Comer: We Must Deliver Transparency About Biden Family’s Shady Business Deals
House Oversight Committee today considers resolution forcing President Biden to hand over critical documents
WASHINGTON—At today’s markup, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered remarks in support of H. Res. 1243, which requires President Biden to hand over documents related to the Biden family’s international business schemes and influence peddling. The resolution ensures the Oversight Committee receives important information needed to conduct oversight of the Biden family’s international business deals before, during, and after President Joe Biden’s tenure in public office.
Below are Ranking Member Comer’s prepared remarks.
Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney.
This resolution of inquiry requires President Biden to hand over documents in his possession that are related to the Biden family’s international business schemes and influence peddling.
Oversight Republicans’ ongoing investigation has revealed the Biden family has peddled access to the highest levels of government to enrich themselves.
And unfortunately, often to the detriment of U.S. interests.
By passing this resolution of inquiry, we will provide the American people with much needed transparency to understand the Biden family’s businesses.
It is time President Biden answers questions about his participation in his family’s business schemes with some of our most significant adversaries for years, including the Chinese Communist Party.
For far too long, James and Hunter Biden have faced no accountability for their deal making with shady and CCP-connected associates.
Now, there is a lot of talk about Hunter Biden. It’s often easier to just ignore the story than to consider what has been revealed since Joe Biden told the American people he never even discussed his son’s businesses with him.
We know Hunter’s closest business partner, and who was later appointed by the Obama/Biden White House to a position in the federal government, visited the White House and other official locations while Joe Biden was Vice President.
The same person, Eric Schwerin, became president of Hunter’s company, Rosemont Seneca, and wrote checks to Hunter Biden from the Vice President’s account because the Vice President owed Hunter money.
We know that meetings included sit-downs with then-Vice President Biden in the West Wing with foreign billionaires with whom his son was arranging business.
We know that the Biden family has done deals in China worth millions of dollars. Those deals were arranged by individuals with direct ties to Chinese intelligence. Hunter Biden himself called his client “the spy chief of China.”
We know that then-U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission to Ukraine George Kent emailed top State Department officials in 2016 to alert Washington that Hunter Biden’s business dealings were undercutting the United States’ anti-corruption mission in Ukraine.
We know James and Hunter Biden told their business associates that if they did business with them from 2017 to 2020, they would reap the rewards and profits under a Biden Administration, even before Joe Biden announced he would run for President.
And, of course, we know Present Biden has told the American people repeatedly, that he does not know anything about Hunter Biden’s business deals.
We need to know if this pay-to-play between Hunter and the now current President and foreign entities has continued.
For years, the U.S. government has warned that high end art sales have been the perfect vehicle to launder money or pay indirectly for access or favors.
To his credit, Hunter seems to be reading the memos, and when Joe Biden became President, overnight, Hunter Biden became a high-dollar artist, listing works of “art” for $75,000 to $500,000 dollars. We know he sold at least 5 paintings for $75,000 apiece.
Today, we still don’t know who bought Hunter’s art.
The Democrat Party, the Biden Administration, Big Tech, the Swamp, even Hollywood and others have done everything in their power to run cover for the Biden family.
Twitter removed the Hunter Biden laptop story just weeks before the 2020 election.
The FBI put Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook on notice—with a wink and nod the FBI told the tech giant to be on the lookout for Russian disinformation. Then the platform suppressed the laptop story.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Department, shortly after Joe Biden took office and Republicans began looking deeper into Hunter Biden’s activities, changed its policy regarding Suspicious Activity Reports. The Biden Administration changed the rules to severely restrict Congress’ access to suspicious activity reports. With no explanation.
As I have stated before, Hunter Biden and other Biden family members have racked up at least 150 suspicious activity reports for their shady foreign business deals. That number of SARs is simply unheard of in the banking world.
We must have access to this information to see if Joe Biden has benefitted from his family’s dealings with foreign adversaries.
If the Democrats vote against this resolution, then they are continuing in their coordinated effort to shield a potentially compromised President from necessary congressional oversight.
They of course have been doing this for two years, since a cabinet level Biden Administration official has not testified before the full committee this entire Congress.
We must shed light on the Biden family’s international business schemes to determine if there is a national security threat.
I look forward to us joining together to conduct oversight, ensure our national security, and strive for transparency in government for the American people.
Thank you, I yield back.