KEY POINTS
- Comer did not specify who the contacts were and how they pose a risk to the national security
- Comer believes Hunter was in proximity of classified documents in President Biden’s Delaware home
- Comer noted that the committee is ‘not accusing anyone of any wrongdoing’
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he believes First Son Hunter Biden has had some contacts that would be of concern to the country’s national security.
Speaking with reporters, Comer did not specify who the contacts were and how they would potentially pose a risk to national security.
“With respect to the investigation we’re conducting, we have reason to believe that Hunter Biden has had some contacts that would be of concern to our national security,” he was quoted as saying by Fox News.
Comer also said he believes the younger Biden had proximity to the classified documents found in President Joe Biden‘s home in Wilmington, Delaware, noting that Hunter lived in the house for “two years.”
“We’re pretty certain that Hunter Biden was in the proximity of the document. They were in the house where Hunter Biden lived for two years,” he added.
Comer, however, said the House Oversight Committee is “not accusing anyone of any wrongdoing,” adding that they “just want to know the facts.”
Comer is currently leading the committee, which is tasked with investigating several House GOP priorities, including Hunter Biden’s business dealings and possible influence peddling. An investigation into Hunter’s business dealings aims to determine whether the president misrepresented his knowledge of foreign deals.
Conversely, allegations of Hunter’s possible influence peddling stems from an email dating back to 2011 wherein he reportedly offered to sell information about Russian firm RUSAL to U.S. aluminum company Alcoa Inc. for $55,000.
The committee will also hold its first public hearings on Twitter’s handling and suppressing of a 2020 New York Post story about Hunter weeks before the presidential election. Former Twitter executives have been invited to testify.
In addition to investigations on Hunter, the committee is also probing the origins of the COVID-19 virus, reports of waste, fraud and abuse in COVID relief programs and the policies at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The House Oversight Committee’s panel includes Republican lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.)
The panel also includes Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Jamie Raskin (Md.) who is a ranking member.
AFP / Brendan Smialowski
