The art dealer representing Hunter Biden disclosed that the president’s son received an eye-popping amount of money for his amateur artworks from Democratic donors – and knew who they were despite White House ethics plan.
Republicans questioned dealer Georges Bergès behind closed-doors Tuesday as they ramp up their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and seek to get to the bottom of Hunter’s lucrative art deals.
Hunter’s artwork attracted attention after some of his paintings were listed for a whopping $500,000, but the identities of buyers and prices they actually paid were kept secret.
But according to a source familiar with the testimony by Bergès, he disclosed to investigators how much some of Hunter’s top buyers shelled out – including from Democratic donors Kevin Morris, a Hollywood attorney, and Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali.
Naftali, a Los Angeles real estate developer who paid big bucks for Hunter’s art, has also been summoned for testimony by the committee.
President Joe Biden appointed her to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, an obscure but prestigious board in July 2022, eight months after Hunter’s exhibition opened in New York City.
According to the source, Bergès told the committee Tuesday that Naftali paid $42,000 in February 2021 for one of Hunter’s artworks and another in December 2022 for $52,000 – before and after her appointment.
In addition, he stated that Kevin Morris paid $875,000 for Hunter’s artwork in January 2023, according to the source.
Georges Bergès and Hunter Biden. Bergès has been representing Biden throughout his art career
Morris has been named by IRS whistleblowers for loaning $4.9 million to Hunter over a three-year period.
He was spotted by DailyMail.com over the summer smoking a bong on the balcony of his Los Angeles home while the president’s son was over.
According to a source, Bergès said that most of Hunter’s buyers were not Democratic donors and they were not targeted to buy his artwork.
Berges told lawmakers that he set the prices at his discretion, including negotiating the price directly with Morris.
An attorney for Naftali over the summer attempted to discredit the ‘numerous false allegations’ making a ‘baseless’ link between her art purchases and corruption allegations against Biden.
The White House had previously announced that a team of lawyers had reviewed sales and kept purchasers anonymous as a way to avoid potential conflicts of interest when buyers handed hefty sales prices to the president’s son.
According to former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki, the established ethics plan ‘system’ regarding the selling of Hunter’s art and the setting of prices would be handled by a ‘professional gallerist.’
But two sources told DailyMail.com that Bergès said Tuesday that he never had any communication with the White House concerning the sale of Hunter Biden’s artwork.
In addition, he told the congressional investigators that he never told Hunter who any of the buyers were.
According to another source, Bergès ‘admitted’ to the committee that Hunter ‘knew the identities’ of the individuals who purchased around 70 percent of the value of his art – finding out their identities on his own.
Bergès also said he was originally introduced to Hunter through Lanette Phillips, a producer in Hollywood who previously hosted political fundraisers for Joe Biden.
Top Republican James Comer, R-Ky., previously highlighted the possibility that ‘foreign buyers’ were making the purchases.
He said in a statement Tuesday that ‘the White House has a lot of explaining to do about misleading the American people.’
Bergès, who has been overseeing the sale of Hunter’s amateur paintings and said he has the potential to become ‘one of the most consequential artists in this century,’ was summoned in November via subpoena to testify on Capitol Hill.
The Republican committee’s investigation is part of an ongoing probe into the president’s son’s murky business dealings, which some contend involved him leveraging his closeness to the White House for profit.
GOP leadership held a vote to formalize their ongoing impeachment inquiry into Joe on December 13.
Hunter Biden hard at work on one of his many paintings. His manager said he could be one of the most important artists of the century
The 221-212 party-line vote opened the door for the GOP to get more evidence about schemes that have seen the Biden family get millions from countries including China, Ukraine and Romania.
And the Bidens will now have more of their bank records, mortgage details, emails, text messages and mobile phones subpoenaed, along with anything else Congress wants to see.
Bergès previously skirted around the issue of whether he would cooperate withe the Republican-led committee.
And he had refused to turn over information about Biden’s clients, arguing he is committed to the anonymity of his clients’, along with finding the next great artist of the time.
‘I represent Hunter Biden because I feel that not only his art merits my representation, but because his personal narrative, which gives birth to his art, is very much needed in the world,’ he said previously.
‘His is a story of perseverance; Hunter’s story reflects what I believe is the beauty of humanity, judged not by the fall, but by having the strength to rise up, by having the character required to change and the courage to do it.’
‘Hunter Biden’s art reflects all of that and more. His art gives us hope; it reminds us that tomorrow brings a new day, a new beginning, a new possibility,’ he said.
Hunter’s latest art work advertised prices between $55,000 and $225,000, according to the Daily Beast.
Republicans voted to formalize their ongoing impeachment effort into Joe Biden and his connections to his family’s businesses in December.
Bergès previously skirted around the issue of whether he would cooperate withe the Republican-led committee
Georges Bergès carrying a bouquet of flowers into his gallery where Biden’s art is on display
Georges Bergès stands inside his gallery in New York City during Biden’s gallery exhibition
‘For over a decade, the Biden family has profited from Joe Biden’s positions as a public official,’ Comer said in a letter to the dealer last year.
‘Your arrangement with Hunter Biden raises serious ethics concerns and calls into question whether the Biden family is again selling access and influence.’
‘Despite being a novice artist, Hunter Biden received exorbitant amounts of money selling his artwork, the buyers’ identities remain unknown, and you appear to be the sole record-keeper of these lucrative transactions,’ Comer wrote to Bergès.
Comer highlighted the possibility that ‘foreign buyers’ were making purchases.
During one of Biden’s gallery exhibits in 2021, two former White House ethics chiefs warned buyers could try to curry influence with the president by buying his son’s work for inflated sums.
‘I just think that’s absolutely appalling,’ Obama White House ethics chief Walter Shaub told Law & Crime’s ‘Objections’ podcast in August.
Richard Painter, George W. Bush’s ethics’ chief, told Fox: ‘It’s going to be very clear with people in the know as to who buys Hunter Biden’s art.
‘The question is, are the American people going to know? The White House should insist on complete transparency.’
The Oversight Committee has targeted much of its focus on the Biden family’s business dealings, specifically if Hunter Biden sold access to foreign officials and to what extent Joe Biden could have been involved.
Hunter Biden sitting amongst some of his paintings. His paintings have been listed for large sums
One of Hunter Biden’s paintings. During a gallery exhibit last year one of his works was listed for $500,000
A Hunter Biden painting at his exhibit. The names of his buyers have been kept secret
Comer highlighted the possibility that ‘foreign buyers’ were making purchases.
Amid criticism of the art sales, the White House Counsel’s Office came up with a plan to prevent Hunter or anyone in the Biden administration from knowing the identity of those who purchased his work
Hunter’s latest art work advertised prices between $55,000 and $225,000