GOP probe into ‘influence peddling’ targets Trump admin: Congressman

According to a lawmaker, the GOP-led House of Representatives will include allegations against former President Donald Trump in its upcoming investigations into “tampering.”

After Republicans narrowly took control of the House and elected Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House after a turbulent process, the party will begin the many probes it promised voters in last November’s midterm elections. Most of these proposed probes involve common GOP talking points and target conservative political rivals, with one targeting “President Biden’s involvement in his family’s foreign business practices and international influence 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 the probe would look into allegations of “tampering” against Trump alongside Biden. This came in response to a question on the committee’s bipartisan intentions, which cited concerns about the Trump family and “visitor logs related to Mar-a-Lago.”

“I think the interference with the Trump administration will be part of our overall investigation,” Comer said. “Because both Democrats and Republicans complained about this to the previous two administrations, something needs to be done.”

House Republicans last Wednesday requested documents from the Treasury Department relating to the Biden family and its business activities, including what they say are “suspicious activity reports” related to the President’s son, Hunter Biden, and the President’s brother , James Biden.

“I am now making these requests in accordance with my authority as chairman,” Comer wrote in the request, citing the department’s previous refusal to provide the documents.

The White House then derided the inquiries and similar inquiries as “political stunts” pushed by “the most extreme MAGA members” of the House GOP.

“In their first week as a majority in government, House Republicans have failed to take meaningful action to address inflation and bring down the costs of Americans,” Ian Sams, a White House investigations spokesman, told NBC News in a statement. “Nevertheless, they jump out of the gate with political stunts fueled by the most extreme MAGA members of their caucus to get Fox News attention.”

Trump has frequently been accused of offering political favors in exchange for loyalty or cooperation during his presidency. On his last day in office, Trump issued 73 pardons vanity fair described in January 2021 as “a tool he has repeatedly used to reward political loyalists or friends”.

news week has reached out to Trump’s representative for comment.