If you thought James Comer couldn’t drop the ball anymore, think again. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Gal Luft, Comer’s chief witness in alleging crimes by President Biden, was being charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, trafficking in arms, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, and making false statements to federal agents. 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. These charges add to six months of misery and failure for MAGA Republicans whose political stunts have failed to uncover a single piece of evidence linking President Biden to any wrongdoing whatsoever.
Commentary
Ben Collins, NBC News senior reporter: “The ‘missing’ Hunter Biden witness the GOP was promising for a while there was just charged by the DOJ with being a Chinese spy.” [Twitter, 7/10/23]
Joe Scarborough, MSNBC anchor: “As Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, now they’re just making stuff up…I cleaned it up for the kids today. They’re making all the wild charges up, they blow up in their faces, and they wonder why they keep losing elections. [MSNBC, “Morning Joe,” 7/11/23, VIDEO]
Kurt Eichenwald, New York Times senior investigative editor: “More deliciousness in the Comer/My informant is a Chinese spy scandal: Comer says his “informant” was indicted because of whistleblowing to GOP Congress. Um..look at the date on the sealed indictment: It was filed in 2022, before there WAS a GOP Congress. […] …also, Luft fled the country in 2017, when one of his colleagues was indicted. He has never returned. None of this attracted Comer’s attention.” [Twitter, 7/11/23]
Victoria Brownworth, investigative journalist: “Gal Luft being charged as a Chinese spy is such a huge story. Luft is the alleged witness who the House GOP claimed would “bring down” the “Biden crime family.” Looks like Luft is the criminal and the GOP’s latest attempt to weaponize the House against Biden has failed.” [Twitter, 7/10/23]
Ed Krassenstein, independent journalist: “Just like the Burisma/Shokin story, this is another story that fizzles out once you get all of the details. The idea isn’t to put legitimate stories out there. The idea is to create a narrative by putting out multiple stories that follow in the same narrative, knowing they will likely eventually fizzle out.” [Twitter, 7/11/23]
Stories
The Independent: ‘Whistleblower’ Who Accused Bidens Of Corruption Is Charged With Arms Trafficking And Violating Iran Sanctions. “Kyle Herrig, the executive director of the Congressional Integrity Project, said in a statement that the case of Mr Luft shows there is ‘nothing more corrupt than the lengths MAGA Republicans will go to preserve and expand their own power, including consorting with other corrupt actors – even alleged spies for the Chinese Communist Party’. ‘Do James Comer, Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy lack a single ounce of shame? Apparently so. The case against President Biden was built on nothing more than conspiracy theories to begin with, but over the past few weeks we’ve seen their allegations crumble even more,’ he said. ‘Today’s charges add to six months of misery and failure for MAGA Republicans whose political stunts have failed to uncover a single piece of evidence linking President Biden to any wrongdoing whatsoever’.” [The Independent, 7/11/23]
CNN: US-Israeli Citizen Charged With Arms Trafficking, Acting As Chinese Agent. “The US-Israeli citizen, Gal Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is also someone House Oversight Chairman James Comer, a top Republican, has described as an informant claiming to have incriminating information on Hunter Biden. Luft was charged with failing to register as an agent for China in the US, including in 2016 acting through a former high-ranking US official who was then advising President-elect Donald Trump. He was also charged with acting as a middleman to aid Chinese companies buying weapons. The indictment also alleges Luft violated US sanctions by attempting to broker sales of Iranian oil. House Republicans are investigating the Biden family’s financial dealings and have requested information from the Justice Department about its investigation into Hunter Biden, who has agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors. At least one Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, has claimed that Luft is an important witness in that investigation.” [CNN, 7/11/23]
HuffPost: Mystery GOP Whistleblower Accused Of Being Unregistered Foreign Agent, Arms Dealer. “Luft, the director of a Washington, D.C., think tank called the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, said in his video that the government official Williams referred to is former CIA Director James Woolsey, who served as an adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. All he did, Luft said, was ghostwrite an article with Woolsey’s name on it. The indictment says Luft schemed to ‘educate’ the official so that he would make public statements favorable to China and that this official would be paid $6,000 per month for articles in a Chinese newspaper. According to emails quoted in the indictment, Luft and an associate hoped Woolsey would get a prominent position within the new administration. Woolsey wound up resigning as a Trump adviser before Trump took office. House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who has been conducting investigations into the Biden family, said earlier this year that one of his sources had gone missing, prompting mockery from Democrats. After the New York Post made Luft’s video public, Comer said he’d been vindicated. ‘He’s very credible, and the people on MSNBC who made fun of me when I said we had an informant that was missing, they should feel like fools right now,’ Comer told Newsmax TV last week. ‘This is their worst nightmare.’” [HuffPost, 7/10/23]
