Rep. Donalds calls for release of Biden suspicious activity reports, even has Maxine Waters on his side

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds has called for any and all suspicious activity reports on President Joe Biden’s brother, Jim, and crack-smoking son, Hunter, to immediately be forwarded to Congress for review.

A suspicious activity report is, according to Thomas Reuters, “a document that financial institutions, and those associated with their business, must file with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) whenever there is a suspected case of money laundering or fraud.”

The FinCEN is a bureau of the wider Treasury Department.

Speaking on Newsmax this Wednesday, Donalds said that 150+ suspicious activity reports have been filed about Hunter and Jim, but that the Biden administration is unprecedently refusing to fork them over:

“I want the American people to understand something. Whether it was President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, or President Trump, Congress had the ability to access suspicious activity reports. When Joe Biden became president of the United States, he changed the rules,” he said.

“Even Maxine Waters filed a bill to change it back. This is critical information. Most people might get a suspicious activity report one time in their life, maybe one. Hunter Biden and Jim Biden, the President’s brother, have over 150. This makes no sense at all. So, of course, Congress should get this information, especially when Joe Biden changed the rules when he came into the White House.”

He was correct about Waters, the Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee. Earlier this year she and several of her Democrat peers introduced a bill that “would require the Treasury Department to furnish suspicious activities reports filed by financial institutions to Congress within 30 days of a request,” as reported by Westlaw, an online legal research service.

“Waters said Treasury has made it increasingly difficult for Congress to get the reports,” Westlaw reported in May after the bill made it out of committee.

The bill was endorsed by Republicans like Rep. William R. Timmons IV, who reportedly said, “Treasury must understand that this is not a partisan matter.”

However, the Biden administration claims they have changed nothing.

“Treasury provides [suspicious activity reports] to Congress in a manner that enables robust oversight and that is consistent with how other sensitive law enforcement information is often produced. It is not a political process,” a Treasury spokesperson told Axios.

“Since the beginning of this administration, Treasury has made SARs available in response to authorized committee requests and continues to engage on the process with any individual members seeking information,” the spokesperson added.

The key set of words there appears to be “authorized committee requests.” At the moment, Republicans run zero committees, and so they have no ability to issue an official request for Hunter and Jim Biden’s suspicious activity reports.

This may explain why the Treasury Department has been rejecting Donalds’ apparent request. However, the good news is that Republicans will be retaking the House come January. If the Treasury Department still refuses to hand over the documents when that happens, then that would indeed be an issue.

Donalds isn’t the only Republican who’s complained about a lack of access to the Biden duo’s suspicious activity reports. Incoming House Oversight Committee chair James Comer has been complaining about a lack of access for months.

“It’s unacceptable that the Treasury Department continues to run cover for the Biden family and possibly hide information about whether Joe Biden benefited financially from his family’s business transactions. The Biden Administration changed the rules to severely restrict Congress’ access to suspicious activity reports in the dark of night and with no explanation,” he complained in a statement issued in September.

“Hunter Biden and other Biden family members have racked up at least 150 suspicious activity reports for their shady foreign business deals. We need more information about these transactions and if Joe Biden has benefited financially from his family’s dealings with foreign adversaries. It is a matter of national security to know if President Biden is compromised. The American people deserve answers, and Republicans will use the power of the gavel next Congress to get them,” he added.

The fierce statement came after the Treasury Department twice refused Comer’s request for access to the Biden family’s suspicious activity reports.

“On May 25, 2022, Ranking Member Comer wrote to Secretary Yellen requesting information regarding Hunter Biden and other Biden associates and family members’ financial transactions flagged by U.S. banks for reporting to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) through suspicious activity reports. He reiterated his request on July 6, 2022,” a press release from his office explained.

Republished with permission from American Wire News Service

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