"Instead of redoing old investigations that found no evidence of wronging by Mr. “Today’s so-called revelations are retread, repackaged misstatements of perfectly proper meetings and business by private citizens," Lowell said. NBC News also found no evidence Hunter or Joe Biden "acted improperly or violated any laws."Ībbe Lowell, one of Hunter Biden's lawyers, said in a statement Republicans have nothing to show for five years of investigation of his legitimate business activities. Hunter Biden, who is a lawyer, was retained by Popoviciu in 2015 to help fend off charges related to a land deal in Bucharest, according to The New York Times. "The fact that Vice President Joe Biden was lecturing the Romanian people about corruption while his family was being paid over $1 million from a Romanian businessman who was being prosecuted for corruption would be laughable if it wasn't so troubling," said Rep. Comer did not say what the payments might have been for.Īt the time of Biden's speech, Popoviciu was the subject of a corruption prosecution and he was later convicted of a bribery related charge, according to Comer. Walker then distributed more than $1 million to Biden relatives and their businesses, with 16 of 17 payments occurring while Biden was vice president, according to Comer. Within five weeks of that meeting, Comer said the Cypriot company of a Romanian national, Gabriel Popoviciu, began depositing a total of $3 million with Rob Walker, a business associate of Hunter Biden. In May 2014, Biden as vice president visited Romania and delivered an anti-corruption speech to the prime minister, judges and lawmakers, calling corruption a "cancer" and "another form of tyranny." In September 2015, Biden hosted Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the White House to discuss fighting corruption and fostering economic development. While previous GOP reports and news conferences have focused on Ukraine and China, Comer on Wednesday highlighted what he described as suspicious activity from Romania. Here is what we know about the investigation: Comer outlines Romanian payments The accusations represent the latest clash between congressional Republicans investigating Democratic President Biden and his relatives over allegations of influence peddling and foreign intrigue. Sams said Comer used “baseless claims, personal attacks and innuendo to try to score political points” in his “evidence-free, politically motivated ‘investigation.’” "Committee Republicans’ inexplicable misuse of these confidential law enforcement documents is not only irresponsible, it demonstrates the hyper-partisan nature of Committee Republicans’ probe into the Biden family," the Democratic statement said.Ī White House spokesperson, Ian Sams, said in a Wednesday statement that Comer has been the one helping the Chinese Communist Party by attacking Biden. “The Bidens’ foreign entanglements are breathtaking and raise serious questions about why foreign actors targeted the Biden family, what they expected in return, and whether our national security is threatened,” Comer said at a Capitol news conference flanked by other committee members.Ĭomer has issued four subpoenas for banking records and announced he would issue another round of subpoenas to banks.Ĭommittee Democrats issued a statement saying many of the bank reports Comer relied upon were based on "erroneous or unfounded claims." Democrats said none of suspicious bank reports "allege, or even suggest, any potential misconduct by President Biden" and don't show any involvement in Hunter Biden's financial or business relationships. Revelations about the payments and business deals have been reported for years, but Comer and other members of the panel questioned why Biden’s relatives such as son Hunter Biden arranged for payments through shell companies. James Comer, R-Ky., head of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, distributed banking records documenting multiple payments while Biden was vice president. The White House dismissed the allegations as more baseless innuendo from partisan rivals. WASHINGTON – House Republicans rekindled accusations Wednesday of influence peddling against President Joe Biden based on $10 million in payments from foreigners in Romania and China to nine of his relatives and their business associates, but without evidence of direct payments to Biden or changes in national policy. The White House called the accusations 'baseless claims' and 'innuendo.'.Republicans haven't documented payments directly to Biden or linked changes in national policy.James Comer says foreign interests paid $10 million to President Joe Biden's relatives and their business associates.
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