CNN
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After winning a House majority in the midterm elections, top Republicans on Thursday outlined broad targets for the investigation, focusing on the business dealings of President Joe Biden and his family.
“In the 118th Congress, this committee will evaluate the status of Joe Biden’s relationship with his family’s foreign partners and whether he is a compromised or influenced president by foreign money and influence,” the Rep. said. James Comer of Kentucky is the Republican leader of the House Oversight Committee. “I want to be clear: This is the investigation of Joe Biden, and that’s going to be the focus of the committee in the next Congress.”
During a wide-ranging news conference, Republican lawmakers accompanied him. Jim Jordan, who is expected to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and other Republicans on the Oversight Committee, Comer said Republicans have drawn ties between the president’s son Hunter Biden and the president they believe warrants further investigation. Comer said his team had spoken to multiple whistleblowers who said they were involved in schemes involving the Biden family, reviewed Hunter Biden’s laptop and received “previously inappropriate known transaction”.
Comer has focused specifically on more than 100 reports of bank activity allegedly tied to the Bidens — known as suspicious activity reports — and said the Treasury Department ignored his repeated demands to turn over the reports when Republicans were in the minority. Require.
Comer said he has only seen two of the reports so far, and he again requested the rest today. Such reports do not always indicate criminal activity or wrongdoing.
As part of the investigation, Comer said: “We would love to speak with those in the Biden family, specifically Hunter and Joe Biden.”
The White House said the investigation was politically motivated and a waste of time.
“The priority for congressional Republicans is not to work with President Biden on issues important to the American people, such as lowering costs, but to go after President Biden with politically motivated attacks full of long-debunked conspiracy theories “Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House adviser, said in a statement to CNN.
“President Biden will not let these political attacks distract him from America’s priorities, and we want congressional Republicans to work with us on these issues rather than waste time and resources on political retaliation,” Sams added Say.
Nelly Decker, the Democratic spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee, said Republicans were “repeating the same, partisan talking points” that have been circulating for years.
President Biden on his son Hunter: ‘I have a lot of faith in my son. I love him’
“Now that former President Trump is running for office again, the top priority of House Republicans is to attack President Biden and his family as they desperately try to return Mr. Trump to office,” Decker said in a statement .
When Republicans are in the minority, they have little ability to enforce their document requests. But once the new Congress is sworn in in January, Republicans will gain subpoena power, a more powerful enforcement mechanism to try to compel individuals and government entities to hand over information.
Personal attorneys representing Biden family members did not respond to requests for comment.
At the heart of Comer’s investigation is a deep dive into a series of suspicious activity reports that Republicans allege were filed by banks related to Hunter Biden’s financial activities. In a letter to the Treasury Department on Thursday, Comer sought any such reports related to various members of the Biden family, their business associates and companies associated with Hunter Biden.
Comer is also seeking communications within the Treasury Department, its Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit, and the White House regarding the family members, as well as associated businesses and associates.
While Republicans have cited suspicious activity reports as evidence of Joe Biden’s son’s involvement in questionable activities, such reports are not conclusive and do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing. Financial institutions file millions of suspicious activity reports each year, rarely leading to investigations by law enforcement.
Comer sent a letter to a financial adviser, who Comer said was managing Hunter Biden’s finances, seeking any reports of suspicious activity and financial information about Hunter Biden. He is also seeking information from a former business associate of Hunter Biden, including communications related to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s finances, taxes and debts.
The letters are part of a new round of inquiries Comer launched on Thursday to various government agencies and individuals seeking more information to further the investigation.
He also requested flight manifests and other documents from the National Archives related to Air Force Two and Marine Two during Biden’s vice presidency, as well as his relations with Russia, Ukraine and Hunter Biden during his vice presidency. related communications.
He is seeking documents from the FBI related to “efforts by foreign intelligence agencies to compromise the Biden family,” as well as information on former FBI agent Timothy Thibault, whom Republicans have accused of politicizing the investigation. Information. Tebow has denied wrongdoing.
Another letter was sent to Georges Bergés, a gallerist who exhibits and sells Hunter Biden’s art. Documents requested include communications with the White House and Hunter Biden, discussions about the pricing of Hunter Biden’s work, and a roster of people who attended and purchased Hunter Biden’s art.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018 and no charges have been filed. Asked by CNN if they knew whether federal prosecutors had investigated the allegations filed Thursday, Jordan said: “We don’t know.”
Jordan also said that under his leadership, the House Judiciary Committee will investigate the FBI’s alleged “politicization.” Jordan and other Republican lawmakers previously claimed they heard from FBI insiders that anti-conservative bias fueled FBI decision-making, especially in the FBI’s Washington field office.
“I’ve been in Congress for a few years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Jordan said. “Fourteen (FBI) agents came and talked to us, and we were a minority, talking about how that place has become. How political.”
According to Jordan, the so-called politicization could include the FBI’s attempt to suppress media coverage of the Hunter Biden story in 2020.
Many of these claims have been circulating in Republican circles during the Biden administration — and as Republicans take over the House of Representatives next year, they will have an official platform to investigate these issues and put them on full display.
At least one FBI agent under scrutiny by Republican lawmakers has previously denied any wrongdoing. The “whistleblower” is anonymous and has not testified in any public congressional hearings.
“The FBI has repeatedly testified to Congress and responded to letters from lawmakers to explain exactly how we work,” an FBI spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
“The men and women of the FBI are committed to protecting the American people from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats and other dangers,” the spokesperson said. “Simply put: we follow facts, not politics.”