Tristan Snell — a lawyer formerly with the New York state Attorney General’s office — said after widely touted allegations of bribery implicating President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden imploded that there should be subpoenas targeting Republicans who’ve helped further the whole thing.
An individual responsible for the original allegations, which were documented in official government materials publicly pursued and eventually released by Republicans, was criminally charged for allegedly lying to federal authorities here in the United States. Details have also tied defendant Alexander Smirnov to Russian intelligence circles. Republicans, who in the House have kickstarted an impeachment inquiry targeting the president, ran with the bribery allegations, giving the claims extensive airtime even if technically including the caveat that the tale remained merely a set of allegations. Others, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), took the story even more seriously.
“Jim Jordan, Chuck Grassley, and James Comer were either duped by Smirnov and the Kremlin — or they were in on it,” Snell wrote this week, referring to some of the Republicans who were part of advancing the scandal. “Either way, DOJ must subpoena every single communication Jordan, Grassley, and Comer had with or about Smirnov and anything related. Immediately. TONIGHT.”
Comer leads the House Oversight Committee, while Jordan helms the chamber’s Judiciary panel. Both have helped shepherd the GOP’s Biden impeachment probe, which has included so far a series of generally private interviews as Republicans have tried connecting the older Biden to ostensible financial corruption. The allegations tracing to Smirnov involved alleged money for the president and his son tracing to leadership at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Comer and Jordan are also focusing on the younger Biden’s ongoing career in the arts, suggesting it may be part of what Republicans have deemed “influence peddling” on the Bidens’ part. Republicans have not closely connected now President Biden to the art sales, failing to reach basic thresholds for demonstrating actual corruption.
