House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) reiterated allegations of financial malfeasance involving President Joe Biden and his family in a Wednesday interview, explaining that committee investigators had identified six policy decisions they believe Biden made in exchange for foreign cash, though he did not elaborate as to what those decisions were.
Describing the Biden family’s business dealings as “organized crime” on a podcast with John Catsimatidis and Rita Crosby, Comer said that he and his colleagues “can’t come to any other conclusion as to why these decisions were made other than the fact this president is compromised.” National Review has reached out to Comer’s office for further details on the allegedly-compromised policy decisions, but has not heard back by publication time.
Comer has been joined by Senator Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) in making stunning allegations of bribery against the sitting president. However, Biden has consistently denied wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations as a stunt, saying earlier this month: “Where’s the money?…It’s a bunch of malarkey.” The White House has similarly argued the allegations have already been debunked. Ian Sams, the White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said: “This silly charade by Chairman Comer is yet another reminder that his so-called ‘investigations’ are political stunts not meant to get information but to spread thin innuendo and falsehoods to attack the President.”
Citing an extensive paper trail of bank records, Comer says that the committee has uncovered a web of 19 shell companies which various Biden family members established to disguise the source of payments made by foreign business interests. “The sole purpose of these shell companies appear to be to launder money from foreign nationals to at least nine different Biden family members,” Comer alleged, adding that he’s confident the investigation will show $17 million the Bidens received from overseas. However, added Comer, the transactions could even exceed $40 million.
“This is an organized attempt by the Biden family to hide the source of money flowing into these shell companies and distract from the IRS so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes on it,” added Comer.
Comer’s Wednesday remarks were more strident than his previous claims about the connections between foreign payments made to the Bidens and Joe Biden’s decisions while serving as vice president and president. He previously described the alleged links as “concerning.”
“There are six specific decisions that Joe Biden made either as vice president or president that are very concerning to us, that we believe could potentially lead back to payments that were made to these LLCs that were then laundered down to the Biden family member,” Comer told Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo in late April.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden emphatically denied he was present as leverage to secure a payment when a message was sent by Hunter Biden to a Chinese business partner House Oversight says is linked to the CCP. The communication was brought forward by an IRS whistleblower and released by Comer’s committee.
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter wrote in an July 30, 2017 WhatsApp communication to CEFC executive Henry Zhao. “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.”
“And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father,” he added.
Republicans have connected the WhatsApp communication to financial transactions that occurred shortly thereafter.
On August 4, 2017, CEFC, a Chinese energy firm, wired $100,000 to Hunter Biden’s law firm Owasco, according to a 2020 report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The transaction was identified for potential criminal financial activity. The report explains that days later, on August 8, 2017, a $5 million payment was made to Hudson West III, a consulting firm Hunter Biden helped set up. After expenses and personnel costs, the bulk of the money, about $4.8 million, was directed over a 14-month period, usually in increments of $165,000, to an account linked to Hunter Biden, explained the Washington Post. Other financial transactions followed.
The IRS whistleblowers claimed the Justice Department declined requests to look at the WhatsApp communication, but an attorney for Hunter Biden told CNN the Justice Department had thoroughly investigated the case, including the time when the message was sent.
“The DOJ investigation covered a period which was a time of turmoil and addiction for my client. Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family,” attorney Chris Clark said.
A few days later, a different attorney for Hunter Biden claimed the WhatsApp communication was fake.
The bribery allegations also hang on separate links Hunter Biden had with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Republicans have argued Biden lacked the necessary qualifications to sit on the energy company’s board and that the appointment was linked to his father’s position within the Obama administration.
Grassley claimed on the Senate floor this month that 17 audio recordings exist that were created by an executive at Burisma. The executive claims that a payment of $5 million was made to Hunter Biden from the energy company, along with another for the same amount to the president. The Iowa senator said the recordings had been kept as an “insurance policy.”
Comer threatened to hold FBI director Christopher Wray in contempt if committee members were not allowed to view an FBI informant report, known as an FD-1023 form, detailing the alleged bribery scheme. Republicans and Democrats on the committee disagree on whether the document is a smoking gun, with ranking member Jamie Raskin (D., Md.) saying it is “secondhand hearsay” and that investigators have assessed it but not found it worth escalating to a full to a full investigation.
However, former attorney general Bill Barr contradicted Raskin in a statement to Politico, explaining that investigators in Pittsburgh found the document credible enough to transfer to investigators in Delaware scrutinizing Hunter Biden.