(NewsNation) — After winning control of the U.S. House in the midterms, Republicans on the Oversight Committee say they plan on investigating President Joe Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s business dealings.
The House Oversight Committee’s ranking member Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said evidence obtained by members reveals Joe Biden lied about participating in his “family’s business schemes.”
“Biden family members sold access for profit around the world to the detriment of American interests,” Comer said in a statement. “If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries and they are impacting his decision making, this is a threat to national security.”
A majority in the House means Republicans will be able to take control of key committees, allowing them to shape legislation and launch investigations of Biden, his family and his administration.
As part of the preliminary probe, Comer said in a press release Thursday that he sent letters to the Treasury Department and FBI director, among others, as well as Biden family “business associates” requesting information about Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS), business transactions and financial documents.
“President Biden’s actions and his administration’s obstruction of this investigation raise important questions that deserve answers for the American people,” Committee Republicans said in an interim staff report. “The President misled the American people during his 2020 campaign for the presidency, and he continues to be untruthful every time he repeats or fails to repudiate the false narrative that he had no knowledge or discussions with his family about their business dealings.”
Committee Republicans, in the report, claimed the Department of Treasury is in possession of at least 150 Suspicious Activity Reports related to the Biden family members’ financial transactions. Although committee members requested to review the SARS, the report said they have not been made available. However, The Washington Post reports that the number of SARS filed about Hunter Biden’s business dealings remains unconfirmed.
Financial institutions are required to file SARS if there is a suspicion that funds involved from a transfer were derived from an “illegal activity.” The Post pointed out, though, that these kinds of reports still need to be vetted, confirmed and investigated.
“Instead of working with President Biden to address issues important to the American people, like lower costs, congressional Republicans’ top priority is to go after President Biden with politically-motivated attacks chock full of long-debunked conspiracy theories,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, said in a statement to NewsNation. “President Biden is not going to let these political attacks distract him from focusing on Americans’ priorities, and we hope congressional Republicans will join us in tackling them instead of wasting time and resources on political revenge.”
When asked about his son in the past, Joe Biden has denied ever speaking to Hunter about his overseas business dealings.
Hunter Biden has been the subject of a federal tax investigation since 2018. While the investigation initially centered around the younger Biden’s finances related to business and consulting work, The Washington Post reported that over time, multiple agencies began focusing on whether he did not report all of his income, and whether he lied on gun purchase paperwork in 2018.
The president’s son confirmed the investigation’s existence in December 2020, a month after the presidential election.Hunter Biden said in a statement he is “confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors.”
Charges have not been filed in the investigation.
House Republicans have other investigations in store as well. Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan mentioned the possibility of the judiciary committee investigating the “politicization” of the Justice Department under Joe Biden and a possible look into the Afghanistan withdrawal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.