Hunter Biden was the only client of art dealer George Bergès to ask him to disclose which patrons bought $1.5 million worth of his amateur artwork – as it is revealed that Joe Biden‘s donors were behind nearly 70 percent of sales.
The bombshell revelations by Bergès came during testimony to lawmakers last week, according to a transcript reviewed first by DailyMail.com.
Republicans subpoenaed Bergès as they ramp up their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and seek to get to the bottom of Hunter’s lucrative art deals.
The art dealer told investigators on the House Oversight Committee that he worked with around 15 clients and none had asked to know who bought their work, other than Hunter Biden.
In addition, Bergès revealed that under his first contract with Hunter, there was a provision that required him to disclose the names of his buyers to the president’s son, a ‘highly unusual’ practice in the art world.
‘That part was different than – Normally, the gallerist does not let the artist know who the collectors are,’ Bergès said according to the transcript.
Of all of art dealer George Berges’ clients, Hunter Biden was the only one to ask him to disclose which clients bought his work
Hunter was made aware of at least 70 percent of the identities of those who purchased his art, House Republican investigators estimated based on Bergès’ testimony.
‘I believe in the first contract, he was…he was able to know who the buyers were,’ the art dealer told investigators.
Months into his father’s presidency, Hunter renegotiated a second contract where Bergès was required not to disclose the names of purchasers to him.
Bergès said he did not get the ‘impression’ that Hunter had ever sold art prior to using him as a dealer.
The dealer sold Hunter’s first work on December 11, 2020 – less than a month before his father became the president.
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.’
Berges told investigators on the House Oversight Committee that he worked with around 15 clients and none had asked to know who bought their work, other than Hunter Biden, according to testimony reviewed by DailyMail.com
Under their first contract, Biden had included a provision that required Berges disclose the names of his buyers to him, a highly unusual practice in the art world
‘Normally, the gallerist does not let the artist know who the collectors are,’ Berges said
Hunter was made aware of at least 70 percent of the identities of those who purchased his art, House Republican investigators estimated based on Berges’ testimony
Bergès also confirmed that a Biden donor who later got an appointment from the president to a plushy art commission – Elizabeth Hirsch Naftali – had spent nearly $100,000 on two of Hunter’s works, and her name was disclosed to Hunter.
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.
Bergès told the committee last week 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.
The art dealer revealed that Hunter’s bong-smoking Hollywood attorney Kevin Morris bought $875,000 worth of Hunter’s art, but only paid $300,000 – Bergès’ 40 percent commission – for it and kept the rest as a loan repayment from Hunter.
Morris, who is now backing a documentary film about Hunter, has spent more than $5 million financially supporting the president’s son, including offering him $2 million to pay the IRS in back taxes.
Bergès said he was first introduced to the president’s son by Hollywood producer and Democratic donor Lynette Phillips, who hosted at least one fundraiser attended by President Biden.