By Michael Ginsberg
The Biden family attempted to hide more than $10 million in payments from foreign nationals through a web of privately-held companies, House Oversight and Government Accountability Committee chairman James Comer of Kentucky said Wednesday at a press conference.
Since taking control of the House, Republicans have undertaken wide-ranging investigations into the Biden family’s business practices. While Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian and Chinese energy deals have been widely reported, the House Oversight Committee has looked at other family members, including the president’s brother James and sister Valerie.
“In only four months since gaining subpoena authority, we have made astonishing progress,” Comer said, before delving into the Biden family’s alleged business in Romania. (RELATED: New York Times Files Lawsuit Against The State Department For Hunter Biden’s Emails)
“While Vice President Biden was lecturing Romania on anti-corruption policies, in reality he was a walking billboard for his son and family to collect money. Hunter Biden and his associates capitalized on a lucrative financial relationship with a Romanian national who was under investigation for and later convicted of corruption in Romania. The Bidens received over $1 million for the deal and 16 of the 17 payments to their associate’s account that funneled the Biden’s money occurred while Joe Biden was vice president. In fact, the money stops flowing from the Romanian national soon after Joe Biden leaves the vice presidency. This is a pattern of influence-peddling,” Comer said.
Based on the financial records we have obtained via bank subpoenas, we can now confidently trace at least $10 million in total from foreign nationals’ and their related companies going to the Biden family, their business associates, and their companies.
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) May 10, 2023
The New York Times sued the State Department in January 2022 to gain access to American embassy officials’ emails mentioning Hunter Biden and business associate Tony Bobulinski. The outlet hoped to access emails mentioning “the possible improper use of federal government resources to assist and advance private business interests with connections to United States government officials and (2) the possible evasion of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by those private business interests, and (3) the non-enforcement of FARA by the federal government in relation to those private business interests,” according to Politico.
Comer noted that the Biden family’s alleged influence-peddling began while Joe Biden was vice president. In at least one instance, Hunter Biden traveled with his father to China on an official visit. At the time, Hunter was serving as an unpaid board member of the Chinese equity firm BHR Partners.
“The committee is concerned by the complicated, suspicious network of over 20 companies we have identified that the Biden family and their associates used to enrich themselves. Most of these companies were limited liability committees formed during Joe Biden’s vice presidency. The bank records show the Biden family, their associates, and their companies received over $10 million from foreign nationals and their companies,” Comer said.
