House Oversight Democrats accuse GOP of chicanery in Biden household probe

The prime Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Thursday accused Republicans on the panel of compacting out their Democratic colleagues and stretching the reality with the general public because the panel probes the Biden household’s enterprise offers.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, mentioned in a later to the panel chairman that he has grown “increasingly alarmed” by Republican efforts to protect info obtained within the probe from committee Democrats.

Mr. Raskin additionally accused Rep. James Comer, Kentucky Republican and panel chairman, of “apparent public misrepresentations about certain investigative steps.”

“Our Committee has always adhered to the principle that equal access to information is the cornerstone of legitimate congressional oversight,” Mr. Raskin wrote. “I fear you have repeatedly offended this core understanding of our Committee’s work by going on cable television to tout investigatory steps undertaken in secret or, more disturbingly, which may not have been taken at all.”

Mr. Raskin cited Mr. Comer’s look on Fox News final month wherein the chairman mentioned 4 totally different individuals affiliated with “Biden influence peddling all across the globe” had not too long ago come ahead with info “that has been very helpful.”

According to Mr. Raskin, Democratic workers reached out to the bulk after the looks to get entry to that info, however have been informed that “no new witness information, including from whistleblowers, had actually been provided to Committee Republicans.”

Democratic workers have been informed that Mr. Comer was referring to testimony from two people together with Hunter Biden affiliate Eric Schwerin and President Biden’s former aide Kathy Chung.

Mr. Raskin mentioned neither Mr. Schwerin nor Ms. Chung “have claimed to have — nor have they provided — any information about any wrongdoing by President Biden or his family.”

Nonetheless, Mr. Raskin mentioned, the chairman repeated the claims in a number of subsequent interviews.

“Your repeated statements about ‘four people’ suggest that either you have intentionally misrepresented the Committee’s investigative progress to your conservative audience or that key investigative steps have been deliberately withheld from Committee Democrats,” he mentioned.

Mr. Comer dismissed his colleague’s claims in a press release on Thursday, saying “multiple individuals” have approached the committee confidentially as whistleblowers.

Mr. Comer additionally accused Mr. Raskin of releasing “disingenuous, misleading financial information from the Committee’s investigation” referring to the highest Democrat’s disclosure final month that committee Republicans had subpoenaed Bank of America information relationship again greater than a decade associated to Hunter Biden’s enterprise dealings.

Mr. Raskin accused Mr. Comer of taking his probe to the acute with calls for in “over 70 letters to virtually anyone who you believe can provide information on any aspect of Hunter Biden’s life despite a complete lack of evidence that any of these individuals or their financial transactions personally benefitted a government official or influenced, in any manner whatsoever, U.S. government policy.”

Soon after Mr. Raskin disclosed the subpoena, Mr. Comer disclosed that the financial institution paperwork revealed funds totaling roughly $1 million to members of the Biden household after Hunter Biden affiliate Rob Walker obtained a $3 million wire switch from a communist-backed Chinese vitality firm.

Mr. Walker obtained the multimillion-dollar wire switch from State Energy HK Ltd., a Chinese firm affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party-backed CEFC China Energy Co., simply two months after Joe Biden ended his tenure as vp below Barack Obama.

Mr. Walker then made funds to President Biden’s brother James Biden, son Hunter Biden and daughter-in-law Hallie Biden.

The motive for the funds stays a thriller.

Hunter Biden’s authorized workforce mentioned the House oversight memo exposing the suspicious funds was baseless.

The White House additionally disregarded the memo.

“Ranking Member Raskin is playing lawyer for the Biden family instead of engaging in real oversight for the American people,” Mr. Comer mentioned on Thursday. “When the facts don’t go the Biden family’s way, Ranking Member Raskin lodges baseless accusations.”