The transcript of a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing is being shared online, and some excerpts are causing mockery of at least one of the Republican committee members.
Last week, Hunter Biden's friend Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer, testified about his relationship with the younger Biden as part of the Republicans' impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.
Among the questions asked were some concerning details uncovered by special counsel David Weiss that suggested Hunter Biden was living a "lavish" lifestyle. According to Morris, he helped Hunter Biden pay off a Porsche so he could sell it and get out from under the loan.
Another incident describes a fancy home purchased quickly, which Morris explained was for security purposes due to reporters chasing Hunter Biden.
"And you've also provided loans to Hunter Biden in order to pay for a Porsche. Is that correct?" it was asked.
"Not exactly," said Morris, according to the transcript. "The Porsche was upside down. And, you know, he was trying to get rid of it, and he was behind. So it was upside down. He couldn't give it back until he paid $11,000."
National security expert, Marcy Wheeler, cited Weiss' indictment of Hunter Biden. "From January through October 15, 2020, an entertainment lawyer (hereafter 'Personal Friend') provided the Defendant with substantial financial support, including approximately $200,000 to rent a lavish house on a canal in Venice, California; $11,000 in payments for his Porsche; and other individual items. In total, the Defendant had Personal Friend pay over $1.2 million to third parties for the Defendant's benefit from January through October 15, 2020."
Morris testified to the committee: "I wasn't paying for anything. I was loaning Hunter Biden the money for things. At the time I met him, he was in danger in his house. Paparazzi was there. People were coming up to his door with cameras, saying, 'We just want to talk to him.' People were yelling from outside of the bushes, 'Hunter Biden, come out. Hunter Biden, come out.' Melissa's five months pregnant. I got him security. And he needed to move. And so — and we had to find a place quickly. We had to find a place that had privacy. And we ended up with that house."
Weiss suggested that Hunter Biden was sitting on more than $1 million that he could have been paying to the IRS, but was sent to third parties instead. Morris explained it wasn't Biden's money, it was his, and he wouldn't hand it over, rather he made the payments directly as part of his loan.
Not long after, Morris clashed with committee member Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
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Morris, who is admitted to the Bar in California and New York, explained that he researched the ethics of loaning money to clients. "I'll just clarify, Congressman, that the California rules of professional procedure, which I've looked at, there's nothing wrong with a loan to a client when the client is fully informed and has complete knowledge."
Biggs replied, "Yeah, I've read the rules in California as well, and I'm choosing not to get into that right now. I mean, we might get into —"
"Yeah, because I'm right," Morris interrupted Biggs.
"We might get into that later, I don't know, but we don't need to get into it now," Biggs said.
Read Wheeler's full thread going through the transcripts here.
