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The House Oversight Committee on Jan. 25 requested information pertaining to several high-profile art sales made by President Joe Biden’s son.
The request to George Bergès, the owner of a New York City art gallery where Hunter Biden has sold his art, was sent in a Jan. 25 letter from Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) (pdf). Specifically, the letter requests information about the sales of Biden’s works as well as about an agreement reached with the intervention of the White House that kept the identities of the buyers secret.
The request for information is one of the first salvos in a series of expected investigations into the Bidens’ business dealings, which Republicans have long promised to pursue when they regained control of the congressional subpoena power.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating President Joe Biden and his family’s foreign and domestic influence peddling schemes,” the letter opens.
Comer noted that during the last Congress, when Democrats controlled both chambers, Republicans also requested information and documents from Bergès. The art gallery owner ignored the request and afterward proceeded to host another sale for Biden.
Now in control of the subpoena power, Comer said, “The Committee is reiterating its request for documents related to the Committee’s investigation of the Biden family and is requesting you appear for a transcribed interview.”
Addressing Bergès, Comer continued, “Your arrangement with Hunter Biden raises serious ethics concerns and calls into question whether the Biden family is again selling access and influence.”
Citing a New York Times article from September 2021 discussing the upcoming sale, Comer noted that despite being a “novice,” Biden’s artwork had sold for “exorbitant” amounts of money. In the report, The New York Times said that Bergès estimated that some of the pieces could sell for as much as $500,000.
To this day, Comer continued, “the buyers’ identities remain unknown.” Bergès, he said, “[appears] to be the sole record keeper of these lucrative transactions.”
In the letter, Oversight Republicans warned of the possibility that these buyers were foreign, potentially raising an ethical red flag.
“It is concerning that President Biden’s son is the recipient of anonymous, high-dollar transactions—potentially from foreign buyers—with no accountability or oversight (other than you),” they wrote. “The American people deserve transparency regarding certain details about Hunter Biden’s expensive art transactions.”
Republicans then wrote out a laundry list of demands for documents and info, including all of Bergès’ communications between himself, his gallery, the White House, and Hunter Biden, any contracts or agreements the gallery signed with Biden, documents pertaining to the prices of each of Biden’s works of art, and information about all who attended Biden’s shows or purchased his art.
In addition to these documents, the Oversight Committee requested that Bergès plan to make an appearance before the committee on Feb. 15.
Bergès did not reply to a request to comment on the letter.Ethical Concerns
Republicans have long pointed out possible ethical concerns in the Bidens’ business dealings.
Just weeks before the 2020 election, the New York Post published a report documenting findings from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which had reportedly been forgotten at a computer repair shop.
When the owner investigated the contents of the laptop, he was reportedly so disgusted that he felt obligated to share what he found with law enforcement.
The FBI seized the laptop and has since told Congress that it does not know where it currently is.
“Where is [the laptop]?” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) asked Bryan Vorndran, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Security wing, during a March 2022 House hearing.
