Rep. Comer Demands Answers From Hunter Biden’s Financial Adviser

Rep. Comer Demands Answers From Hunter Biden’s Financial Adviser
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on April 18, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Frank Fang
7/28/2022
Updated:
7/29/2022
0:00

The top Republican on the House Oversight Committee is pressing financial adviser Edward Prewitt on Hunter Biden’s allegedly suspicious foreign activities that have been flagged by U.S. banks.

“More than 150 transactions from the Bidens’ business dealings have been flagged by U.S. banks through filings of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a July 27 letter (pdf) to Prewitt, who’s a managing director for investments at Prewitt Mahler Tucker Private Wealth Management Group.
U.S. banks are required by law to flag cash transactions exceeding $10,000 per day and automatically file SARs in an effort to prevent criminal activities, such as money laundering and tax evasion.

“Text messages show that Hunter Biden was aware of these SARs and took steps to avoid detection in his financial dealings,” Comer wrote. “Information reviewed by Committee Republicans reveals you were advising Hunter Biden on financial transactions when U.S. banks were flagging suspicious activity by the Biden family.”

Ranking Republican member Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) speaks at a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in the Rayburn House Office Building on Nov. 16, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Ranking Republican member Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) speaks at a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in the Rayburn House Office Building on Nov. 16, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
His letter to Prewitt is Comer’s latest effort to seek information on the alleged suspicious transactions since CBS News disclosed them in April. In the following month, Comer sent letters to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and 13 banks seeking financial records and documents in connection to Hunter Biden; his uncle, James Biden; and business associates Eric Schwerin and Devon Archer, among others.

The 13 banks included Morgan Stanley, Citi Bank, Bank of America, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of China.

On July 6, Comer reiterated his demand for information when he sent a second letter to Yellen, saying that her department’s failure to respond should “raise new questions about the degree to which the Biden Administration is using the federal government to provide cover for the Biden family and its associates.”

Comer wrote in his letter to Prewitt: “As Hunter Biden’s financial advisor, you are in a unique position to know how these transactions originated and why they were flagged by U.S. banks. As such, we request information regarding Hunter Biden’s financial transactions, including any documents related to SARs.”

Comer wrote that other committee members had seen documents showing that Prewitt and his firm managed the accounts of several of Hunter Biden’s businesses, including Owasco PC, Owasco LLC, Skaneateles, and Rosemont Seneca Partners.

Additionally, Comer alleged that Prewitt’s firm “was at least aware” of how Hunter Biden’s company, Hudson West, was used in transferring millions of dollars from Chinese firm CEFC China Energy to Hunter and James Biden. The now-defunct CEFC was once “effectively an arm of the Chinese government.”

In March, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) presented bank records on the Senate floor, with one record showing a $1 million payment from CEFC to Hunter Biden for the purpose of representing Patrick Ho, a top lieutenant of CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming. In 2019, Ho was sentenced to three years in U.S. prison for bribery and money laundering.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks during a congressional hearing in Washington on Feb. 24, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks during a congressional hearing in Washington on Feb. 24, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

In one instance, Prewitt alerted Hunter Biden with an email after the first son’s accounts were “flagged by Wells Fargo Corporate Compliance for further scrutiny,” according to Comer’s letter.

Schwerin, who held meetings with Joe Biden when he was vice president in the Obama administration, was also named in Comer’s email. According to Comer, Prewitt’s firm managed accounts tied to Schwerin.

“Schwerin’s inclusion in these transactions raises questions about President Biden’s involvement in the management and knowledge of these various entities’ activities,” the letter reads.

Comer gave Prewitt an Aug. 3 deadline to brief Republican staff on the committee and the matters and an Aug. 10 deadline to turn over financial records, documents, and communications.

The letter requested “all documents, communications, and information related to SARs flagged by U.S. banks connected to Hunter Biden or any business entity connected to Hunter Biden, James Biden, or other Biden family members and associates.”

“Committee Republicans are committed to following Hunter Biden’s money trail—consisting of many complex, international transactions worth millions of dollars,” Comer wrote. “The American people deserve to know the President’s connections to his son’s business deals, which have occurred at the expense of American interests and may represent a national security threat.”

Prewitt didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.