Mervyn Yan, though, said he did not know the nature of the work or value Hunter Biden brought to the venture
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Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., discusses Hunter Biden’s upcoming appearance for his deposition on ‘Hannity.’
Hunter Biden was paid $100,000 a month and James Biden was paid $65,000 a month in 2017 from their joint-venture with Chinese Communist Party-linked Chinese energy firm CEFC, a former associate testified to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.
Mervyn Yan, who testified behind closed doors at the committees last month, said he did not know the nature of the work the Bidens provided, according to a transcript of the testimony obtained by Fox News Digital.
Yan testified that he met Hunter Biden and James Biden in May 2017 through a CEFC business partner Gongwen Dong, also known as "Kevin." Yan said that meeting lasted less than 15 minutes, but that it was the impetus for the joint-business venture, Hudson West III, with the Bidens.
Hunter Biden and his attorneys Abbe Lowell, right, and Kevin Morris, left, unexpectedly attended a House Oversight and Accountability Committee markup on a resolution to hold the president's son in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Yan said the business venture was intended to facilitate the investment of Chinese energy infrastructure firms – like CEFC – into U.S. energy companies in exchange for energy exports to China.
"It was in May 2017, four of us. And then Kevin asked me to come to a meeting. And then eventually we met. I met Hunter Biden and James Biden and Kevin, just four of us… in Midtown. That was a relatively quick meeting, roughly 15 minutes, because I noticed the time because I couldn’t even get a water in that place," Yan told the committees.
"So basically we shake hands and basically say we can work together," Yan continued, adding that he would be "sort of like on-the-ground person who executes and pretty much sources the infrastructure deals." Yan said he would be "working closely with Hunter."
Yan was asked what he thought Hunter Biden "brought to the table" in the joint-venture.
"I don’t know," Yan testified. "I don’t know what he can contribute."
President Biden and his younger brother, James Biden (Getty Images/AP Images)
Yan said he did not know if Hunter Biden had "knowledge" in the energy infrastructure field.
Yan said Hunter Biden was given a $500,000 retainer, and then paid $100,000 per month. Yan also testified that Hunter Biden had been working for CEFC prior to their introductory meeting, but did not know for how long.
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Hunter Biden, though, in correspondence that was shown to Yan during his interview last month, initially requested $30 million for introductions in the industry.
Fox News Digital last year reported correspondence between Hunter Biden and Gongwen Dong, in which the first son demands $10 million to "further the interest" of the joint-venture, saying that the "Bidens are the best I know at doing exactly" what the chairman of the CCP-linked firm wanted.
"The Biden's [sic] are the best I know at doing exactly what the Chairman wants from this partnership," Hunter Biden writes in the WhatsApp message. "Please let’s not quibble over peanuts."
According to a September 2020 report released by the Senate Homeland Security Committee and Senate Finance Committee on their investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, Ye Jianming, Gongwen Dong and other Chinese nationals that Hunter Biden had business associations with were linked to the Chinese Communist government and the People's Liberation Army.
That Senate report, showed that on Aug. 8, 2017, just days after this WhatsApp message, CEFC wired nearly $5 million to the bank account for Hudson West III, a firm that Hunter Biden opened with Chinese associates.
"These funds may have originated from a loan issued from the account of a company called Northern International Capital Holdings, a Hong Kong-based investment company identified at one time as a ‘substantial shareholder’ in CEFC International Limited along with Ye," the report stated. "It is unclear whether Hunter Biden was a half-owner of Hudson West III at the time."
The report also stated, "the same day the $5 million was received, and continuing through Sept. 25, 2018, Hudson West III sent request payments to Owasco, Hunter Biden’s firm." The report stated the payments were described as consulting fees and reached "$4,790,375.25 in just over a year."
Rep. James Comer and Hunter Biden (Mandel Ngan/AFP, Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Yan testified that none of the five infrastructure deals he worked on with the Bidens in 2017 came to fruition, but said Hunter and James Biden were still compensated for their work in attempting to bring business.
Yan testified as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Yan told congressional investigators that Joe Biden was not involved in the joint-venture, and said neither Hunter nor James Biden ever suggested he would be involved.
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Yan also testified that he was not aware of any funds from the joint-venture going to Joe Biden. Yan maintained that he was never in contact with Joe Biden, and that Hunter and James Biden did not discuss the then-former vice president in their conversations.
Yan was pointedly asked if he was ever told that he could receive political favors from Joe Biden if he engaged in business with Hunter Biden, to which he replied in the negative.
"Did you engage in a business relationship with Hunter and James with the expectation that you would receive political favors from Joe Biden?" Yan was asked.
President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, step off Air Force One, Feb. 4, 2023, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
"No," Yan said.
After his interview last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., pointed to Yan’s testimony in which he "admitted on the record the Bidens had no experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors and was not sure what they brought to the table."
Comer has stressed that evidence collected by congressional investigators reveals that President Biden "was at least aware of some of his family’s business ventures and sought to influence potential business deals that financially benefited his family."
Yan’s testimony came as the committee continues to interview former business associates of Hunter Biden. Next up is Tony Bobulinski on Feb. 13. Then, James Biden will appear for a closed-door deposition on Feb. 21, and Hunter Biden's deposition is set for Feb. 28.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
