Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., is calling on Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to provide information about Gal Luft -- the purported 'whistleblower' in a GOP-led probe of President Joe Biden's family. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI |
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July 12 (UPI) -- Democratic lawmakers are calling on Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to hand over information on Gal Luft -- the purported "whistleblower" in a GOP-led probe of President Joe Biden's family.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the committee, and Rep. Dan Goldman sent a letter to Comer on Wednesday, calling it "shocking" that Luft has been charged with arms trafficking and operating as a foreign agent for China, among other felonies.
"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," Raskin and Goldman wrote.
"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."
Luft was accused of lying to federal agents during the same meeting he shared his allegations about Hunter Biden with the FBI, the Democrats noted.
"Sen. Ron Johnson demanded that Mr. Luft be granted immunity from prosecution in order to help Republicans attack President Biden," the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers suggested that Luft had manipulated Republicans investigating the Bidens for his own self interest by seeking a whistleblower status in a bid to evade law enforcement.
"We urge you to immediately initiate an investigation into whether the Committee may have been unwittingly duped by Mr. Luft in furtherance of the [Chinese Communist Party's] interests, as well as any potentially false statements made by Mr. Luft to members of Congress or congressional staff," Raskin and Goldman demanded
"In addition, we request that you immediately provide committee Democrats with all materials and information provided by Mr. Luft to the committee."
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Luft agreed to recruit and pay a high-ranking U.S. official. In 2016, he conspired with the official, who was an adviser to then-President elect Donald Trump, to support policies related to China
"As alleged, Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and co-head of a Maryland think tank, engaged in multiple, serious criminal schemes," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
"He subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking U.S. government official; he acted as a broker in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian oil; and he told multiple lies about his crimes to law enforcement."
Luft is also accused of brokering weapons deals with Chinese individuals and entities. As a broker, he connected buyers and sellers without a license, violating the Arms Export Control Act, officials said.
He also allegedly ordered subordinates to refer to a deal he was working on to acquire Iranian oil as a deal for Brazilian oil to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran. Similar to his arms dealings with China, he sought buyers of oil and helped broker arrangements to purchase, officials said.
