Since the Republicans gained the majority in the House of Representatives earlier this year and began their investigations into the Biden family, critics of the probes have pointed to a lack of evidence tying President Joe Biden directly to the alleged corruption.
Earlier this week, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) released a memo detailing what is perhaps the closest link we’ve seen to date. According to the congressman, Biden received $40,000 in “laundered China money” from his brother and sister-in-law, James and Sara Biden, in 2017.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by RealClearPolitics co-founder Tom Bevan and Ruthless host Josh Holmes to discuss the discovery and what it means for the president.
‘Laundered China Money’
In 12 pages of discovery from subpoenaed bank records released on Wednesday, Comer outlined how Joe Biden received $40,000 in “laundered” funds from Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked CEFC China Energy via a “complicated financial transaction.”
The money – which would be the first proven instance of the president benefiting directly from his family’s foreign business dealings – ended up in Joe’s bank account on September 3, 2017, through a personal check signed by his sister-in-law Sara. It was labeled “loan repayment.”
According to Comer’s report, the money trail began in July 2017 when Hunter infamously demanded money from CEFC. The First Son sent a WhatsApp message requesting a $10 million payment, claiming his father was in the room. As it turns out, the money started flowing soon after. The Oversight chairman laid out how $40,000 ended up with the commander in chief:
“On August 8, 2017, Northern International Capital, a Chinese company affiliated with CEFC, sent $5 million to Hudson West III, a joint venture established by Hunter Biden and CEFC associate Gongwen Dong. That same day, Hudson West III sent $400,000 to Owasco, P.C., an entity owned and controlled by Hunter Biden. On August 14, 2017, Hunter Biden wired $150,000 to Lion Hall Group, a company owned by President Biden’s brother James and sister-in-law Sara Biden. On August 28, 2017, Sara Biden withdrew $50,000 in cash from Lion Hall Group. Later the same day, she deposited it into her and James Biden’s personal checking account. On September 3, 2017, Sara Biden cut a check to Joe Biden for $40,000 for a ‘loan repayment.'”
– House Oversight Committee, November 1, 2023
The transfer is allegedly part of the same business deal that had Joe being referred to as the “big guy” who gets a 10 percent cut. The $40,000 the president received would be 10 percent of the $400,000 sent to Hunter’s Owasco, P.C.
Megyn noted the convoluted path of the payment is reflective of a money laundering scheme. “This is how laundering is done,” she said. “If I want to pay off Josh Holmes, I don’t just send him a check directly. We set up four different companies that the money has to go through so it’s a lot harder to trace.”
Follow the Money
Everything we now know about the Biden family’s foreign business dealings is a result of what has been uncovered by House Republicans. But Holmes said it shouldn’t be that way. “What’s so fascinating about this is the collective lack of interest in pursuing any of it,” he explained. “If you had some journalists out there that spent a fraction of the time looking at this that they did into ‘Russiagate,’ for example, this would have all been evident prior to the 2020 election, let alone three years later.”
In Bevan’s view, it is indicative of a biased media. “Conservative media reports on what House Oversight is finding, but other outlets like The New York Times and Washington Post don’t – it’s like it never existed,” he said. “They completely ignore it, and it just shows that there’s a level of corruption in the media that has become very clear over the last few years.”
While he believes the media is working “in concert with the government and other entities to censor, suppress, and stifle information that is unhelpful to Joe Biden or the Democrats in general,” Republicans should not expect a similar pass. “[If] this kind of evidence [was] produced against not just Donald Trump but any Republican… the media would be making it a non-stop feeding frenzy until questions were answered,” he concluded. “Right now, Joe Biden is not getting asked any of these questions. It just gets waved away.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Bevan and Holmes by tuning in to episode 661 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.