Rep. James Comer says Biden subpoena coming: ‘We’re putting together a case’
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Thursday he intends to subpoena members of the Biden family as his panel’s investigation of the president’s role in his son’s influence-peddling gathers pace.
“This is always going to end with the Bidens coming in front of the committee,” Comer told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program. “We are going to subpoena the family.”
“We know that this is going to end up in court, when we subpoena the Bidens,” he added. “So we’re putting together a case and I think we’ve done that very well.”
Comer did not divulge a specific timeline for issuing the summonses, saying he wants to talk with “three or four more associates” of the Biden family first.
The Republican did not identify the “associates,” but said the Oversight committee was “communicating with a couple of them” and promised “if they don’t come in voluntarily, then they’ll be subpoenaed.”
On July 31, the Oversight Committee took a deposition from Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer, who revealed that the now-first son put his father on speakerphone at least 20 times during meetings with business associates.
On Wednesday, the GOP-led committee unveiled bank records that showed the Biden family and its allies had reaped some $20 million from foreign associates — including in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
“The president and the media were telling us that number one, no money had been transferred to the Bidens while Joe Biden was vice president — that was false,” Comer contended.
“He said he never communicated with any of the people who were wiring his family the millions of dollars — that was probably the biggest lie of all, Maria. That’s what we proved with the Devon Archer transcribed interview.”
The White House has fought back against the GOP allegations, arguing that Comer is rehashing old news and that there is no evidence the president did anything wrong.
“It’s House Republicans who have repeatedly refused to release evidence that doesn’t fit their selectively tailored false narratives – including continuing to hide the transcript of a former FBI witness whose testimony apparently contradicted some key House Republican claims,” White House spokesman Ian Sams wrote in a recent memo.
Biden himself reiterated his claim that “I never talked business” with his son’s colleagues following an event in New Mexico Wednesday.
On Thursday, Comer told FBN host Maria Bartiromo that he would like to know why the Treasury Department has not sanctioned Russian oligarch and former Moscow first lady Yelena Baturina, who wired $3.5 million in February 2014 to Rosemont Seneca Thornton, an entity controlled by both Archer and Hunter Biden.
Rosemont Seneca Thornton in turn transferred $750,000 of Baturina’s funds to Archer on March 11, 2014, and another $2,752,711 on the same day to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, an account that was opened one day prior to the initial $3.5 million transfer and controlled on a 50-50 basis by Archer and Hunter.
On March 25, 2014, most of the $2.75 million was transferred to a different Rosemont Seneca Bohai account — with two transfers for $2,246,111 and $200,000 occurring on the same day. While it is unclear whether Hunter, now 53, directly benefited from Baturina’s wire, Rosemont Seneca Bohai funds were used to cover his personal expenses and transferred to Hunter’s separate corporate entity, Owasco PC.
“When Russia invaded Ukraine, the president was quick to put sanctions on all the Russian oligarchs except one — the one person who sent his family three and a half million dollars,” Comer said. “We would like to ask the president why he didn’t put the sanctions on the wife of the former mayor of Moscow.”
“This is a complicated case,” Comer added, “and we’re being obstructed every step of the way by the Department of Justice, by the FBI, by the Secret Service, by the IRS, and by the Biden family attorneys.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
