- Rep. James Comer announced the Treasury Department granted access to review Hunter Biden records.
- The suspicious activity reports, which banks provide Treasury, don’t necessarily reveal wrongdoing.
WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department has agreed to allow House investigators to review suspicious banking reports about the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and his business associates, a key House committee chairman announced Tuesday.
The agreement came after Rep. James Comer, head of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, made several requests for the documents and had been rebuffed.
“After two months of dragging their feet, the Treasury Department is finally providing us with access to the suspicious activity reports for the Biden family and their associates’ business transactions,” Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.
Treasury Department officials said they engaged in multiple rounds of consultation with the committee but had to protect the privacy of the records and consult with law enforcement officials before granting access. Democrats on the panel have criticized the inquiry as hyper-partisan. The White House has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated.
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Here is what we know about the investigation:
What are suspicious activity reports?
Despite the name, suspicious activity reports in banking don’t necessarily suggest criminal activity. The reports cover transactions above $5,000 for potential additional review. The Treasury Department received an estimated 3.6 million of the reports last year.
Comer has asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for 150 alerts from U.S. banks about transactions involving Hunter Biden and the president’s brother James Biden.
Comer also seeks reports connected to James’ wife Sara Biden, business associates John “Rob” Walker, Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer and corporate entities Rosemont Seneca Advisors, Rosemont Seneca Partners, Rosemont Seneca Technology, RSTP II Alpha Partners, RSTP II Bravo and Equity Distribution Trust, Hudson West III, Hudson West IV, Hudson West V, Owasco, Coldharbor Capital, Lion Hall Group and Skaneateles.
Why did Comer want to review the documents?
Committee Republicans had asked three times for the banking reports last year when they were in the minority.
After he became chairman, Comer wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Jan. 11 asking for the information on the suspicious transactions of Biden and his associates. He followed up with a letter Feb. 24. On March 7, he requested a Treasury official appear for a transcribed interview after the department declined to provide a witness for an open hearing.
What has the Treasury said?
Treasury Department officials said they had been working to provide the information the committee sought but first had to consult with law enforcement officials to safeguard information about potential investigations into money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activity.
Jonathan Davidson, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, who was named as a witness in a potential hearing on the records, said he couldn’t testify about the records because the Bank Secrecy Act prohibits publicly discussing suspicious activity reports or even confirming their existence, according to letters obtained by USA TODAY.
Instead, Treasury officials offered to meet privately with lawmakers to share what information they could, the letters said.
The committee has already obtained bank documents showing a company owned by Walker received a $3 million wire transfer from a Chinese energy company two months after Joe Biden left office as vice president. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were then paid to members of Biden’s family, according to Comer.
The payment has been widely known because a Senate Republican investigation by Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin already documented it. But they reported it was unclear who was ultimately behind the payment and who benefitted.
Comer, who has subpoena power in the House majority, is investigating further.
“We are going to continue to use bank documents and suspicious activity reports to follow the money trail to determine the extent of the Biden family’s business schemes, if Joe Biden is compromised by these deals, and if there is a national security threat,” Comer said.
