The congressional investigation into the Biden family influence peddling could get very interesting, and might not even skim the surface.
The Republican-controlled House seems to be building a case that seeks to answer three questions. Is President Joe Biden compromised by foreign money? Should the presidential son and presidential brother have been registered foreign agents? Why have financial institutions flagged an astoundingly high 150 suspicious activity reports by the Biden family?
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold one of many hearings this Friday. Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., offered a glimpse of what to expect.
“This is an investigation of Joe Biden to determine if Joe Biden, first of all, lied to the American people. I think we are going to be all right on that answer,” Comer said last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference or CPAC. “But second, is Joe Biden compromised because of the millions of dollars his family received?”
Comer also hinted at surprises.
“The thing that struck me is how much money the Bidens got from China,” Comer added. “It’s more than what has been previously reported. It’s pretty clear that Joe Biden was involved.”
He later added, “We met with people in the room with Joe Biden when these business deals happened.”
During the CPAC panel, Comer also said the committee is only going back so far as Hunter Biden’s role on the board of directors for Burisma, the Ukraine energy company. That’s when Joe Biden was vice president. But Biden’s family has been cashing in on their last name, and seeking wealthy people who want to “invest in Joe” going back to the president’s time in the Senate. Still, even Congress has limited resources.
We learned even before the election about Hunter Biden’s business associate referencing 10 percent for the “big guy.” It seems fairly obvious that’s a reference to Joe. We don’t know if the president himself benefited from any of the shady dealings by family members. But we do know he enabled them.
The typical response from Biden sympathizers–on almost anything really–is to say “but Trump.”
Whatever one’s qualms with former President Donald Trump, Donald Jr., Jared Kushner, and Ivanka, it’s clear what various business ventures they were in–be it real estate, golf courses, clothing lines, or Trump steaks.
What business have Biden family members been in? Comer contends it has mostly been influence peddling abroad. He said federal prosecutors could bring charges for acting as foreign agents and failing to register.
“Hunter and the president’s brother were essentially foreign agents. They weren’t registered,” Comer said.
The Biden family has 150 financial suspicious activity reports, also known as SARS. This happens when banks are required to disclose suspicious information to the Treasury Department.
Comer, who was in the banking business, said this might be a record for a single family
Previously, Congress could access the SARS reports on request, but now the Treasury Department is stonewalling the oversight committee.
Congressional hearings don’t always have the best record of paying off, but the Comer investigation appears to have honed in on answering three key questions.
Federal bureaucracies rarely stonewall without a reason, but ultimately can’t just tell Congress to go pound sand. So, we will likely see some very serious new findings from this investigation.
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Barbara Joanna Lucas is a writer and researcher in Northern Virginia. She has been a healthcare professional, political blogger, is a proud dog mom, and news junkie. Follow her on Twitter @BasiaJL.
