Just eleven days before the election, senior Democrats in Congress have asked the Justice Department to investigate Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, for possible violations of Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), citing the standards they abandoned in the Biden impeachment inquiry.

The letter sent to the Justice Department on Friday came from House Oversight Committee member Jamie Raskin and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden.

“The scale of these undisclosed foreign payments to Mr. Kushner, along with the national security implications of his apparent ongoing efforts to sell political influence to the highest foreign bidder, are unprecedented and require action by the DOJ,” Raskin and Wyden wrote.

“Unprecedented”?

If the allegations sound familiar, that’s because they’re almost exactly what House Republicans accused Hunter Biden of doing.

A House-led impeachment inquiry uncovered millions in undisclosed foreign payments to both Hunter Biden and the president’s brother James Biden while Joe Biden was vice president. Email evidence showed, and witnesses testified, that Hunter Biden used his family name and the promise of political influence with his father in an apparent attempt to cut deals and induce payments from his foreign partners.

In turn, Raskin said repeatedly that “If the Republicans had a smoking gun or even a water-dripping gun, they’d introduce it today, but they have nothing on Joe Biden.” said House Oversight Chairman James Comer, who led the investigation Just the news that “Raskin is a hypocrite” who is more concerned with the upcoming election than enforcing FARA.

“This is a classic election year stunt and has no credibility. Ranking Member Raskin willfully ignored the evidence of Biden’s FARA violations and is now going through this political fishing expedition as an attempt to distract from the rapidly sinking Harris campaign,” Comer said. Just the news.

Raskin has emerged as a major opponent of the Republican-led House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, which has focused heavily on the foreign affairs of his son, Hunter Biden.

This investigation ultimately concluded that President Biden engaged in indictable offences helping to enrich his family through an influence peddling scheme, but Democrats, led by Raskin, strongly condemned the investigation and its results.

Rep. Raskin’s office did not respond to a request for comment on what distinguishes Hunter Biden’s case from Jared Kushner’s.

NO for you, but not for me

“FARA is an important tool to identify foreign influence in the United States and address threats to our national security,” Raskin and Wyden wrote. “The primary purpose of FARA is to ensure that the American public and lawmakers are aware of foreign efforts to influence American public opinion, political activities, and lobbying through the use of United States agents.”

Under the law, a person is required to register when, acting as an agent of an alien principal, the person either engages in political activities, acts as an advertising agent or public relations consultant, deals with money in the United States on behalf of the principal or represents him before government officials or agencies.

Raskin and Wyden argue that Jared Kushner’s work with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern governments through his affinity partners should qualify for registration under the law. They specifically cite his millions in income as a result of his firm’s partnerships and alleged political activities, including advising his father-in-law, meeting with members of Congress and fundraising for the Trump campaign.

But the congressional record, witness testimony, and Just the news investigations show that Hunter Biden engaged in strikingly similar activities. Even the IRS whistleblowers, who alleged that the Biden Justice Department interfered in their tax investigation of the first son, have testified that they are blocked from following NO potential fees.

Significant income from foreign sources

An investigation by Senate Democrats found that Kushner’s firm, Affinity, collected at least $87 million in management fees from the Saudi government. The letter notes that 99% of the $3 billion in funds under management comes from foreign sources. It’s unclear what revenue Kushner made from the firm.

Democrats believe the affinity is a way the Saudis can covertly influence the Trump family, citing Kushner’s lack of experience managing investments.

“There are substantial reasons to believe that the Saudi government’s decision to hire Affinity for investment advice is a fig leaf to funnel money directly to Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump,” Raskin and Wyden wrote. “Prior to starting Affinity, Mr. Kushner had no experience in private equity or managing quantifiable investments.” Trump was divorced from his wife Ivanka in 1990.

Like the Democrats’ accusations against Kushner, House Republicans found that millions flowed directly into Hunter Biden’s coffers and collected testimony suggesting that Hunter Biden’s experience was minimal or unclear for the roles he secured.

