Key House Republican says Hunter Biden paintings may have gone to China

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Monday suggested that some of first son Hunter Biden's paintings may have made their way to China.

"We fear that some of these paintings and some of those high dollar pieces of art went to China as well," Comer said on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. 

The younger Biden's art career has long attracted concerns that the sales could be part of an influence peddling scheme. Some of his paintings have been listed in the Georges Bergès Gallery in SoHo, with some priced as high as $85,000. Despite claims that the first son would not learn the names of the buyers, reports have since stated that Biden did learn the names of two purchasers.

Comer eschewed the notion that the art sales are a legitimate enterprise, saying "[e]very American should be insulted by Joe Biden thinking that they're just gonna believe that no special interest or no foreign nationals are the buyers of that artwork."

"Of course, people who buy that crappy artwork from the president's son are doing it to receive a benefit. There's no–of course they are. And that's further evidence. And I think you're gonna see more evidence," he opined.

Comer did not elaborate specifically in terms of possible purchasers beyond expressing fears that some art "went to China," though the first son has long faced scrutiny over a deal with now-defunct Chinese energy company CEFC.

He further suggested that the owner of the gallery could have come forward with exculpatory details about the sales to assuage concerns about their legitimacy,

"[I]f they were legitimate art buyers, I think the art gallery owner would have already defended his good name and and admitted that," he concluded.

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