Reuters: Head of US think tank charged with acting as Chinese agent. “Gal Luft, a citizen of the United States and Israel, is accused of recruiting and paying a former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent as required by law. Prosecutors did not identify the former official, but said he was working as an adviser to the then president-elect Donald Trump at the time. Luft is accused of pushing the adviser to support policies favorable to China, including by drafting comments in the adviser’s name published in a Chinese newspaper.” [Reuters, 7/11/23]
USAToday: US Says Missing GOP Whistleblower Is Arms Trafficker, Chinese Agent. “A longtime energy security analyst who splits his time between Maryland and Israel, Luft has accused Biden family members of bribery and of having received payments from individuals with ties to Chinese military intelligence or energy firms. Luft, whose Institute for the Analysis of Global Security focuses on energy security, has denied wrongdoing in tweets in which he also claimed the Justice Department case against him is politically motivated. Senator Ron Johnson, one of several prominent Republicans to tout Luft as a whistleblower witness, also suggested in a July 9 tweet that the Justice Department case against Luft is connected to his alleged interest in exposing Biden family corruption. ‘Is DOJ trying to silence Dr. Gal Luft from publicly exposing Biden family corruption?’ asked Johnson, R-Wisc., the top Republican on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ‘The American people deserve the truth and Dr. Luft must have the chance to testify before Congress.’ Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, also has been heavily touting Luft as a potential breakthrough witness with incriminating evidence of corruption against the Bidens. But so far, Comer hasn’t revealed specifics. In May, Comer was forced to acknowledge that the House committee had lost track of its whistleblower. And three days before the criminal charges were unsealed, Comer told the conservative Newsmax media outfit that Luft was ‘a very credible witness on Biden family corruption [who] provided incriminating evidence to six officials from the FBI and the DOJ in a meeting in Brussels in March 2019.’ According to the indictment, Luft conspired with others in an effort to act within the United States to advance China’s interests without registering as foreign agents.” [USAToday, 7/10/23]
The Hill: Think Tank Leader Who Claims To Have Given FBI Info On Hunter Biden Charged By Justice Department. “In a video first published by the New York Post, Luft made bribery allegations against the Biden family and called himself ‘patient zero of the Biden family investigation.’ He claims in the video that he was arrested to prevent him from testifying before the House Oversight Committee on shady Biden family business dealings. He also claims he shared his allegations with FBI and DOJ officials during a March 2019 meeting, which he said they covered up. McConnell takes aim at Schumer, Biden for ‘escalating attacks’ on Supreme Court Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the Oversight Committee, called Luft a ‘very credible witness on Biden family corruption’ in a tweet last week. Comer and other Republicans have heralded Luft as a whistleblower in the Hunter Biden laptop probe. Luft faces up to 100 years in prison if convicted of all eight counts, though such a sentence is unlikely.” [The Hill, 7/10/23]
Raw Story: ‘Just Making Stuff Up!’ Morning Joe Mocks GOP As ‘Wild Charges’ About Biden ‘Blow Up In Their Face’. “‘This guy was appointed by [Donald] Trump, right — Trump guy?’ the ‘Morning Joe’ host said… ‘As Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, now they’re just making stuff up’ Scarborough said. ‘I cleaned it up for the kids today. They’re making all the wild charges up, they blow up in their faces, and they wonder why they keep losing elections.’… ‘Also, the Republicans have to make up their mind,’ Geist added. ‘Is Joe Biden a doddering old man who can’t find the door after a press conference, or is he the mastermind of an international criminal scheme that involves China, involves Russia and Ukraine and all these different places, where he is enriching himself and his family? It kind of can’t be both.’” [Raw Story, 7/11/23]
The Messenger: GOP-Touted Witness in Hunter Biden Laptop Probe Charged by DOJ in China Lobbying Scandal. “The indictment unsealed Monday alleges Luft ‘engaged in multiple international criminal schemes, including a scheme to act within the United States to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China (‘China’) as agents of China-based principals, without registering as foreign agents as required under U.S. law.’… Prosecutors say Luft was arrested in Cyprus on Feb. 18, 2023. After Luft was released on bail pending extradition proceedings, the Justice Department said he fled and is currently considered a fugitive. If prosecuted and convicted on all charges, Luft could face a maximum prison sentence of 100 years — though any actual sentence likely would be far lower.” [The Messenger, 7/10/23]
