Here’s What’s Happening In Republicans’ Biden–Ukraine Investigation
In November, Grassley and Johnson, who lead the Finance and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, wrote to a powerful law enforcement agency within the Treasury Department seeking information on any suspicious financial activity by Hunter Biden, Burisma, and others.
Schapitl declined to say what the agency, known as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN, turned over to the lawmakers. Treasury did not return a request for comment.
The documents sought by the senators, known as suspicious activity reports, or SARs, are filed regularly to FinCEN by banks when they spot transactions that bear the hallmarks of financial crimes. Though the reports themselves are not evidence of a crime, they can be used to support investigations and intelligence gathering. It’s unclear if the materials provided to the committees are SARs and if so, to whom they pertain.
“It’s strange that any senator would complain about receiving responses to oversight requests in a timely manner,” the Grassley spokesperson said Thursday. “As a general matter, most oversight requests do not involve material protected by Executive Privilege, so it can be more rapidly provided to Congress. If the administration were to claim privilege over requested material, as the Obama administration did in during the ‘Operation Fast and Furious’ investigation, members of Congress can use other tools at their disposal – including the courts – to compel cooperation. In the case of impeachment, the House chose not to do so.”
Omg, this will never end. Read this whole thing.