Top Oversight Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote a letter to Chairman James Comer demanding he investigate whether Republicans had been defrauded by a now-indicted whistleblower.
Raskin along with Oversight Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman, NY, “concerned” that the committee’s Republicans had been “manipulated by an apparent con artist who, while on the run from justice, attempted to bolster his defense by whitewashing baseless and possibly false allegations by Congress.”
Gal Luft gave an interview to the FBI about Hunter Biden in 2019 and would testify before the House Oversight Committee before he was arrested and disappeared.
The whistleblower, an Israeli-American founder and professor of a think tank, was indicted last November on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent working for China, arms trafficking and violating US sanctions against Iran by the DOJ.
He allegedly attempted to broker arms sales to Libya, Kenya and the UAE without the necessary US licenses, and to sell Iranian oil to China in violation of sanctions.
Top Oversight Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote a letter to Chairman James Comer demanding he investigate whether Republicans had been duped by a now-indicted whistleblower
Luft, a former Israeli Defense Forces colonel, was detained in Cyprus but fled while out on bail. His whereabouts are unknown, but charges against him were unsealed on Monday.
Luft claims he is being prosecuted by the federal government for providing derogatory information about the Biden family to the FBI in 2019. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, claimed in a statement that Luft was involved in multiple, serious criminal schemes. ‘
“He undermined foreign agent registration laws in the United States to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former senior US government official; he acted as a go-between in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian oil; and he told multiple lies about his crimes to law enforcement officials,” Williams said.
Last week, in a video published by the New York Post, Luft claimed to have compromising information about Hunter Biden regarding his working advice to Chinese energy executives CEFC China Energy in 2017 and 2018.
Luft claimed he was arrested to prevent him from testifying before the House Oversight Committee. He claimed to have provided incriminating evidence to the FBI at a secret meeting in Brussels in March 2019, but that was covered up.
Gal Luft (pictured), a former Israeli Defense Forces colonel, disappeared last month while on bail in Cyrus awaiting extradition to the US on seven charges
President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, step down from Air Force One, February 4, 2023
Comer prepared to interview Luft before disappearing, saying the dual nationality accused remains a “potential witness.” Comer had been in contact with Luft earlier this year, but lost contact after his arrest.
Luft, 57, calls himself “patient zero of the Biden family investigation” and says he is innocent of the charges brought against him.
Luft says he told the FBI Joe Biden attended a meeting shortly after his vice presidential term ended with his son Hunter and CEFC officials at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, D.C.
Luft, who also worked for CEFC, was accused by prosecutors of allowing Chinese officials to use him to recruit and “train” former CIA director James Woolsey into positions favorable to China.
“It appears that Mr. Luft applied for whistleblower status from you in an attempt to defend himself against criminal charges while on the run from justice. Even worse, this latest episode also raises concerns that Mr. Luft is manipulating your investigation not only for his own sake, but perhaps to further the CCP’s efforts to undermine the security interests of the US and the President of the United States. and Goldman said.
These recent revelations naturally raise wider concerns about the credibility and motivations of other alleged whistleblowers that Republicans in Congress have relied on to support baseless and baseless allegations. Unfortunately, the Luft episode seriously undermines the credibility of the critical function of whistleblowers in this body.’
Comer replied that if Luft is untrustworthy because he works for the CEFC, then so are the Bidens.
“Democrats have either been duped by the Bidens or they are deliberately misleading the American people,” Comer said in a statement. “Democrats should join us in requesting the FBI’s file commemorating the interview with Gal Luft to get to the bottom of his claims about the Bidens.”