GOP demands Treasury hand over reports involving Burisma, alleged Biden bribery

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer demanded on Wednesday that the Department of the Treasury hand over suspicious activity reports (SARs) for individuals and entities related to Ukrainian energy firm Burisma and an alleged bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden.

At issue is an allegation outlined in an FBI FD-1023 form containing confidential human source information. The alleged scheme involved a Burisma executive hiring now-first son Hunter Biden to the board of Burisma to secure access to his father, then-Vice President Biden. That Burisma executive allegedly paid a total of $10 million to two Biden family members in exchange for Biden using his influence to pressure the Ukrainian government to fire then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the firm at the time.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Comer indicated that the committee sought to craft legislation to strengthen financial disclosure requirements in light of the allegations.

"The Committee is concerned that foreign nationals have sought access and influence by engaging in lucrative business relationships with high-profile political figures’ immediate family members, including members of the Biden family," he wrote. "The Committee is seeking meaningful reforms to government ethics and disclosure laws that will provide necessary transparency into a Vice President’s or President’s immediate family members’ income, assets, and financial relationships."

To that effect, and to the furtherance of the bribery investigation, Comer asked that Yellen provide the committee with the documents by July 12. Specifically, he is seeking all SARs related to Burisma and its affiliates, the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development, and several individuals, including former Burisma chief Mykola Zlochevsky, who is currently wanted by the Ukrainian government for alleged bribery. His whereabouts remain unknown.

"The FBI has been sitting on allegations for years that Joe Biden solicited and received a bribe while he was Vice President of the United States," Comer said in a statement announcing the letter. "We have no confidence that the FBI did anything to verify the allegations contained within this record and may have intentionally withheld it during the investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax evasion."

"In fact, an IRS whistleblower said that this critical evidence was withheld from tax investigators who have since revealed they had potentially corroborating evidence during the investigation," he continued. "The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is continuing to pursue financial records to follow the Bidens’ money trail to help inform legislative solutions to strengthen public corruption laws. Secretary Yellen must provide financial records related to Burisma executives and entities to help further our investigation to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised, and national security is threatened."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.