Rolling Stone: Republican’s ‘Whistleblower’ Charged as Unregistered Foreign Agent. “The Department of Justice announced on Monday an indictment against Gal Luft, the Israeli-American co-head of a Maryland-based think tank, on charges related to violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Luft, currently a fugitive from American authorities, has been touted by Republicans as a potential whistleblower in their ongoing efforts to link the Biden family to corrupt business dealings abroad… In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams alleged that Luft had ‘subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking U.S. Government official.’” [Rolling Stone, 7/10/23]
Raw Story: GOP’s so-called whistleblower accused of being a pawn of a foreign government by the DOJ. “Israeli Gal Luft claimed to have evidence against President Joe Biden and his son in a bribery scheme with China that Republicans have jumped on. But as it turns out, the Justice Department indicted him for being an unregistered foreign agent, trafficking in arms, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, and making false statements to federal agents. Luft disappeared for a time online, leading to conspiracy theories. When Luft resurfaced, it was to deny accusations against him and claim that the federal government was after him.” [Raw Story, 7/10/23]
Business Insider: Fox News Regular Who Accused Hunter Biden Of Having Nefarious Ties To China Is Now Being Charged With Having Nefarious Ties To China. “A missing witness into the investigation of Hunter Biden’s business dealings who claims he has proof of the President’s son’s corrupt connections to the Chinese government has reappeared after he himself was accused of being a Chinese agent and fled custody. Days after Gal Luft publicly dared the DOJ to unseal the indictment against him — alleging the charges he’s facing are a political attempt to cover up his claims of Hunter Biden’s corruption — officials did just that. The US Attorney’s Office on Monday released the indictment against the US-Israeli dual citizen, who was arrested in Cyprus in February on charges of willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (‘FARA’), arms trafficking, Iranian sanctions violations, and making false statements to federal agents. […] After being arrested in February — while the indictment against him was still sealed from the public — Luft fled once released on bail. His whereabouts are currently unknown. ‘I volunteered to inform the US government about potential security breach, and about compromising information about a man vying to be the next president,’ Luft told the NY Post. ‘I’m now being hunted by the very same people who I informed and may have to live on the run for the rest of my life.’ Luft added: ‘I warned the government about potential risks to the integrity of the 2020 elections … Just think about it, and ask yourself who’s a real criminal in this story?’” [Business Insider, 7/11/23]
Daily Beast: GOP’s ‘Missing’ Biden Probe Witness Faces Laundry List of Federal Charges. “The House Oversight Committee has for months touted a secret ‘informant’ who could provide evidence of an alleged ‘quid pro quo’ deal for foreign aid between an Obama-era Biden and an unnamed country—though details of the arrangement remain murky and unverified at best. Those claims partially unraveled when Rep. James Comer (R-KY) in May held a much-hyped press conference in which he promised to expose the preliminary findings of four months’ worth of scrutiny into the Biden family’s business dealings—while failing to air any real evidence of corruption. He then offered a partial excuse for the failure: their star witness had up and disappeared. The situation was memorialized in a much-publicized Fox News interview, in which a credulous Maria Bartiromo appeared shocked by the revelations. ‘Well, unfortunately, we can’t track down the informant,’ the Kentucky representative said. ‘We’re hopeful that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very credible.’ ‘We’re hopeful that we can find the informant,’ Comer added. ‘Remember, these informants are kind of in the spy business, so they don’t make a habit of being seen a lot or being high-profile or anything like that.’” [Daily Beast, 7/11/23]
The Guardian: Head of US-based thinktank charged with acting as China agent. “The head of a US thinktank has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, as well as seeking to broker the sale of weapons and Iranian oil, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said. Gal Luft, a citizen of the United States and Israel, is accused of recruiting and paying a former high-ranking US government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent as required by law. Prosecutors did not identify the former official, but said he was working as an adviser to then president-elect Donald Trump at the time. Luft is accused of pushing the adviser to support policies favorable to China, including by drafting comments in the adviser’s name that were published in a Chinese newspaper.” [The Guardian, 7/10/23]
Mediaite: Republicans’ Key ‘Whistleblower’ Indicted For ‘Working to Advance the Interests Of China’. “The whistleblower Republicans said would expose the alleged corruption of President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden has been indicted on eight counts… Luft was initially arrested in Cyprus in February before skipping bail and going on the lam. He remains a fugitive. Congressional Republicans who said they spoke with Luft about the business dealings of the Biden family told members of the press that he had gone ‘missing.’ ‘Well, we’re hopeful that we can find the informant,’ Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said in May. ‘Remember, these informants are kind of in the spy business, so they don’t make a habit of being seen a lot or being high profile or anything like that.’” [Mediaite, 7/10/23]