July 7, 2022 4:16pm EDT
Treasury faces mounting scrutiny for giving Hunter Biden 'cover' with new rule for document requests
The Treasury's new rule severely affects how Congress conducts its oversight on sensitive financial records
By Houston Keene | Fox News
House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., torched the Biden Treasury Department for running "cover" for Hunter Biden with a new rule for financial document requests.
Comer laid into the Biden administration over the new rule requiring majority consent in Congress to obtain Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) protected under the Bank Secrecy Act, saying the department was doing so to protect Biden.
The Kentucky Republican requested the first son’s SARs on Wednesday, but his request was denied with the Treasury claiming the top House Oversight Republican would need Democrats, the majority party in the House, to sign onto his request.
"The Biden Administration changed the rules to severely restrict Congress’ access to suspicious activity reports in the dark of night and with no explanation," Comer told Fox News Digital on Thursday. "We now know Hunter Biden and other Biden family members have racked up at least 150 suspicious activity reports for their shady foreign business deals."
"The Treasury Department’s sudden change of longstanding policy appears to be a broader pattern by the Biden Administration to run cover for Hunter Biden and possibly hide information about whether Joe Biden benefited financially from the Biden family’s business transactions," he continued. "The American people deserve answers and the Biden Administration must comply with congressional oversight."
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, a member of the House Oversight Committee, called the agency's stance "unacceptable" and said the Biden administration has been denying Comer’s SARs requests for the younger Biden for "weeks."
"It’s simple – Hunter Biden is a threat to our national security and Americans deserve to know if his business transactions put our country’s well-being at risk," Fallon said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. "For weeks, the Biden Administration has denied Ranking Member Comer’s access to Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) surrounding Hunter Biden’s business endeavors."
"This is unacceptable," he continued. "This Administration must drop the political charade immediately and allow Congress access to any bank violations that may have been made by the Biden family and their associates."
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/treasury-faces-mounting-scrutiny-giving-hunter-biden-cover-document-requests
