Biden's brother tells lawmakers he never mixed family and business

James Biden, the brother of US President Joe Biden, has informed lawmakers involved in an impeachment inquiry that his business career was unrelated to their relationship.

In closed-door testimony on Wednesday, James, 74, told investigators in the House of Representatives that he never asked Biden for official favours or relied on his status as the sibling of a prominent politician to advance his interests.

He said Biden had no involvement or financial interests in any of the ventures he has pursued over the past 50 years.

"Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill-informed, or flat-out lying," he said in a prepared statement.

Republican lawmakers in the ongoing five-plus hour interview came out and told reporters, without citing details, that James Biden's responses so far have contradicted his opening statement and that he has made efforts to avoid directly answering investigators' questions.

"He has said a lot of things that have contradicted himself in that testimony," Representative Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said during an afternoon break from questioning. "So when you see the transcript, you'll see."

Republicans have spent months investigating whether Biden improperly benefited from family members' foreign business ventures, but have so far failed to turn up evidence of wrongdoing. Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is due to testify next week.

Criticism over the lack of evidence against the president has grown even among Republicans. Many GOP lawmakers say they have yet to see evidence of the "high crimes and misdemeanours" required for impeachment, despite alleged efforts by members of the Biden family to leverage the last name into corporate paydays domestically and abroad.

Ex-FBI informant

The inquiry is facing new headwinds as prosecutors have charged a former FBI informant with lying about the Bidens' alleged business dealings in Ukraine, a central focus of the probe.

Republicans have repeatedly cited that informant's claims to bolster their accusations.

In a court filing on Tuesday, prosecutors said the informant had admitted to contacts with "officials associated with Russian intelligence."

US Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, said that should be a reason to drop the probe.

"This impeachment investigation is nothing but a wild goose chase that is based on Russian disinformation and propaganda," he told reporters.

"I don't really know why we need to continue this charade any longer."

Republicans downplayed the importance of the informant to their investigation and vowed to press on.

One lawmaker involved in the probe, Representative William Timmons, questioned why prosecutors were only now charging the informant for statements he made in 2020.

"It's just really convenient," he told reporters.

Biden family in hot water

House Republicans allege that the president and his family, including James, improperly profited from policy decisions Biden participated in as vice president in president Barack Obama's administration from 2009-2017.

The White House has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a partisan attack.

James Biden told investigators that Joe Biden lent him money on several occasions after he left the vice presidency and before he returned to the White House in 2021.

He said he paid his brother back promptly, though he did not fully repay others who lent him money.

Hunter, who has worked as an artist, lawyer and investor, faces criminal tax and firearms charges. In court filings on Tuesday, he argued that those cases had been "infected" by the false claims of the former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov.

Former president Donald Trump, the leading Republican contender to challenge Biden in the November election, has cheered on the investigation.

Trump was impeached twice by the House, though he was acquitted by the Senate both times.

Hard-right Republicans have clamoured for the impeachment of Biden and several of his cabinet officials since shortly after his election.