In a recent development in the House impeachment inquiry, disbarred Mississippi attorney Joey Langston, who has previously served prison time for bribery, revealed that he had loaned $800,000 to James Biden, brother of the former President.
However, he claimed to have only received $400,000 in return. This revelation adds a new layer to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption within the Biden family.
Langston, during a closed-door deposition, stated that he had no documentation or records to prove these loans, according to a source familiar with his testimony. He reportedly made four loans to James Biden in 2016, one in 2017, and possibly others at different times.
In 2016, Langston was attempting to overturn his bribery conviction in court. It remains unclear whether he was seeking a federal pardon from then-President Barack Obama during his final year in office.
Langston's financial assistance to James Biden, who was then the second brother, introduces a new element of intrigue into the impeachment inquiry. In 2008, Langston pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his involvement in a scheme to bribe a judge in an asbestos legal fees dispute. His alleged co-conspirator, fellow Mississippi attorney Dickie Scruggs, was implicated in a second prosecution for attempting to bribe a different judge with $40,000, also in a legal fees dispute.
In 2007, James Biden was wiretapped by the FBI as part of its investigation into the second bribery case, while his brother was still a senator. James Biden, who was not charged in the case, was reportedly in talks with Scruggs and co-conspirator Tim Balducci about establishing a law firm that would have employed himself, his nephew Hunter Biden, and James's wife Sara.
The relationship between James Biden and the discredited Mississippi attorneys has previously raised concerns. Then-Senator Biden shifted from opposing federal legislation to sanction tobacco companies for lying about their products' addictiveness to supporting the idea after Scruggs, who had orchestrated a multibillion-dollar litigation plan, paid James Biden's lobbying firm $100,000 in 1998.
Scruggs admitted to the Washington Post, "I probably wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't the senator's brother." Langston, who testified to Congress, has previously hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden, and Scruggs flew Joe Biden to a fundraiser on his private plane.
The Biden family's blending of political and personal business in Mississippi mirrors aspects of the impeachment probe, which has primarily focused on foreign ventures during Joe Biden's vice presidency. The probe also includes allegations from two IRS whistleblowers of a Justice Department coverup to protect Joe and his son Hunter from an investigation into tax fraud, money laundering, and unregistered foreign lobbying.
Despite the mounting evidence, including photos, emails, and witness statements, Joe Biden has consistently denied discussing business with his son or brother or interacting with their partners. However, these partners are reportedly linked to Chinese government business ventures and patrons from Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, and Ukraine.
James Biden, who transferred $240,000 to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018 in alleged loan repayments, has been accused of being blatant about the business services he offered. "We've got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden," James reportedly said in the early 2000s as he and nephew Hunter took over the failed investment bank Paradigm, according to a 2021 book by Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger.
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