Hunter Biden’s attorney is demanding the Treasury Department investigate how a former Trump administration official gained access to suspicious activity reports linked to the younger Biden’s finances.
Abbe Lowell, a partner at Winston and Strawn who is representing Mr. Biden, sent a letter to the Treasury’s inspector general on Monday demanding a probe. In his letter, Mr. Lowell noted that former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler had obtained and published suspicious activity related to Mr. Biden’s financial accounts from JP Morgan Chase.
“Ziegler has used Mr. Biden’s SARs and other financial records to craft a false narrative that Mr. Biden is associated with a human trafficking ring,” Mr. Lowell wrote. Banks are required to file a suspicious activity report within 30 days of the detection of questionable transactions.
The letter to the Treasury comes alongside an ethics complaint that Hunter Biden’s attorneys filed with the Congressional Ethics Office on Monday against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Mr. Lowell said the Georgia Republican has used her official position to try and smear Hunter Biden.
“Representative Greene’s unethical conduct arises from her continuous verbal attacks, defamatory statements, publication of personal photos and data, and promotion of conspiracy theories about and against Robert Hunter Biden,” Mr. Lowell said.
The pushback against Hunter Biden’s detractors comes as President Biden is likely to announce his bid for a second term this week.
SEE ALSO: Report: Hunter Biden’s attorneys to meet with Justice Department
Mr. Ziegler has published five suspicious activity reports linked to Mr. Biden on his website, Marco Polo USA. A former aide to Trump-era White House trade czar Peter Navarro, Mr. Ziegler has said he received the documents from a source at JP Morgan Chase.
Mr. Biden’s attorney says the records were released unlawfully and that Mr. Ziegler could have violated federal law if he conspired with an individual at JP Morgan Chase to secure access.
“Ziegler’s public statements indicate the employee worked directly with Ziegler, whose longstanding obsession has been to publish anything that he believes may taint the Biden name or reputation,” Mr. Lowell wrote.
Banks and other financial institutions are required to file a suspicious activity report with the Treasury Department whenever there is a suspected case of money laundering or fraud. Federal law, including the Banking Secrecy Act of 1970, prohibits bank employees from publicly disclosing a suspicious activity report or the existence of one.
The suspicious activity reports obtained by Mr. Ziegler were passed over to Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Mr. Biden. Mr. Bobulinski has been cooperating with Republicans on the House Oversight Committee as they probe Mr. Biden’s financial dealings in Ukraine and China.
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, said of the letter from Hunter Biden’s lawyer: “The committee’s primary focus remains the Biden family’s vast influence peddling machine, uncovered through our review of bank records and other financial transactions. It’s no surprise that the Biden family is launching desperate attacks and trying to prevent the truth from coming out. The walls are closing in on the Biden family and they know it. The Oversight Committee is undeterred and will keep pushing for transparency and accountability.”
Mr. Lowell alleges that Mr. Bobulinski shared the reports obtained from Mr. Ziegler with the Oversight Committee Republicans.
“House Oversight Republicans then published excerpts of two SARs about Mr. Biden in their Interim Staff Report titled, ‘A President Compromised: The Biden Family Investigation,’” he wrote.
Banking secrecy laws forbid the Oversight Committee from discussing any of the data reviewed so far. Members of the panel have confirmed, however, that they are in receipt of more than 150 business transactions flagged just for Hunter Biden and his uncle, James.
Some of the documents made public last month show that a Chinese Communist Party-backed oil company wired $3 million to Hunter Biden’s associate Rob Walker. The payment came just two months after Hunter Biden’s father, now-President Biden, ended his term as vice president in the Obama administration.
The records show that Mr. Walker distributed the money among members of the Biden family and other business associates. Biden family members received more than $1 million.
“We are going to continue to use bank documents and suspicious activity reports to follow the money trail to determine the extent of the Biden family’s business schemes, if Joe Biden is compromised by these deals and if there is a national security threat,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican.
The House Oversight Committee did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Efforts to reach Mr. Ziegler were unsuccessful.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.