Josh Hawley Demands An Answer: Is Our President A Crook?

On Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said that a whistleblower is alleging that the FBI and the Justice Department are in possession of a document that describes a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. Fox News reported that, in response to the legally protected disclosures given to Sen. Grassley’s office, Chairman Comer had issued a subpoena and notified FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland of the matter.

In a statement, Chairman Comer explained, “The information provided by a whistleblower raises concerns that then-Vice President Biden allegedly engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national. The American people need to know if President Biden sold out the United States of America to make money for himself. Senator Grassley and I will seek the truth to ensure accountability for the American people.” According to a report by Politico, the FBI has until May 10th to hand over the documents. Regardless, mainstream press outlets have downplayed the GOP’s new oversight investigation.

Following the revelation of Wednesday’s allegations, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reacted to the whistleblower’s disclosures by linking President Joe Biden to a “criminal scheme” and saying that the American people deserved to know if their president is a crook. Moreover, Sen. Hawley said it might be time for a special counsel to investigate the allegations.

Specifically, Hawley said, “We need to know the facts here. Release the document, release the evidence. If there needs to be a special counsel, appoint one. But the only way the American people are going to have confidence is if the information is out there. What is it they used to say about Richard Nixon? They deserve to know if the president is a crook. We deserve to know if this president is a crook. Let’s get the information.”
 
The White House has reacted to the Republican investigation. Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, said in a statement, “For going on five years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the president and his family without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests. That's because they prefer floating anonymous innuendo, amplified by the megaphone of their allies in rightwing media, to get attention.”

Democrats, such as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member on the House Oversight Committee, merely called the subpoena a “baseless partisan stunt.”

Regardless of what happens, the truth is that the allegations are serious and deserve to be investigated. It is also part of a wide range of ongoing Republican oversight investigations into the Biden administration. Nonetheless, Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media are likely to see it as an unprovoked escalation, which means that relations between the White House and the House of Representatives will continue to be tense and strained, with cooperation into the House GOP's investigations being little, if any.

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