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House Republicans on Tuesday said they still hope to call a man indicted on charges of arms trafficking and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Chinese entities as a witness in their investigations of President Biden and his son Hunter.

Senior Republicans dismissed the importance of the charges against the fugitive defendant and instead accused the Justice Department, the FBI and other authorities of orchestrating a vast conspiracy on behalf of the first family, providing no documentation or other evidence to support their accusations.

“The Justice Department has had information on the Bidens’ corrupt schemes for years and has done nothing but cover up for the Bidens,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We need to root out the politicization and misconduct at the Justice Department and hold bad actors accountable.”

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, on Monday unsealed an indictment, dated Nov. 1, 2022, against Gal Luft alleging that the Israeli-American citizen who ran a Maryland think tank had been arrested on the island nation of Cyprus in February and has been on the run ever since he was released by authorities there while awaiting extradition.

Luft faces charges of agreeing to “covertly recruit and pay, on behalf of principals based in China,” individuals with ties to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to try to influence views of China, without registering under the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act. Moreover, he is also charged with illegally brokering arms deals.

“In his role as a broker or middleman, Luft worked to find both buyers and sellers of certain weapons and other materials, without a license to do so as required under U.S. law,” the Justice Department wrote in an announcement about the indictment, alleging one deal “for Chinese companies to sell certain weapons to Libya, including anti-tank launchers, grenade launchers, and mortar rounds.”

Rather than distance themselves from Luft, House Republicans accused law enforcement agencies of orchestrating these charges — filed before last year’s midterm elections actually gave the GOP the majority in the chamber — to block their own congressional investigation.

“No one should be surprised here. I don’t trust the DOJ or the FBI. They are trying to silence our witnesses. This is a way to do that,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), a member of the Oversight Committee, <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1678743783695962112?s=46&t=MHyPq3p_Fbdx9i_vfFm__g" target=_blank>said on Fox Business Network </a>on Wednesday morning.

A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Democrats and their allies accused Comer and the committee of falling for the equivalent of a con man who sold them a bill of goods that does not add up and now has even less credibility.

“If you thought James Comer couldn’t drop the ball anymore, think again,” the Congressional Integrity Project, an outside liberal group formed to defend the White House from GOP investigations, said in a statement Tuesday.

“Time and time again Comer hypes up his bombshell evidence, and each time, his evidence is refuted, and his house of cards continues to crumble,” the group added.

In his statement Wednesday, Comer reiterated allegations that Luft was interviewed four years ago by the FBI and relayed that he had proof that Hunter and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Joe Biden</a> had been involved a corrupt scheme for the same Chinese energy company that was paying Luft.

According to a person familiar with the committee’s work, Comer has not spoken directly to Luft, but staff members for the panel have been in contact with his representatives. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

Comer has said his investigation has shown that Hunter Biden sought a deal from the Chinese energy company and that more than $1 million was sent to the president’s son. The committee chairman has also suggested Joe Biden, then the former vice president, was involved — an allegation the president, his lawyers and staff members have said is false.

Comer still wants to receive testimony from Luft, although it is unclear whether he knows where the fugitive is.

“Anyone who says that we shouldn’t take Gal Luft’s allegations seriously discounts the fact that the Bidens wanted to share office space,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MattGertz/status/1678750081669910532?s=20" target=_blank>Comer said on Fox News</a> late Tuesday.

“We definitely want to hear more about these allegations. Gal Luft was interviewed by the FBI and allegedly provided information about the Bidens and CEFC,” he added, referring to the Chinese company. “The House Oversight Committee intends to obtain these records at the FBI.”

<i>Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.</i>

Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress

University of Delaware, BA

Paul Kane is The Washington Post's senior congressional correspondent and columnist. His column about Congress, @PKCapitol, appears throughout the week and on Sundays. He joined The Post in 2007. 

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