House Republicans are demanding to know whether one of Russia’s wealthiest women, who paid scandal-scarred Hunter Biden’s company $3.5 million, is receiving preferential treatment from the Biden administration because she has not been targeted by Treasury Department sanctions.
The inquiry by the Republicans once again shines a light on criticism that the administration is not being transparent about whether the president discussed overseas business matters with his son or whether he is influenced by those relationships.
The GOP group, led by Rep. James Comer, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, sent a letter to the Treasury Department Thursday questioning why Elena Baturina has so far escaped the sanctions levied on Russians after the attack on Ukraine.
Baturina, the former wife of the late mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, wired $3.5 million in 2014 to a bank account held by Rosemont Seneca Thornton, an investment company founded by President Biden’s son.
“If the United States is avoiding sanctioning certain Russian oligarchs because of concerns they may attempt to influence American policy by exploiting Hunter Biden’s connection with his father – the President of the United States – the American people deserve to know it,” the letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says.
The missive, obtained exclusively by The Post, directly questioned whether Baturina – whose fortune is estimated at $1.4 billion – is “being treated differently” from other “wealthy, politically-connected Russians” because of her ties with the president’s son.
Comer and the 18 other Republicans note that while Russia has slapped sanctions on Hunter Biden, his father, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and 10 other Americans, the US has not imposed penalties on Baturina — even though in 2018, the Trump administration classified her as a Russian “political figure and oligarch.”
”Because Hunter Biden is now subject to sanctions issued by Russia, his foreign business dealings are of heightened importance,” reads the letter, which was also signed by Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Andy Biggs of Arizona.
“We request further information to determine whether Hunter Biden’s relationships with Russian oligarchs are impacting the foreign policy decisions of the United States,” the Republicans say in the communication.
The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden has insisted since the 2020 presidential campaign that he has not discussed Hunter Biden’s business affairs with the first son, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki says that remains true to this day — despite a flood of stories that appear to contradict that narrative.
Last month, Psaki brushed off a Post reporter’s question about Biden’s potential conflicts of interests involving the payout from Baturina.
“How is President Biden navigating conflicts of interest when it comes to sanctioning people who have done business with this family? And can you explain to us what this $3.5 million was for?” The Post asked her during a White House briefing.
“I don’t have any confirmation of the accuracy of that report, so I have no further details,” she said brushing off the question.
Asked about the $3.5 million check, Psaki said that allegation has not been confirmed.
“He’s continued to sanction oligarchs more than we’ve ever sanctioned in the past, so I’m not sure that’s a conflict of interest,” she said of the president.
Comer told The Post in a statement said that ambiguity is precisely why he and the other GOP members are pressing the administration.
He called attention to Hunter Biden’s “pattern of wheeling and dealing with foreign nationals in countries opposed to US interests … the Biden administration must inform the American public if Baturina is on the sanctions list or not.”
The first son’s foreign business dealings in China and Ukraine, where Hunter Biden was paid as much as $50,000 to sit on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma, were exposed by The Post in a series of articles in October 2020.
The blockbuster reports, based on messages and documents on a laptop Hunter Biden abandoned at a Delaware computer shop in 2019, show that he tried to exploit the political influence of his father, then the vice president in the Obama administration, to set himself up for lucrative paydays.
The letter says administration sanctions pinpointed “Russia’s Kremlin-connected business elite” and their families over the Feb. 24 attack on Ukraine.
”Though Russian counter-sanctions were largely expected, the inclusion of Hunter Biden and, notably, none of the other Biden children among the list of those sanctioned raises serious concerns about why Russia would believe Hunter Biden is a pressure point to exploit,” the letter asks, adding that Hunter Biden is not a member of the administration or a government official and all that sets him apart is his connection to Baturina.
The Republicans also point out that while all of the names of sanctioned Russians haven’t been released publicly, “notably missing” from the list of those that have been made public by the Treasury Department is Baturina.
They note that the Treasury Department released a tally of 28 names – including Russian President Vladimir Putin – whom it considered “Russian elite, proxies and oligarchs.”
The list includes 50 people – including the 28 names made public – considered “priorities for the United States,” leaving 22 individuals unknown to the American public.
The Republicans want the Treasury Department to provide the following documents to the House committee no later than May 5:
-The complete list of Russian citizens subject to U.S. sanctions.
-All documents and communications during the Biden administration between and among the Treasury Department, the White House, and/or the State Department regarding the decision to withhold 22 names from the list of sanctioned individuals.
-All documents and communications since Biden took office between and among the Treasury Department, the White House, and/or the State Department regarding Elena Baturina, Hunter Biden, and Rosemont Seneca Partners.
Other lawmakers who signed the letter include: Reps. Jody Hice of Georgia, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Michael Cloud of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, Bob Gibbs of Ohio, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Pete Sessions of Texas, Fred Keller of Pennsylvania, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Scott Franklin of Florida, Jake LaTurner of Kansas, Pat Fallon of Texas, Yvette Herrell of New Mexico, and Byron Donalds of Florida.