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 targeted 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 international companions and whether or not he’s a President who’s compromised or swayed by international {dollars} and affect,” mentioned 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 anticipated to turn into chair of the Home Judiciary Committee, and different Republicans on the oversight committee, Comer mentioned Republicans have made connections between the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the president that they consider requires additional investigation. Comer mentioned his staff 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 obtained “beforehand unknown transactions.”
Comer is particularly zeroing in on greater than 100 financial institution exercise experiences – referred to as Suspicious Exercise Stories – which are allegedly associated to the Biden household and says that the Treasury Division has ignored his repeated requests when Republicans have been within the minority at hand over them over.
Thus far, Comer says he has solely seen two of these experiences, and he renewed his request for the rest of them at present. Such experiences should not at all times indicative of felony exercise or wrongdoing.
As a part of his investigation, Comer mentioned, “We might love to speak to individuals within the Biden household, particularly Hunter and Joe Biden.”
The White Home mentioned the investigations are politically motivated and a waste of time.
“As an alternative of working with President Biden to deal with points necessary to the American individuals, like decrease prices, congressional Republicans’ prime precedence is to go after President Biden with politically motivated assaults chock filled with long-debunked conspiracy theories” spokesmen for the White Home Counsel’s workplace, Ian Sams, mentioned in an announcement 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 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, mentioned the Republicans “rehashed the identical, partisan speaking factors” which were circulating for years.
President Biden on his son Hunter: ‘I’ve nice confidence in my son. I really like him’
“Now that former President Trump is working for workplace once more, Home Republicans’ prime precedence is attacking President Biden and his household in a determined try to return Mr. Trump to energy,” Decker mentioned in an announcement.
Republicans had little capacity 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 acquire subpoena energy, a extra highly effective enforcement mechanism to attempt to compel people and authorities entities at hand over info.
Personal 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 experiences 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 experiences associated to varied members of the Biden household, their enterprise associates and firms linked to Hunter Biden.
Comer is also searching for communications throughout the Treasury Division, its monetary crimes enforcement division and the White Home concerning these relations and associated companies and associates.
Whereas Republicans have seized on the suspicious exercise experiences as proof that Joe Biden’s son was concerned in problematic actions, such experiences should not conclusive and don’t essentially point out wrongdoing. Monetary establishments file hundreds of thousands of suspicious exercise experiences every year and few result in regulation enforcement inquiries.
Comer despatched a letter to a monetary adviser, who Comer has mentioned was managing Hunter Biden’s funds, searching for any suspicious exercise experiences, in addition to monetary details about Hunter Biden. He’s additionally searching for info from one among 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 searching for extra info to additional his probe.
He additionally requested the Nationwide Archives for flight manifests and different paperwork associated to Air Pressure 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 searching for any paperwork associated to “international 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 offered 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 reveals and bought his work.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018 and haven’t introduced any costs 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 mentioned: “We don’t know.”
Jordan additionally mentioned that beneath 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 Area Workplace.
“I’ve been in Congress just a few years now, and I’ve by no means seen something prefer it,” Jordan mentioned. “Fourteen (FBI) brokers come discuss to us whereas we’re within the minority about how political that place has turn into.”
In line with Jordan, the alleged politicization may 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 yr, they’ll have an official platform to analyze these issues and put them on full show.
Not less than 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 offer an correct accounting of how we do our work” an FBI spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to CNN.
“The women and men of the FBI commit themselves to defending the American individuals from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats and different risks,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Put fairly merely: we comply with the details with out regard for politics.”
