The debt ceiling has been lifted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things are going to get easier for the Biden administration.
Both the White House and Republicans are declaring victory over the debt limit; meanwhile, Washington’s leaders, and media members, will quickly move on to the next debate. For some House Republicans, that issue is corruption in the Biden family.
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“The Biden Department of Justice is scrambling to cover up the depth of the Biden family’s corruption because of the vast network of Democrat bureaucrats involved in their scheme,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), ex-chairman of the Republican Study Committee, told the Washington Examiner. “This is a scandal far worse than Watergate, and they must be held accountable.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are leading an investigation into payments made to Biden family members. On Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray agreed to allow top members of the House oversight committee to view a subpoenaed document relating to the committee’s investigation into the president and relatives, including his son Hunter.
Much of the press has either ignored or dismissed the story so far, but that may be harder to do as it advances and with the debt ceiling no longer commanding so much attention.
The Oversight Committee released a memo in mid-May based on bank records showing that the Biden family, including Hunter Biden, took $10 million from foreign nationals in Romania and China while Joe Biden was vice president.
Hunter Biden and his associated businesses are believed to have received up to $5 million from Chinese accounts linked to CEFC and Jianming.
On Friday, a spokesperson from the committee told the Washington Examiner a document relating to the committee’s investigation will be reviewed and that Comer will receive a briefing from the FBI on Monday. Whether that development leads to increased coverage remains to be seen.
Rutgers University history, journalism, and media studies professor David Greenberg believes the media will continue downplaying the story, and for good reason.
“The very phrase ‘Biden family’ in this context smacks of partisan talking points,” he said. “It’s a silly and lame attempt to inflate Hunter’s business dealings into something Mafia-like. As you know, it’s been investigated before, and while Hunter may have occasionally traded on his father’s name, that hardly suggests a ‘family’ racket.”
As such, he sees it as a purely partisan expedition unlikely to break into the wider political world.
“It’s still a story that Republicans are whipping themselves into a frenzy about, but that has gotten little traction outside these fevered quarters,” he said. “I’d be surprised if that changes.”
The latest news comes after Comer threatened to hold Wray and the FBI in contempt of Congress after the director failed to hand over information the Oversight Committee requested related to an “alleged criminal scheme” involving the Biden family during Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
Comer claims the documents prove that the president and his relatives set up dozens of shell companies meant to conceal money received from foreign nationals.
The committee began its investigation into Joe Biden shortly after Republicans won the House in 2022. On the campaign trail, House GOP leaders vowed they would investigate the president’s dealings if they secured the majority in the lower chamber.
Another factor in whether the media takes a growing interest in the story, according to Republican strategist John Feehery, is Joe Biden’s campaign performance.
“It all depends on how badly the media wants Biden out,” he said. “If it becomes clear that Biden is not up to the job and that there is big likelihood that either [Donald] Trump or [Gov. Ron] DeSantis [R-FL] can beat him, then I think the media will play this scandal up bigger in order to drive him from his reelection campaign.”
But if Joe Biden can find common ground with Republicans and make progress on issues like the border and crime, Feehery added, the press will find something else to focus on.
A reporter pressed National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday about the investigation and its implications, saying, “What do you say to the majority of Americans who believe that the president is himself corrupt?”
“The president has spoken to this, and there’s nothing to these claims,” Kirby responded.
The issue did not come up during Friday’s White House press briefing.
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The president’s approval ratings have hovered in the low 40s for nearly two years, and now his team must deal with the fallout from a tumble he took at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony.
He’s also seeing stronger-than-expected support for long-shot Democratic primary challengers Marianne Williamson and environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr.
