CNN
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After clinching the majority within the Home of Representatives within the midterm elections, prime Republicans on Thursday outlined a broad vary of investigative targets centered on President Joe Biden and his household’s enterprise dealings.
“Within the 118th Congress, this committee will consider the standing of Joe Biden’s relationship along with his household’s overseas companions and whether or not he’s a President who’s compromised or swayed by overseas {dollars} and affect,” stated Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the highest Republican on the Home Oversight Committee. “I wish to be clear: That is an investigation of Joe Biden, and that’s the place the committee will focus on this subsequent Congress.”
In a wide-ranging information convention flanked by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who is predicted to turn into chair of the Home Judiciary Committee, and different Republicans on the oversight committee, Comer stated Republicans have made connections between the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the president that they consider requires additional investigation. Comer stated his crew has spoken with a number of whistleblowers who say they have been concerned in schemes involving the Biden household, reviewed Hunter Biden’s laptop computer, and acquired “beforehand unknown transactions.”
Comer is particularly zeroing in on greater than 100 financial institution exercise reviews – often known as Suspicious Exercise Stories – which can be allegedly associated to the Biden household and says that the Treasury Division has ignored his repeated requests when Republicans have been within the minority handy over them over.
Up to now, Comer says he has solely seen two of these reviews, and he renewed his request for the rest of them in the present day. Such reviews should not all the time indicative of prison exercise or wrongdoing.
As a part of his investigation, Comer stated, “We’d love to speak to folks within the Biden household, particularly Hunter and Joe Biden.”
The White Home stated the investigations are politically motivated and a waste of time.
“As a substitute of working with President Biden to handle points essential to the American folks, like decrease prices, congressional Republicans’ prime precedence is to go after President Biden with politically motivated assaults chock stuffed with long-debunked conspiracy theories” spokesmen for the White Home Counsel’s workplace, Ian Sams, stated in a press release to CNN.
“President Biden just isn’t going to let these political assaults distract him from specializing in People’ priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will be a part of us in tackling them as a substitute of losing time and assets on political revenge,” Sams added.
A spokeswoman for Democrats on the Home Oversight Committee, Nelly Decker, stated the Republicans “rehashed the identical, partisan speaking factors” which have been circulating for years.
President Biden on his son Hunter: ‘I’ve nice confidence in my son. I like him’
“Now that former President Trump is operating for workplace once more, Home Republicans’ prime precedence is attacking President Biden and his household in a determined try and return Mr. Trump to energy,” Decker stated in a press release.
Republicans had little skill to implement their doc requests whereas they have been within the minority. However as soon as the brand new Congress is sworn in in January, Republicans will achieve subpoena energy, a extra highly effective enforcement mechanism to attempt to compel people and authorities entities handy over info.
Non-public attorneys representing Biden relations didn’t reply to requests for remark.
On the coronary heart of Comer’s investigation is digging right into a sequence of suspicious exercise reviews that Republicans declare banks have filed associated to Hunter Biden’s monetary actions. In a letter to the Treasury Division on Thursday, Comer sought any such reviews associated to varied members of the Biden household, their enterprise associates and corporations linked to Hunter Biden.
Comer is also in search of communications inside the Treasury Division, its monetary crimes enforcement division and the White Home relating to these relations and associated companies and associates.
Whereas Republicans have seized on the suspicious exercise reviews as proof that Joe Biden’s son was concerned in problematic actions, such reviews should not conclusive and don’t essentially point out wrongdoing. Monetary establishments file thousands and thousands of suspicious exercise reviews every year and few result in regulation enforcement inquiries.
Comer despatched a letter to a monetary adviser, who Comer has stated was managing Hunter Biden’s funds, in search of any suspicious exercise reviews, in addition to monetary details about Hunter Biden. He’s additionally in search of info from considered one of Hunter Biden’s former enterprise companions, together with communications associated to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s funds, taxes and money owed.
The letters have been a part of a brand new spherical Comer fired off to varied authorities businesses and people Thursday in search of extra info to additional his probe.
He additionally requested the Nationwide Archives for flight manifests and different paperwork associated to Air Power Two and Marine Two throughout Biden’s tenure as vice chairman, in addition to communications associated to Russia, Ukraine and Hunter Biden throughout his vice presidency.
From the FBI, he’s in search of any paperwork associated to “overseas intelligence providers’ efforts to compromise the Biden household” and details about Timothy Thibault, a former FBI agent that Republicans have accused of politicizing investigations. Thibault has denied wrongdoing.
One other letter went to Georges Bergés, the gallery proprietor who showcased and bought Hunter Biden’s artwork. Among the many paperwork requested have been communications with the White Home and Hunter Biden, discussions concerning the pricing of Hunter Biden’s work, and rosters of those that attended Hunter Biden’s artwork exhibits and bought his work.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018 and haven’t introduced any prices but. When requested by CNN in the event that they know whether or not the claims offered Thursday have already been investigated by federal prosecutors, Jordan stated: “We don’t know.”
Jordan additionally stated that underneath his management, the Home Judiciary Committee will look into alleged “politicization” on the FBI. Jordan and different Republican lawmakers beforehand claimed that they’ve heard from FBI insiders about anti-conservative bias fueling FBI decision-making, particularly on the FBI’s Washington Subject Workplace.
“I’ve been in Congress a couple of years now, and I’ve by no means seen something prefer it,” Jordan stated. “Fourteen (FBI) brokers come speak to us whereas we’re within the minority about how political that place has turn into.”
In accordance with Jordan, the alleged politicization would possibly embody makes an attempt by the FBI to suppress media protection of the Hunter Biden story in 2020.
Many of those claims have been circulating in GOP circles throughout Biden’s administration – with Republicans taking up the Home subsequent 12 months, they’ll have an official platform to research these issues and put them on full show.
At the least one of many FBI brokers that the GOP lawmakers are scrutinizing has beforehand denied any wrongdoing. The “whistleblowers” are nameless and haven’t testified at any public Congressional hearings.
“The FBI has testified to Congress and responded to letters from legislators on quite a few events to supply an correct accounting of how we do our work” an FBI spokesperson stated in a press release to CNN.
“The women and men of the FBI dedicate themselves to defending the American folks from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats and different risks,” the spokesperson stated. “Put fairly merely: we observe the info with out regard for politics.”
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