As recently spotlighted by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), the investigative efforts in the House targeting the Biden family appear to have connections to the work of a former member of the Trump administration who has expressed apparent affinity for far-right ideologies like anti-Semitism.
Perhaps the clearest indication of a connection between this individual, who is named Garrett Zeigler and worked with Peter Navarro under Trump, and the House GOP’s work is the usage by some of these Republicans of ordinarily secret financial documents that Zeigler also somehow accessed. In discussions with HuffPost, Zeigler suggested that a third party with whom he’d been in contact passed materials to Republican investigative teams in the House, though he himself has separately claimed to have had various discussions of his own with some of these people. He has asserted, for instance, that he met with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), though her spokesperson predictably refused to elaborate when questioned by HuffPost.
A staff member associated with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) claimed neither the Ohio Republican nor his chief of staff had met with Zeigler. “I corresponded with Kevin Eichinger about our Report,” Zeigler claimed, referring to a report he led on contents from a laptop infamously tied in reports to Hunter Biden, the president’s son. Eichinger is Jordan’s chief of staff.
The financial documents are called Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and, in general, don’t conclusively prove anything, as that’s not their nature or purpose. The filings are instead made by financial institutions to provide the federal government with potentially relevant information as authorities pursue their own enforcement actions. Meaningful findings of any actual wrongdoing come after the documents that Zeigler and other Republicans, like Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), have paraded. The House Oversight Committee, which Comer leads, was at some point provided access to what seemed like an exact document — a SAR — Zeigler also promoted. “Ziegler speculated to HuffPost that, after he gave someone else a non-watermarked version of the SAR, that person gave it to the committee,” HuffPost wrote.
“A new low,” Swalwell said online. “I get that Trump’s law firm in Congress — Insurrection LLC — led by Jordan & Comer hate Pres. Biden. But now they’re relying on white nationalist sympathizers to run their “investigations.” Time to close the firm.”
A new low. I get that Trump’s law firm in Congress — Insurrection LLC — led by Jordan & Comer hate Pres. Biden. But now they’re relying on white nationalist sympathizers to run their “investigations.” Time to close the firm. https://t.co/TtU9l0uMMr
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) May 31, 2023
