The GOP-led House of Representatives will include allegations against former President Donald Trump in its forthcoming "influence peddling" investigations, according to one lawmaker.
With Republicans taking control of the House with a slim majority and electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House after a tumultuous process, the party is set to begin conducting the many investigations it promised voters during last November's midterm elections. Most of these proposed probes involve common GOP talking points and target conservative political rivals, with one taking aim at "President Biden's involvement in his family's foreign business practices and international influence peddling schemes," NBC News reported last week.
During an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, James Comer, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said that the probe would also investigate allegations of "influence peddling" leveled against Trump, in addition to Biden. This came in response to a question about the committee's bipartisan intentions, citing concerns about the Trump family and "visitor logs when it comes to Mar-a-Lago."
"I think the influence peddling with respect to the Trump administration will be a part of our overall investigation," Comer said. "Because both Democrats and Republicans have complained about this with the previous two administrations, so something needs to be done."
House Republicans last Wednesday requested documents from the Treasury Department pertaining to the Biden family and their business pursuits, including what they deemed to be "suspicious activity reports" connected with the president's son, Hunter Biden, and the president's brother, James Biden.
"I now make these requests pursuant to my authority as chairman," Comer wrote in the request, referencing the department's past refusal to supply the documents.
The White House, in response, derided the investigation and others like it as "political stunts" driven by "the most extreme MAGA members" of the House GOP.
"In their first week as a governing majority, House Republicans have not taken any meaningful action to address inflation and lower Americans' costs," Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for investigations, told NBC News in a statement. "Yet they're jumping out of the gate with political stunts driven by the most extreme MAGA members of their caucus in an effort to get attention on Fox News."
Trump was frequently accused of offering political boons in exchange for loyalty or cooperation during his presidency. During his last day in office, Trump issued 73 pardons, which Vanity Fair described in January 2021 as "a tool he has repeatedly used to reward political loyalists or friends."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's representatives for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
