House GOP demands FBI investigate, explain inaction on Biden allegations

House Republicans led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio demanded Thursday that the FBI investigate allegations unearthed by the Senate of corrupt business dealings surrounding Democratic nominee Joe Biden's family and explain what the bureau did to address the concerns when they first surfaced during the Obama administration.

Jordan, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, referred to four bombshell revelations about Hunter Biden's business dealings in a report made public Wednesday by Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, demanding FBI Director Chris Wray explain why there wasn't more action when the evidence first surfaced between 2014 and 2017.

"The report by Chairman Johnson and Chairman Grassley shows that the FBI has been aware of some alleged misconduct for years," Jordan wrote. "The report detailed widespread concern within the Obama-Biden Administration about Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian company founded by oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky. Then-U.S. Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Amos Hochstein personally raised concerns to Vice President Biden and—after Vice President Biden spoke to Hunter—to Hunter Biden himself.

"In addition, senior State Department official George Kent raised concerns to the FBI about a $7 million bribe paid by Zlochevsky to Ukraine’s prosecutor general seven months after Hunter Biden joined Burisma’s board," Jordan said.

Jordan questions why Wray has not addressed the allegations, suggesting it further tarnished the bureau's reputation in the aftermath of the Russia collusion scandal.

"The FBI suffered from a pattern of misconduct and politicization at the highest levels of the FBI during the Obama-Biden Administration. The FBI used Democrat-funded opposition research and Russian disinformation—as well as doctored evidence—to illegally spy on a Trump campaign associate.The FBI sought to entrap Trump National Security Advisor LTG Michael Flynn 'to get him to lie, so we can prosecute or get him fired.' The new revelations in Chairman Johnson’s and Chairman Grassley’s report only add more concern about the FBI’s actions," Jordan wrote.

The four questions Jordan asked Wray to answer include:

• Is the FBI investigating Hunter Biden’s receipt of $3.5 million from the wife of the former mayor of Moscow? 2
• Is the FBI investigating Hunter Biden’s payment of “thousands of dollars” to individuals involved in human trafficking and organized prostitution?
• Is the FBI investigating Hunter Biden’s Chinese transactions “involving potential criminal financial activity”?
• What actions did the FBI take after George Kent made it aware of the $7 million bribe paid by Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky to the Ukrainian prosecutor general?