The White House has pushed back against the newly-announced Republican probe into President Joe Biden’s alleged involvement in his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings, claiming that the investigation is a politically-motivated rehashing of “long-debunked conspiracy theories.”
Comer, who is the incoming chairman of the Oversight Committee, said at a press conference that, contrary to the president’s claims, whistleblower evidence shows that he was directly involved in his son Hunter’s international business dealings.
“This is an investigation of Joe Biden, the president of the United States, and why he lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s international business schemes,” Comer said.
The announcement of the probe sparked pushback from the White House.
“Plenty of emojis to come,” Sams wrote while issuing a statement that claimed the GOP investigation lacks merit.
“Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans’ top priority is to go after President Biden with politically-motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories,” Sams said in a statement while accusing Republicans of “wasting time and resources on political revenge.”
The announcement of the GOP probe and pushback against it set up a tense backdrop for U.S. politics as Republicans prepare to take control of the House on Jan. 3, 2023.
Alleged Evidence of Crimes
Republicans released a report (pdf) on Nov. 17 outlining allegations of federal crimes committed by or to the benefit of the Biden family.“The Biden family’s business dealings implicate a wide range of criminality from human trafficking, to potential violations of the Constitution,” Comer said.
Comer said that the alleged crimes include conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Action, tax evasion, money laundering, and violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Citing media reports, Comer said more than 150 transactions from the Bidens’ business dealings have been flagged by U.S. banks through filings of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). U.S. banks are required by law to flag cash transactions exceeding $10,000 per day and automatically file SARs with a Treasury Department agency in an effort to prevent criminal activities, such as money laundering and tax evasion.
“One SAR generated by an American bank to the Treasury Department connects Hunter Biden and his business associates to international human trafficking, among other illegal activities,” Comer said.
Comer noted that committee Republicans have pressed the Treasury Department to release the SARs records, but the department has refused. They’ll continue to pursue those records in the new Congress, he said, when the Republicans hold subpoena power.
“As part of our investigation, we have evidence that the finances, credit cards, and bank accounts of Hunter and Joe Biden were commingled, if not shared,” Comer said.
Comer also said that evidence shows that the president had a 10 percent equity stake in a deal involving the sale of natural gas to China.
The president has repeatedly denied any involvement in Hunter Biden’s business dealings and last week brushed off the prospect of investigations by Republicans into his family, saying, “Lots of luck in your senior year, as my coach used to say.”
