Democrat Dan Goldman asks ‘who cares’ if Hunter Biden and Gal Luft got money from Chinese firm

News

By Ryan King

July 19, 2023 | 9:19pm

A top Democrat downplayed concerns that Hunter Biden received money from the same Chinese energy firm that doled out cash to the indicted informant Gal Luft.

“Who cares if they had money from the same company,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) blurted out during a brief exchange in the House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday.

Luft has been indicted on eight counts, including for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Chinese entities.

Throughout the Oversight Committee’s hearing Wednesday on IRS whistleblower allegations, Democrats needled Republicans for taking Luft seriously, suggesting it undermines their credibility now that his indictment is public knowledge.

Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) sought to fend off those attacks, by underscoring the fact that both Luft and Hunter Biden got money from Chinese energy firm CEFC.

“I’ve never met Gal Luft in my life. All I know is that he was getting money from the same company that the Bidens were getting money from, CEFC,” Comer told Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) in response to his criticism of GOP interest in Luft.

Garcia then demanded Republicans disclose contacts with Luft, whom he described as a “Chinese spy,” prompting Comer to ask if Hunter Biden was a Chinese spy because he also took money from CEFC.

That’s when Goldman chimed in, asking “Who cares” if Hunter Biden and Luft both got money from conglomerate CEFC.

Goldman’s remarks shed light on the Democrats’ mindset related to Republican concerns and allegations of Biden family influence peddling.

Republicans have insinuated that Hunter Biden may have been engaged in similar activity that put Luft on the wrong side of the law.

CEFC is known to have ties to Chinese military intelligence.

Luft gave an interview to the FBI in 2019, laying out accusations that soon-to-be President Biden was compromised due to his son’s activity in China.

He was arrested in Cyprus this past February and fled after being released on bail prior to his extradition. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Luft has alleged the indictment was intended to scuttle potential testimony to the Oversight Committee.

Goldman was one of the most outspoken Democrats on the Oversight Panel trying to push back against GOP narratives on the Biden family.

He recently signed a letter alongside Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) urging the panel to probe Luft.

The hearing Wednesday featured testimony from whistleblowers IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and IRS agent Joseph Ziegler, whose name was revealed publicly Wednesday for the first time.

Both men alleged that the federal probe into the first son was plagued by political favoritism.

Hunter Biden reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in which he will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax violations and enter a pretrial diversion agreement over a charge for illegal possession of a firearm while addicted to illicit drugs.