Comer subpoenas personal, business bank records of President Biden's son and brother

In a major escalation of his investigation of the first family, House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer formally subpoenaed the personal and business banking records of President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, and his brother James.

Comer recently hit a logjam in cooperation from banks and had been promising subpoenas for days. He issued three of them hours after House Republicans completed their first hearing in the impeachment inquiry against the 46th president, saying his goal was to determine whether Joe Biden benefited from his family's foreign business deals. 

"From day one of our investigation of Joe Biden’s abuse of public office, we’ve followed the money and that continues with today’s subpoenas for Hunter and James Biden’s bank records," Comer said. "Bank records don’t lie, and coupled with witness testimony, they reveal that Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain."

"The financial records obtained to date reveal a pattern where the Bidens sold access to Joe Biden around the world to enrich the Biden family. As the Bidens were sealing deals around the world, Joe Biden showed up, met with, talked with, shook hands with, and had meetings with the foreign nationals sending money to his family. This culture of corruption demands further investigation," he said.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith joined in the subpoenas, saying they were a crucial next step in the probe after his panel released on Wednesday 700 pages of evidence gathered by federal agents who investigated the Biden family.

"After the Ways and Means Committee released 700 pages of new documents showing President Biden was not just aware of his son’s business dealings, but in fact he was connected to them, it has become clear that whether it was lunches, phone calls, White House meetings, or official foreign trips, Hunter Biden cashed in by arranging access to his father," Smith said.

"While top Biden officials, Hunter’s lawyers, and congressional Democrats have offered little more than disinformation and lies, these bank records will bring us closer to the truth. Issuing these subpoenas is an appropriate – and necessary – step to following the facts wherever they lead, and may shed light on the $24 million the Biden family has received in exchange for selling their family ‘brand’ as part of a global influence peddling scheme," he said.