Washington, D.C. (July 12, 2023)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Rep. Dan Goldman sent a letter to Chairman James Comer calling for an investigation into whether Committee Republicans may have relied on false statements or misinformation provided by Mr. Gal Luft.  In addition, the Members requested that Chairman Comer immediately provide Committee Democrats with all materials and information provided by Mr. Luft to the Committee, including any information that led Chairman Comer to conclude Mr. Luft was a “very credible witness.”  

In an indictment unsealed Monday night, Luft was charged with numerous counts of arms trafficking, operating as an unregistered foreign agent to “advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China,” conspiring to broker Iranian oil deals in violation of U.S. sanctions, and making false statements to federal agents.  The charges follow additional counts of Chinese arms trafficking Luft was charged with and arrested for in February.  Mr. Luft has been a fugitive from justice since he jumped bail in April.  

“It appears as if Mr. Luft sought ‘whistleblower’ status from you in an effort to defend himself from criminal prosecution while a fugitive from justice.  Worse yet, this latest episode also raises concerns that Mr. Luft may be manipulating your investigation not only for his own self-interest but perhaps also in furtherance of the CCP’s efforts to undermine U.S. security interests and the President of the United States.  These recent revelations naturally raise broader concerns about the credibility and motivations of other purported whistleblowers that Congressional Republicans have relied on to support unfounded and baseless allegations.  Sadly, the Luft episode severely undermines the credibility of the critical function of whistleblowers in this body,” wrote the Members.

Although Mr. Luft has been on the run for months, Chairman Comer touted him as a “potential witness” and even prepared to interview him as part of his investigation.  As recently as last week, Chairman Comer described Mr. Luft as “a very credible witness” about matters relating to the President’s son’s financial dealings with Chinese companies.

Mr. Luft purportedly shared his allegations about Hunter Biden with officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice in a March 2019 meeting in Brussels.  The indictment alleges that Mr. Luft repeatedly lied to federal agents during that very same meeting.

Since launching their “priority” investigation, Committee Republicans have refused to share any documents or information received from Mr. Luft with Oversight Committee Democrats.  Given Chairman Comer’s own public endorsements of Mr. Luft’s information, there is no plausible basis for Republicans to withhold from Committee Democrats any and all information that Mr. Luft has provided to the Committee, including any information that led Committee Republicans to conclude that he is “a very credible witness” despite being under indictment and a fugitive from justice.

“In order to protect the Congress’s institutional credibility and to reassure the American people that the CCP is not using Republicans’ investigations as a vehicle to undermine the United States government, we urge you to immediately initiate an investigation into whether the Committee may have been unwittingly duped by Mr. Luft in furtherance of the CCP’s interests, as well as any potentially false statements made by Mr. Luft to Members of Congress or congressional staff.  In addition, we request that you immediately provide Committee Democrats with all materials and information provided by Mr. Luft to the Committee,” continued the Members.

Click here to read the letter.

###