Hunter Biden gallerist tells lawmakers he never spoke to White House about paintings: sources
Hunter Biden’s art dealer told lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that he has never discussed the paintings with the White House, Fox News Digital has learned.
A source familiar with Georges Bergès’ transcribed interview before the House Oversight Committee said Bergès told lawmakers he’s had no communication with the White House, including about Hunter Biden’s paintings.
Bergès stated that he never told Hunter Biden who any of the buyers were, the source said.
The gallerist is speaking to the Oversight Committee behind closed doors as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Biden. GOP lawmakers have accused Biden of using his status and name to enrich himself and his family.
Republican investigators have suggested they are suspicious over whether Hunter Biden’s art career, which began in recent years, has led to any conflicts of interest between wealthy buyers and the White House.
A second source familiar with the interview confirmed to Fox News Digital that Bergès said he did not discuss Hunter Biden’s paintings or anything else with the White House, but said it proved that a widely reported ‘ethics agreement’ between Biden officials and Bergès’ gallery to prevent wrongdoing was a lie.
‘The White House’s ‘ethics’ agreement regarding Hunter Biden’s art was a sham. The White House never facilitated any agreement, despite saying the opposite to the public,’ the second source said.
‘George Bergès stated he never had any communication with the White House about an agreement about Hunter Biden’s art and admitted Hunter Biden knew the identities of the individuals who purchased roughly 70% of the value of his art, including Democrat donors Kevin Morris and Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali.’
A large share of that 70% is entertainment lawyer Kevin Morris, the first source said, who loaned Hunter Biden $4.9 million between 2020 and 2022.
The White House has openly referenced that agreement in the past, but details have been vague.
Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki lauded it in July 2021 for ‘a level of protection and transparency’ but when asked about ethical concerns the following month, said, ‘we have spoken extensively to the arrangements, which are not White House arrangements; they’re arrangements between Hunter Biden’s representatives and ones that we, certainly, were made aware of.’
The second source provided additional details on the hefty sums that Bergès said Hunter Biden’s art fetched from prominent Democratic donors.
That includes $875,000 in art purchased by Morris.
Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, who the president appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in 2022, bought Hunter Biden’s art for $42,000 in 2021 and for $52,000 at the end of 2022.