The full transcript of show-business attorney Kevin Morris’s testimony last week before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee—where he spoke for close to six hours about his ongoing friendship with Hunter Biden— was released Tuesday, revealing no damning revelations against either President Joe Biden or his son.
The entertainment lawyer did acknowledge that he loaned the first son nearly $5 million—an act that led to Fox News dubbing him Hunter’s “sugar brother”—but repeatedly bristled at the suggestion of impropriety made by a number of Congressional Republicans.
“I can loan money to whomever I want,” Morris said at one point, while maintaining that President Biden had nothing to do with his relationship with Hunter. “This is America, and in this country there is no prohibition against helping a friend in need, despite the incapacity of some to imagine such a thing.”
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He said the pair met in 2019 at a fundraiser for Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, becoming fast friends in spite of—or because of—Hunter’s ongoing legal and public relations issues.
“I saw a guy, you know, that was from home, could have been my friend,” Morris said. “He was getting, in my opinion, getting the shit beat out of him by the world. I found that he had a worrisome lack of support. And he was an individual, and I still believe today he’s a very good person and a great guy. And, you know, that’s why I decided to step in.”
He said the loans covered the first son’s voluminous back taxes, legal fees, rent, and car payments, among other things. Morris also said he bought nearly $900,000 worth of Hunter’s art.
While James Comer tried to insist the loans were attempts to pay President Biden indirectly to “insulate [him] from political liability,” Morris was clear in his testimony that he has no plan to forgive Hunter Biden’s loans.
“Hunter wouldn't accept it as a gift, and I want it back,” Morris said. When asked if he had a genuine expectation that the loan would be repaid, Morris replied, “100 percent.”
The first son’s repayment plan is set to begin in 2025.
When asked why he did not ask Hunter to begin paying him back at an earlier date, Morris simply said: “I’m not required to ask for it sooner.”
Throughout the proceedings, Morris harshly criticized the Republicans conducting his interview, claiming they were asking him questions to fit the narrative of their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Morris told ABC News following his testimony that Republicans “bring up something totally innocuous and legal, get nowhere with it, and then run to the cameras and make spooky noises.”