Panel subpoenas files of Hunter Biden’s associates
WASHINGTON – The House Oversight and Accountability Committee subpoenaed banking records of business associates of Hunter Biden while halting a demand for accounting records of former President Donald Trump, according to the top Democrat on the panel.
The chairman, Rep. James Comer, RKY., subpoenaed Bank of America for 14 years’ worth of financial records of three of Hunter Biden’s associates, according to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-MD. One of the people is John Walker, who formed a joint venture with executives of CEFC China Energy, a now-bankrupt energy company.
At the same time, Trump lawyer Patrick Strawbridge notified Mazars USA, Trump’s longtime accounting firm, in a letter Jan. 19 that the firm no longer had to provide the former president’s financial records to the committee, according to Raskin.
The fight represents the latest partisan clash on the committee, which has shifted focus under a new Republican majority.
Trump fought in federal court against the demand for accounting records when the committee was in Democratic hands, but a settlement was reached for Mazars to provide the records. Now the Republican leadership has discontinued the panel’s demand, according to Raskin.
Raskin accused Comer in a letter Sunday of not enforcing the terms of a settlement for the records and working to advance Trump’s election campaign.
The committee issued a statement saying Raskin’s accusation about the Trump documents “is completely unfounded and untrue.”
Under Democratic leadership, the committee sought Mazars documents to investigate Trump’s business dealings while in office. Trump opposed the release, but the committee won several rounds in federal court and reached a settlement to receive the documents.
The committee released its first set of documents in November, revealing that governments in China and Saudi Arabia had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trump-owned properties while he was president.
Mazars was expected to provide more documents to the committee.
Instead, Strawbridge wrote to Mazars “that the Committee has no interest in forcing Mazars to complete” the agreement, Raskin said. When lawyers for Mazars asked for clarification, Strawbridge said the direction had been provided to him twice by the House of Representatives’ general counsel, acting for the committee.
The committee statement denied any coordination with Strawbridge.
The latest subpoena from Comer seeks Bank of America records since 2009 for three of Hunter Biden’s associates. Comer has questioned whether Hunter Biden was peddling influence to his father’s administration through business deals in China and Ukraine.
Raskin accused Comer of investigating private citizens, including Walker, for financial information detailing payments for children’s dance lessons, parking tickets and groceries.
The committee statement said Raskin should review documents obtained by the panel, which it said “opened new avenues of investigation about the Biden family’s business schemes.”