The art gallerist tasked with selling Hunter Biden’s paintings met with President Joe Biden and attended a wedding the First Family hosted at the White House, says a newly released congressional synopsis.
On Tuesday, House Oversight Committee Republicans released a synopsis of the committee’s transcribed interview with Georges Bergès, a New York City art dealer who sold Hunter’s artwork. In his testimony, the Republicans say, Bergès claimed he has “talked on the phone and met in-person with Joe Biden, even attending [a] wedding the Bidens hosted at the White House.”
In July 2021, the White House claimed it was allowing Hunter to sell his works “without him, or anyone in the administration, knowing who bought them,” as The New York Times described. According to the Times, the arrangement permitted Bergès to sell the paintings without disclosing “any information about the buyers or prices of Hunter Biden’s work” to “anyone” — including Hunter himself. This was to avoid the appearance of corruption suggested by the president’s son profiting from his father’s position.
In his remarks before the House committee, however, Bergès reportedly said he had “no communication with the White House” regarding the White House’s “agreement.” In fact, the synopsis says, Bergès confirmed Hunter “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.”
If true, this means the arrangement touted by the administration and media allies was a ploy to deceive the public about Hunter selling mediocre artwork to access seekers while his father occupied the Oval Office.
This account is also supported by an Insider report from July. It identified Morris and Hirsh Naftali as two individuals who have purchased Hunter’s work. The report says the younger Biden was aware of their identities when they purchased his works.
As The Federalist previously reported, Hirsh Naftali is a Los Angeles-based real estate investor Insider says is “influential in California Democratic circles and is a significant Democratic donor.” Last year, she reportedly gave $29,700 to the Democratic National Campaign Committee and $13,414 to Joe Biden’s campaign. She also hosted a 2022 fundraiser headlined by Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to the House Oversight Committee, Bergès testified that despite his “best efforts,” he couldn’t persuade Hirsh Naftali to purchase Hunter’s artwork in 2020. A month after Joe Biden assumed the presidency, however, the California Democrat bought her “first piece” of Hunter’s work, for $42,000. In July 2022, Joe appointed Hirsh Naftali to serve on the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, the “same commission that Biden family associate, Eric Schwerin, was appointed to during the Obama-Biden Administration.”
Hirsh Naftali went on to buy more of Hunter’s artwork in December 2022 for $52,000, according to Bergès.
Meanwhile, the New York City art gallerist claimed that Morris — whom Insider noted “has become [Hunter]’s confidant and financial backer” — “purchased most of” Hunter’s paintings for a whopping $875,000 as recently as January 2023. Following the acquisition, Morris allegedly paid Bergès “40% commission of the $875,000 purchase, and Hunter Biden and Kevin Morris figured out the financial implications.”
Bergès testified “he has never done an art deal like that before.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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