Bidens: Why $10 million in foreign payments?
Republicans say they’ve finally got concrete, detailed evidence that the Biden family engaged in “shady business deals,” said Price St. Clair in The Dispatch. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, last week said a four-month investigation has uncovered “evidence indicative of influence peddling and financial deception” by President Biden’s son and eight other family members. The panel obtained bank records showing that Biden’s son Hunter, Hunter’s current wife and ex-wife, Joe’s brother James, and other Bidens received some $10 million from foreign nationals and companies in Romania and China. The payments—some made while Biden was vice president—were made by a Chinese energy company and a shady Romanian businessman to a network of 21 shell corporations and distributed to the Bidens. Comer conceded there’s no evidence Joe Biden got any money, but said it’s “inconceivable” he didn’t know of the payments.
Comer proved only that his investigation is “a shameless, empty exercise in rumor and innuendo,” said Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. After four months, Republicans desperate to “tar Biden with at least the appearance of illegality” have found zero evidence he or any family members broke any laws. Yes, Hunter has a troubled history marked by “questionable business dealings,” and may face tax and other charges. But there’s no indication Biden used the vice presidency or presidency to help Hunter’s overseas business partners or even knew who they were. Comer’s obvious smear campaign went “from bad to worse” when he admitted this week that his committee’s key “informant” had gone missing, said Tori Otten in The New Republic. Comer also told Fox News that nine of the panel’s 10 informants were either in court, in jail, or “missing.”
The mainstream media should not dismiss these allegations as “yet another GOP scam,” said Matt Lewis in The Daily Beast. Although there may be no proof the president personally profited from these schemes, “why would foreign entities give millions to Biden family members and get nothing in return?” And why did Biden family members take such pains to set up shell companies to hide the payments? Yes, it’s true that Donald Trump and his family engaged in even more horrendous ethical abuses. But as Comer’s investigation proceeds, the media should be ready to “follow the facts wherever they may lead.”