James Comer (Republican from Kentucky), House Oversight Committee Ranking Member, torched Biden’s Treasury Department for providing “cover” for Hunter Biden. He also introduced a new rule regarding financial document requests.
Comer criticized the Biden administration for the new rule that required Congress to consent to the obtaining of Suspicious Activity Reports. The Bank Secrecy Act protects Biden.
On Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican requested his first son’s SARs. However, his request was denied by the Treasury which claimed that the House Oversight Republican at the top would need Democrats to sign on to his request.
Comer stated that the Biden Administration had changed the rules to restrict Congress’ access in the dark of the night to suspicious activity reports without explanation. Comer spoke to Fox News Digital Thursday. “We now know that Hunter Biden and the Biden family have created at least 150 suspicious activity reports in connection with their foreign business deals.”
He continued, “The Treasury Department’s abrupt change in longstanding policy seems to be a broader pattern of the Biden Administration for Hunter Biden to run cover and possibly hide information regarding whether Joe Biden was financially benefited from the Biden families’ business transactions.” The American people need answers, and the Biden Administration should comply with congressional oversight.
Rep. Pat Fallon (Republican from Texas), a member of the House Oversight Committee called the agency’s position “unacceptable” saying that the Biden administration had been denying Comer’s SARs requests to the younger Biden for weeks.
Fallon stated in a Thursday statement that Hunter Biden poses a threat to national security. Americans should know if any of his business transactions pose a risk to the country’s well-being. “The Biden Administration has blocked Ranking Member Comer from accessing Suspicious Activity Reports, (SARs), concerning Hunter Biden’s business ventures for weeks.”
He said, “This is unacceptable.” “This Administration should immediately abandon the political charade and allow Congress access to any bank violations that might have been committed by the Biden family or their associates.”
Fox News was informed by a spokesperson for the Treasury Department that their new rule is a standard procedure replacing past practice which was more ad-hoc.
A spokesperson said that the goal of the process was to ensure that the department responds appropriately to Congress and protect the confidentiality of the information.
Fox News asked the spokesperson if the new rule would be extended for the next Republican administration.
The Treasury’s requirement that the majority party supports a request by Congress for SARs is a significant change in Congress’ oversight of sensitive financial records. It could also have long-lasting negative consequences for how future congressional requests will be handled.
The Treasury’s new majority-support rule means that the Congress minority party will not be able to obtain sensitive documents, which could prove vital, without the approval of the party in power.
If the rule is extended to the White House next time Republicans control it, Democrats will need to secure GOP support in order to obtain SARs or other documents that are protected by the Bank Secrecy Act.
Some Democrats don’t like the new rule and other restrictions. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), House Financial Services chair, has introduced a bill for committee markup to ensure Congress has full access to the documents.
