House investigators are seeking Treasury documents related to the Ukrainian-based energy firm Burisma to determine if company executives bribed then-Vice President Joe Biden with a $5 million payment.
The request from the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability follows the release of an FBI record that documented a paid informant’s claim that Mr. Biden solicited and accepted a $5 million bribe sometime between 2015 and 2016 in exchange for helping purge a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma.
Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking Burisma-related Suspicious Activity Reports dating back to 2014, “to help further our investigation to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised, and national security is threatened.”
Republicans believe the Department of Justice and the FBI intentionally withheld the FBI record documenting the bribery claims from Hunter Biden’s tax fraud probe.
During the Trump administration, the informant’s claims were sent to Delaware prosecutors investigating the president’s son for tax fraud. According to the “highly credible” FBI informant, Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky paid the $5 million in 2015 and 2016 to solicit Mr. Biden’s help in thwarting a Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma.
Burisma paid an additional $5 million to Hunter Biden, who was serving on Burisma’s board at the time and was receiving a $1 million annual salary at the energy company, the informant said. The bribery scheme was concealed using multiple bank accounts, the Burisma executive told the FBI informant.
Oversight investigators are now working to trace the money through bank records.
They are seeking Suspicious Activity Reports related to Mr. Zlochevsky and four other Ukrainian individuals, as well as all reports related to Burisma and the Belgrade-based think tank, Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development.
Two IRS whistleblowers who have come forward to report Hunter Biden was receiving preferential treatment in the tax fraud probe said the FBI informant’s allegations were withheld from tax investigators who had “potentially corroborating evidence” during the investigation.
Mr. Comer said House investigators have no evidence the FBI ever pursued the bribery allegation, “and may have intentionally withheld it” from their tax fraud probe.
Hunter Biden secured a plea bargain agreement earlier this month on misdemeanor charges of failing to pay federal income tax that will likely result in no jail time. He escaped prosecution for lying on a firearm background check form.
Critics say the president’s son was handed a “sweetheart deal,” that raised questions about whether the Justice Department has investigated the influence peddling claims.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.