A House Republican accused the Treasury Department in a letter Wednesday of interfering with the White House in an attempt to obstruct efforts to investigate Hunter Biden’s finances.
Rep. James Comer, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, cited a June 13 phone call in which “Treasury officials informed committee Republican staff that they would not provide SARs to committee Republicans unless if the Democrats don’t join the demand.”
“The Treasury Department refuses to release reports of suspicious activity involving Hunter Biden or his family and associates — including the president,” Comer wrote in his letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Comer first requested records related to potential suspicious activity reports, known as SARs, on May 26 and gave the department a June 8 deadline. He said in his letter dated Wednesday that the Treasury Department has not yet handed over the documents. Suspicious activity reports are filed by financial institutions when customers make large cash transactions or transfers that could signal criminal activity, such as tax evasion or money laundering, although many such transactions are not illegal.
Efforts to secure similar information from 13 banks were also unsuccessful, Comer said Thursday.
“The banks have also indicated that they cannot provide information without a subpoena, and we know that Democrats have no interest in conducting oversight of this potential national security threat.” When Republicans take back the House, we’re going to use the gavel to get answers,” Comer said in a statement to CBS News.
A Treasury official said in an email to CBS News on Wednesday that “Treasury provides SARs to Congress in a manner that allows for robust oversight and is consistent with how other sensitive information is often produced by law enforcement.” .
“This is not a political process. Since the beginning of this administration, the Treasury Department has provided SARs in response to requests from authorized committees and continues to engage in the process with each individual member seeking information,” the official said.
The Treasury Department did not respond to questions sent by CBS News about Comer’s claim that the agency required Democrats to go along with his request before releasing records related to Hunter Biden.
Comer wrote in his May letters that House Republicans are investigating Hunter Biden “and other Biden associates and family members” to determine whether their business dealings “compromise the national security of the United States and President Biden’s ability to lead impartially “.
Under previous administrations, members of Congress could request copies of SARs, but Comer wrote that House Republicans are also investigating why that access was restricted. Now, congressional staff can only review those records in person and cannot make copies.
“Republicans on the committee are investigating whether this change in longstanding policy is motivated by an effort to protect Hunter Biden and potentially President Biden from scrutiny,” Comer wrote.
Comer’s May letter cited a CBS News report that more than 150 financial transactions involving the global business dealings of Hunter Biden or the president’s brother, James Biden, had been flagged as worrisome by US banks for further review. Large wire transfers were among the transactions noted.
Comer’s May request was for all SARs generated in connection with Hunter, other members of the Biden family and their business associates. He also requested all documents and communications related to the Biden administration’s decision to limit congressional access to suspicious activity reports.
In Wednesday’s letter, he also asked the Treasury Department for records that might otherwise be destroyed related to the Biden family’s finances after the president’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021.
Comer’s requests appear to provide the basis for investigations the committee will continue if Republicans take control of the House after the November elections. Comer said the committee would investigate Hunter Biden even if a federal investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware does not lead to charges.
A 2019 federal subpoena obtained by CBS News shows that the Delaware criminal investigation sought bank records of Hunter and James Biden dating back to 2014, when Joe Biden was vice president.
President Biden said he was not involved in the business dealings of his son and brother.
“I have never in my life taken a dime from any foreign source,” Mr. Biden said in an October 2020 presidential debate.
In April, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klein reiterated that the president was not involved in his son’s business.
“These are the actions of Hunter and his brother, they are personal matters. They do not involve the president, and they are certainly something that no one in the White House is involved in,” Klein said.
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Catherine Herridge
Kathryn Herridge is a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News covering national security and intelligence based in Washington, DC
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