#Democrats demand GOP turn over info on indicted think-tank leader, ‘patient zero’ of Biden probes

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are asking the GOP to turn over information detailing its interactions with Gal Luft, a recently charged think tank leader who called himself “patient zero of the Biden family investigation.”

Luft was indicted Monday on numerous serious charges, including failing to register as a foreign agent when recruiting and paying an unnamed former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of China.

He is also accused of brokering illicit arms deals and violating Iran sanctions by setting up meetings between Iranian officials and a Chinese energy company to discuss oil deals. 

Luft has played a central role in Oversight Chair James Comer’s (R-Ky.) investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings as well as a probe into whether President Biden, in connection with son Hunter Biden, accepted a bribe – an assertion both men have flatly denied.

“We are concerned that an official committee of the House of Representatives has been manipulated by an apparent con man who, while a fugitive from justice, attempted to fortify his defense by laundering unfounded and potentially false allegations through Congress,” Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote in a letter alongside Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.).

Luft was arrested Feb. 17 in Cyprus but fled after being released on bail and remains a fugitive, according to court filings from the Justice Department.

“Although Mr. Luft has been on the run for months, you touted him as a ‘potential witness’ and even prepared to interview him as part of your investigation. As recently as Friday, you described Mr. Luft as ‘a very credible witness’ about matters relating to the President’s son’s financial dealings with Chinese companies,” the two Democratic lawmakers wrote.

Luft, co-director of the Maryland-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, was evidently working with Chinese energy company CEFC.

The background, Republicans argue, does make him a valuable witness for their investigation.

“Gal Luft is a credible witness to the Bidens’ influence peddling schemes because he too was getting paid by the same shady company. If Democrats deem Mr. Luft as untrustworthy because he was getting money from CEFC, then why should we trust the Bidens who also received money from CEFC?” Comer said in a statement. 

“Democrats have either been duped by the Bidens or they are intentionally misleading the American people. Democrats should join us in requesting the FBI’s record memorializing its interview with Gal Luft to get to the bottom of his claims about the Bidens.”

But Democrats say Luft’s work with the committee could have been an attempt to evade justice amid investigation into his activities. In addition to the other crimes listed in the indictment, Luft is also accused of making false statements to the FBI.

“It appears as if Mr. Luft sought ‘whistleblower’ status from you in an effort to defend himself from criminal prosecution while a fugitive from justice,” the Democrats wrote.

“These recent revelations naturally raise broader concerns about the credibility and motivations of other purported whistleblowers that Congressional Republicans have relied on to support unfounded and baseless allegations. Sadly, the Luft episode severely undermines the credibility of the critical function of whistleblowers in this body.”

Comer has based much of his investigation into the Biden family on tips relayed from whistleblowers, but that includes unverified information the FBI was unable to corroborate.

Comer earlier this month abandoned plans to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress after the bureau allowed the committee to review an FD-1023 form that memorialized the tip with a confidential source who relayed the bribery allegations he heard from someone else.

The FBI investigated the tip but was unable to corroborate the information, and did not escalate the matter for further investigation. 

Comer has since asked to see other FD-1023 forms.

Raskin has released a conversation provided to Congress purportedly capturing Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, denying any contacts with President Biden while son Hunter served on the company’s board.

“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations against President Biden that were first leveled by Rudy Giuliani and have been reviewed by former President Trump’s own Justice Department,” Raskin wrote to Comer in June.