As House Republicans move toward a floor vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry against President Biden, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has again mischaracterized evidence of payments from Hunter Biden to his father.
In an email to reporters, a spokesperson for Comer claimed that the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Biden, had obtained bank records revealing that Hunter Biden’s law firm, Owasco PC, which had received payments from Chinese-state-linked companies and other foreign companies in the past, made direct monthly payments to Joe Biden. The email claimed the payments “are part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in and benefited from his family’s influence-peddling schemes.”
The three payments of $1,380 that occurred in September, October and November 2018 — nearly two years after Biden had left the vice presidency — were actually for a 2018 Ford Raptor truck Joe Biden had purchased that Hunter Biden was using, according to an email verified by a Washington Post forensic analysis.
“There Chairman Comer goes again – reheating what is old as new to try to revive his sham of an investigation,” Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement. “The truth is Hunter’s father helped him when he was struggling financially due to his addiction and could not secure credit to finance a truck. When Hunter was able to, he paid his father back and took over the payments himself.”
Joe Biden signed for the truck and had it in his name — at a time when Hunter was in the depths of addiction, had a low credit score and couldn’t make the purchase himself, according to a person close to the Bidens, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private matter. The truck was used only for a limited time, going back to the dealer about a year after the purchase.
Other expenses listed in the email verified by The Post included payments for health insurance, college and high school tuition for Hunter Biden’s children, the Yale Club and a storage unit.
A spokesperson for the Oversight Committee used the fact that the payments came from one of Hunter Biden’s accounts that also included money from a Chinese energy conglomerate to suggest something more nefarious than they have so far proved.
“There is now a pattern of members of the Biden family using their bank accounts that have been funded by Chinese and other foreign entities to send money to Joe Biden,” the spokesperson said. “Based on witness testimony, Joe Biden knew and participated in his family’s influence-peddling schemes. The checks and payments we’ve uncovered reveal Joe Biden benefited from them.”
Comer has consistently oversold or misrepresented the committee’s investigative findings as he has argued to initiate impeachment proceedings. Last month, Comer trumpeted a $200,000 loan repayment Joe Biden received from his brother James Biden. Comer sought to paint the personal check in nefarious terms, alleging without evidence that it showed that Joe Biden had indirectly received payments from his family’s foreign business dealings.
When presented with a bank record of the wire payment that showed the $200,000 payment to James Biden had originated from the president’s attorney trust account, Comer baselessly accused the law firm representing Joe Biden of money laundering.
