Comer Asks Treasury for Biden Household Monetary Information as G.O.P. Inquiries Start

WASHINGTON — The Home Oversight Committee took its first important motion beneath new Republican management on Wednesday, urgent the Treasury Division for details about President Biden’s household funds and demanding that Twitter executives seem earlier than lawmakers subsequent month to handle accusations that they sought to cover details about the Bidens’ enterprise dealings.

Consultant James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the brand new chairman of the committee, has pledged for months to research Mr. Biden’s household and its enterprise connections. His employees members obtained the contents of a laptop computer owned by Hunter Biden, the president’s son, whose enterprise actions are beneath federal investigation.

However now that Mr. Comer has subpoena energy, he is able to develop and escalate his inquiry. He has repeatedly mentioned that his focus will likely be on the occupant of the White Home. “That is an investigation of Joe Biden,” he has mentioned.

The 4 letters Mr. Comer despatched on Wednesday don’t embrace subpoenas. The primary is a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen searching for details about so-called suspicious exercise reviews, or SARs, involving the enterprise dealings of Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president’s brother, that the committee has but to acquire.

Regardless of their sinister-sounding title, the Treasury Division notes that such reviews are “preliminary and unverified tip-and-lead data” that might end in a severe investigation or show innocuous. Banks are required to file them for any transaction that might doubtlessly be a purple flag for cash laundering, together with any money transaction of greater than $10,000.

“The Treasury Division’s longstanding apply was to supply these reviews to Congress, however the Biden administration has restricted entry to them, elevating questions on a doable effort to cover the Biden community’s suspicious enterprise dealings,” Mr. Comer wrote, referring to the company’s refusal to supply the fabric to him in latest months.

Along with a request for data from Ms. Yellen, Mr. Comer can be searching for data from former Twitter executives who he mentioned had been concerned in censoring a New York Submit article from their platform regarding Hunter Biden’s enterprise actions earlier than the 2020 election.

The letters ask these executives to testify at a listening to the week of Feb. 6.

“For the previous two years, the Biden administration and Large Tech labored time beyond regulation to cover details about the Biden household’s suspicious enterprise schemes and Joe Biden’s involvement,” Mr. Comer mentioned in an announcement. “Now that Democrats now not have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming.”

The letters had been despatched to Vijaya Gadde, the previous chief authorized officer of Twitter; James Baker, the previous deputy basic counsel; and Yoel Roth, the corporate’s former international head of belief and security. Every of the letters asks the executives to reply by Jan. 18 about attendance at a listening to earlier than the panel subsequent month.

“Your attendance is critical due to your position in suppressing People’ entry to details about the Biden household on Twitter shortly earlier than the 2020 election,” the letter mentioned.

Ian Sams, the White Home’s spokesman on investigations, portrayed the inquires as a partisan train.

“Of their first week as a governing majority, Home Republicans haven’t taken any significant motion to handle inflation and decrease People’ prices,” he mentioned. “But they’re leaping out of the gate with political stunts pushed by probably the most excessive MAGA members of their caucus in an effort to get consideration on Fox Information.”