Influence Peddling: Examining Joe Biden’s Abuse of Public Office

This video documents a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing in which Republican leadership and witnesses present allegations regarding the Biden family’s foreign business activities. The hearing centers on whether President Joe Biden was involved in or benefited from his family members’ business dealings with foreign entities.

The Hearing and Its Focus

According to the video, House Republicans convened the hearing to examine what they characterize as the Biden family’s influence-peddling operation spanning multiple countries. The committee’s opening statements allege that the Biden family accumulated over $24 million from foreign business ventures between 2014 and 2019, during periods when Joe Biden was vice president and after his presidency began. The Republicans’ core claim, articulated by committee leadership, is that the Biden family did not provide legitimate business services but instead traded on Joe Biden’s name and position for financial gain.

Key Witness Testimony

Three primary witnesses testified: Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden; Lev Parnas, a political activist and former associate of Rudy Giuliani; and Jason Galanis, a convicted fraudster who had also worked with Hunter Biden. (Galanis testified remotely from federal prison.)

According to Nick Shirley, Bobulinski claims he met with Joe Biden on multiple occasions, including a 45-minute meeting at the Beverly Hilton in May 2017 where business dealings were discussed. Bobulinski alleges that Joe Biden was “the brand” being sold—that foreign entities paid the Biden family for access to the vice president and his influence with the U.S. government. Nick Shirley reports Bobulinski testified that when business discussions happened, the Bidens would coach associates to keep conversations at “a very high level” to maintain what Bobulinski characterizes as “plausible deniability.”

Regarding specific foreign contacts, according to the video, Galanis testified that he was present when Hunter Biden called his father, then-Vice President Biden, with Russian oligarch Yelina Baturina present on speaker phone. Nick Shirley reports Galanis claimed Vice President Biden said hello and pleasantries, then told Hunter, “you be good to my boy.” Galanis also allegedly testified about a golf outing where Vice President Biden discussed a potential board seat with a Chinese company.

Nick Shirley notes that Parnas’s testimony diverged sharply from the Republican narrative. According to the video, Parnas testified that despite nearly a year spent investigating the Bidens in Ukraine on behalf of Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump, he found “precisely zero evidence of the Bidens’ corruption in Ukraine.” Parnas alleged the investigation was a mission to manufacture false narratives and that Russian disinformation played a central role in the allegations.

Republican and Democratic Framing

According to Nick Shirley, Republicans characterized the evidence as showing a systematic scheme in which Joe Biden’s presence, meetings, and phone calls directly preceded or accompanied payments to Biden family members and associates. They alleged Hunter Biden and James Biden made false statements under oath during committee depositions, specifically regarding meetings with Joe Biden.

Democratic committee members, as presented in the video, argued that the witnesses lacked credibility—citing Bobulinski’s history of litigation and his appearance as a guest of Donald Trump at a 2020 presidential debate, and noting Galanis’s federal conviction for fraud. Democrats also highlighted that special counsel Robert Weiss, appointed by the Trump administration, had not charged Joe Biden with any crime despite the investigation.

In Nick Shirley’s Own Words

“The Biden family promises they can make a foreign partner’s problems go away by engaging the U.S. government. Joe shows up, shakes a few hands in front of his son and says, ’take care of my boy,’ and the money flows to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.”

“Joe Biden was the brand being sold by the Biden family. His family’s foreign influence peddling operation from China to Ukraine and elsewhere sold out to foreign actors seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government.”

“I found precisely zero evidence of the Bidens’ corruption in Ukraine. No credible source has ever provided proof of criminal activity—not the FBI, CIA, nor the NSA.”

Why It Matters

This hearing reflects an ongoing partisan dispute over whether President Biden was involved in or knowingly benefited from his family’s business activities. Republicans use the testimony to allege that Joe Biden facilitated foreign business deals through his presence and involvement, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and abuse of public office. Democrats dispute the witnesses’ credibility and argue that no evidence of presidential wrongdoing has emerged despite months of investigation. The hearing occurred amid an impeachment inquiry and represents a central point of contention in debates over presidential ethics and accountability.