would engage in any improper conduct to benefit himself or his family is preposterous to me."
A source familiar with the testimony told Fox News Digital that Schwerin’s opening statement was "very narrowly tailored and does not cover the vast majority of questions about his knowledge and participation in the Biden family’s business schemes that the Committee is seeking information about today."
Despite his work for and with Biden, Schwerin said he had "no visibility on key foreign payments to the Bidens," according to the source familiar with the closed-door testimony.
BIDEN WAS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH HUNTER’S BUSINESS PARTNERS USING EMAIL ALIAS AS VP
"When Eric Schwerin makes statements about Hunter Biden’s financial transactions, during today’s interview he admitted he had no insight into the payments from Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakhstani, and Romanian entities and individuals," the source told Fox News Digital.
Schwerin’s testimony comes after Fox News Digital first reported that Joe Biden, as vice president, used email aliases and private email addresses to communicate with Hunter Biden and his business associates hundreds of times – including with Schwerin. The communications came between 2010 to 2019, with the majority of email traffic taking place while Biden was serving as vice president.
The House Ways & Means Committee, which is co-leading the impeachment inquiry alongside the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, said 54 of those emails were "exclusively" between Joe Biden and Schwerin. The Ways & Means Committee describes Schwerin as "the architect of the Biden family’s shell companies."
Meanwhile, the data shows direct emails between Schwerin and then-Vice President Biden increased during times when the vice president traveled to Ukraine.
The committee said the data shows Joe Biden and Schwerin exchanged five emails in June 2014 before the vice president’s trip to Ukraine that month.
After that trip and before Biden’s November 2014 trip back to Ukraine, he and Schwerin emailed 27 times.
Hunter Biden joined the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings in April 2014.
Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings. During the same period, Hunter Biden held a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month.
At the time, the vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.
Biden allies maintain the vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption and say his firing was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.
