Who Will Investigate Hunter Biden’s Laptop?

Prior to the 2020 presidential election, the New York Post reported on the contents of an abandoned laptop owned by Hunter Biden. However, few Americans heard the reports because Twitter and Facebook suppressed the news. Some Biden voters said that they would not have voted for him if they had known about the laptop.

Since Republicans gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, action is being taken to investigate the suppression of the news. James Comer (R-Ky) is the new Chairman of the Oversight Committee, and he wants to know more information about the censoring of the New York Post’s reporting about the laptop and why it took place prior to the 2020 presidential election. The committee also seeks more information about Jim Biden, brother of President Joe Biden and his connections to the Biden family business.

According to Fred Lucas, Comer sent letters to three high level employees of Twitter: James Baker, the former deputy general counsel at Twitter as well as former FBI lawyer involved in the investigation of “Russia collusion.” Yoel Roth who was the global head of trust and safety at Twitter and Vijaya Gadde who was the chief legal officer for Twitter. Lucas also stated that Comer is also interested in reports of suspicious financial activity in the Biden family and sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for information. 

More than 150 international business transactions by Hunter Biden and Jim Biden generated “suspicious activity” reports from U.S. banks for further review by the Treasury Department to determine whether any illegal activity or threat to national security existed, CBS News first reported last April.

U.S. banks are required to flag suspicious financial activity and report it to the Treasury Department. While in the House minority, Republicans sought information on the transactions, but Biden’s Treasury Department refused to provide it. Now that they are in the majority, Republicans have subpoena power to compel release of information.

“For years, the Biden family peddled influence and access around the world for profit, often at the expense of our nation’s interests,” Comer said. “The American people must know the extent of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s shady business deals and if these deals threaten national security and his decision making as president.”

Hern, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has a background in the banking industry as well as other businesses. The Oklahoma Republican noted that disclosure rules must apply equally and, in the past, the Treasury Department provided such information when Congress requested it.

There is a federal mandate that Congress, both the majority and the minority, have access to certain information, but information was withheld from the Republicans as the minority. That will change under the Republican majority, and both sides will have equal access to disclosed information. With the ability to access banking information, Republicans will be able to see the sources of money going to Biden family members.