The impeachment inquiry identified at least $27 million in funds that Hunter Biden and other family members received from foreign sources. These funds were often hidden in “shell companies” to hide their true origins, the committee said in its final report. Some of the funds sent from China, for example, went directly to Joe Biden’s bank account.

Hunter Biden received significant compensation from several foreign businesses and positions, although congressional investigators were struggling to determine what product or service the younger Biden was offering.

One of the most famous examples is Biden’s role on the board of the embattled Ukrainian energy company Burisma, whose owner Mykola Zlochevksy was facing corruption charges in Ukraine. Biden he received a salary of 1 million dollars per year for his role on the board, despite having no prior experience in foreign energy markets.

In another example, an independent contractor with a Chinese firm who partnered directly with Hunter Biden and promised about 5 million dollarscould not define what Biden’s role is in the company when he testified before the Oversight Committee at the beginning of this year.

“And then what did you think Hunter Biden brought to the table?” asked an investigator. “I don’t know,” replied the witness.

Political activities and influence

In order for foreign income to require FARA registration, the recipient must engage in political activities of some kind, as defined by law.

Democrats argue that “While he collects millions each year from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments, Mr. Kushner, by his own admission, remains a close political adviser to former President Trump and an influential figure deeply involved in Trump’s presidential campaign “.

Potentially problematic activities cited by Democrats are reports of Kushner advising Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin-Salman, advising his father-in-law’s campaign, holding meetings with foreign officials on US soil and meeting with members of Congress about US policy .

At the same time, there may be even more extensive evidence that Hunter Biden engaged in “political activities” on behalf of multiple foreign clients or partners. For example, when the Ukrainian energy company Burisma was controlled by his own government, Hunter Biden met with at least one State Department official who was a key adviser to his father.

In November 2015, as pressure against Burisma mounted, Hunter Biden contacted Amos Hochstein, special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs at the State Department, to set up a coffee meeting on November 4, 2015, email records show. show. Hochstein also met with a senior Burisma official, Vadim Pozharskyi.

Just a month later, Hochstein was a key official involved in that of then Vice President Biden the decision to change US policy and requests the dismissal of a prosecutor Burisma considered unfriendly to his interests.

In a court filing in Hunter Biden’s tax case by a special counsel in Biden’s Justice Department, the prosecutors made it clear allegations that Hunter Biden was working on behalf of Romanian oligarch Gabriel Popoviciu to influence US policy. Biden’s attorney tried to exclude that evidence on the grounds that it would prejudice the jury.

Hunter Biden’s firm gets a $3 million share

At the time, Popoviciu was being investigated for acts of corruption by the Romanian authorities. House investigators discovered that a company connected to Hunter Biden he received about a third of a $3 million payout from Bladon Enterprises Limited of the Romanian businessman Gabriel Popoviciu. The rest of the money was split between his other partners, according to bank records and government filings.

Prosecutors stated in the filing: “(The) government will present the evidence described above, including that the defendant and Business Associate 1 received compensation from a foreign executive who was attempting to influence US policy and public opinion and get the US to investigate the Romanian investigation of the family doctor in Romania.”

The description is almost identical to the FARA registration requirements provided by the government.

In addition to these activities, email records and witness testimony show that Joe Biden met with or spoke on the phone with nearly every foreign business partner of his son Hunter. A former business partner, Devon Archer, he testified that he put his father on the phone with partners at least 20 times over a decade of business.

“Implementation of FARA is critical to protecting our national security and ensuring that our political system remains free from malign foreign influence,” Raskin and Wyden wrote in concluding their letter.

“The public must trust that the DOJ carries out its responsibilities fairly, impartially, and without regard to political expediency or partisan interests, and the appointment of a special counsel would strongly serve the public interest,” they added.

But as IRS whistleblowers testified, their investigative team was blocked from looking into Hunter Biden’s allegations of FARA violations. The evidence appears to show that the probe did not meet Raskin and Wyden’s standards for applying FARA.