James Biden defended his integrity during his testimony Wednesday and said his brother Joe played no role in his decades-long business career.

James Biden delivered a lengthy opening statement Wednesday morning addressing his personal relationship with Joe Biden and his entire professional career, including his business dealings with Chinese conglomerate CEFC, according to a copy obtained by National Review.

“I have had a 50-year career in a variety of business ventures,” James Biden began. “Joe Biden has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest in those activities. None.”

“Because of my intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship.”

He gave his personal background information and went through his various business entities, such as the Lion Hall Group, the business account James Biden used alongside his wife Sara. He said Joe and Hunter Biden did not have an interest in Lion Hall.

James Biden testified Wednesday for the impeachment inquiry into President Biden over his apparent role in his family’s foreign business dealings. He defended his business dealings with CEFC as routine and described his role in Hudson West III, a joint venture with CEFC he worked on alongside Hunter Biden.

In March 2017, months before the venture, James and Hunter Biden’s business associate Rob Walker received $3 million from State Energy HK, a company linked to CEFC, bank records indicate. Hunter Biden directed a portion of the $1 million he received from Walker to James Biden, the bank records show.

“I received several payments in the spring of 2017 that I understood to come from Hunter. I did not know then — but I have learned recently — that the money I received was a portion of Hunter’s share that he directed Mr. Walker to send me,” Biden said.

Walker testified in January and recalled James Biden calling him about receiving the State Energy HK funds because he was in dire financial circumstances, according to a transcript of Walker’s testimony.

“I remember Hunter telling me that he needed it. And I believe Jim [James Biden] confirmed that, that he needed it at a certain — I don’t know whether he was having financial difficulties. But that’s where Hunter wanted it sent,” Walker testified.

“I remember Jim calling me to ask me if I could send him more, and I would clear it with Hunter first. And then Hunter would say yes, and then I would send it to Jim — or to JBBSR,” he added.

JBBSR appears to be a separate account belonging to James Biden. Walker also recalled a meeting between CEFC associates and Joe Biden that happened around the time of the State Energy HK wire.

Former Business associate Tony Bobulinski testified last week and recalled how James Biden bragged about creating “plausible deniability” for his brother during negotiations related to “SinoHawk,” a CEFC joint venture proposal that ended up falling apart.

“And so I’m asking [James Biden] — not from a criminal perspective. If I had criminal concerns at that point, I would have got up and walked out of there. My questions were focused on political headlines,” Bobulinski recalled.

“And he looks at me and sort of chuckles and says, ‘Plausible deniability.'”

James Biden was harshly critical of Bobulinski for supposedly being bitter about not being included in the Hudson West III deal. Bobulinski rejected this characterization when he testified prior to James Biden’s testimony.

Hudson West III launched in August 2017 and the Bidens explored U.S. energy deals for CEFC through the firm. None of the potential deals explored in 2017 and 2018 came to fruition.

James Biden received $65,000 in monthly compensation, and Hunter Biden made $100,000 per month from Hudson West III. He said his compensation came through Hunter Biden’s Owasco P.C. account, and Hunter agreed to give him more money when he began taking on more of the work.

Hunter also received a $500,000 initial retainer fee spread over a $100,000 and a $400,000 payment, former business associate Mervyn Yan testified. In August 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 of the $400,000 payment to Lion Hall Group, bank records show.

James and Sara Biden sent $50,000 of the money to their personal account, and then Sara Biden proceeded to write a $40,000 check to Joe Biden in September 2017. The check was classified as a loan repayment.

“At the end of the day, CEFC was a straightforward business venture,” Biden said. “My brother played no role, was not involved with, and received no benefits from my work with CEFC.”

Furthermore, James Biden defended his business dealings with Americore, a defunct rural hospital provider that paid him more than $600,000 in 2018, according to a complaint filed against him in 2022 by U.S. Trustee Carol Fox.

On March 1, 2018, James Biden received $200,000 from Americore and proceeded to write a $200,000 check to his brother for a supposed loan repayment. He said the loans from Joe Biden were short-term loans and repaid within weeks.

Joe Biden did not know the sources of his brother’s loan repayments and had no role in the Americore venture, James Biden said. His statement contradicts an investigation by Politico based on interviews, public records, court filings, and internal Americore documents that found James Biden made his brother a central aspect of his pitch to the firm.

Fox testified that she did not know what role James Biden provided to Americore to earn his compensation. However, James Biden detailed the strategic advisory services and the investments he sought for the firm.

The bankruptcy complaint says James Biden promised his last name could “open doors” and vowed to bring in a substantial Middle East investment. The Middle East investment never materialized.

Americore paid James Biden $600,000 worth of compensation in the form of loans, a classification Biden rejected based on his services to Americore. He ended up repaying $350,000 of the funds after a settlement was reached.

“With my appearance here today, the Committees will have the information to conclude that the negative and destructive assumptions about me and my relationship with my brother Joe are wrong. There is no basis for this inquiry to continue,” he concluded.

A transcript of James Biden’s full testimony has yet to be released.