The “missing” witness that Republicans in Congress have long hailed as the missing link in their investigation into alleged Biden family corruption was accused on Monday of being a unregistered foreign spy for China and an international arms dealer while violating US sanctions on Iran and lying to investigators, among a laundry list of other federal expenses.
US-Israeli dual citizen Gal Luft skipped bail while in Cyprus awaiting extradition to the US for a separate case in March—although he alleges that the long-running case against him represents political repression and retaliation by the Biden Administration against a possible witness.
The House Oversight Committee has for months touted a secret “informer” who could provide evidence of a supposed “reciprocal” foreign aid deal between Biden under Biden. Obama era and an unnamed country — though details of the deal remain hazy and unverified at best.
Those statements shed some light when Congressman James Comer (R-KY) in May held a much-anticipated press conference in which he promised to reveal preliminary findings after four months of monitoring the family’s business dealings. Biden family — while not presenting any solid evidence of corruption. Then he gave part of the reason for the failure: Their star witness rose and disappeared.
This situation was memorialized in a widely publicized Fox News interview in which gullible Maria Bartiromo appeared shocked by the revelations.
“Unfortunately, we were unable to track down the informant,” a Kentucky representative said. “We hope that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very trustworthy.”
“We hope we can find the informant,” Comer added. “Remember, these informants are kind of in the spy business, so they’re not in the habit of being seen a lot or being famous or anything like that.”
Luft then gave later dates in an interview with New York Post Office opinion columnist Miranda Devinealleged that he was hiding in an undisclosed location after being arrested on five counts, including third-world weapons trafficking, as well as violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and other crimes.
“My chances of getting a fair trial in Washington are close to zero,” he told Devine of the reason for skipping bail. “I had to do what I had to do.”
Despite the allegations, Comer doubled down on Friday, tweeting that Luft was a “very credible witness to the corrupt conduct of the Biden family” who “provided evidence against six FBI officials” and DOJ during a meeting in Brussels in March 2019.”
He continued: “We have no reason to believe that the FBI & DOJ acted on this information.
On Sunday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson (WI) added Luft should be exempt.
“Now, he is literally on the run for his life,” Johnson told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “He is on the run. He is an important witness. He needs to be excused so he can testify and tell his story.”
Monday’s charges add to a list of crimes against which Luft has been charged — including a 2016 plan to “recruit and pay” a White House adviser to support friendly policies. with China without first applying as a foreign agent.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, Luft is also accused of brokering arms deals with Chinese businesses to sell their products in places like the United Arab Emirates, Kenya and Libya — all neither holds a valid US license. Federal authorities allege that they have evidence Luft sells anti-tank grenade launchers, grenade launchers, mortars, aerial bombs, missiles and even drones.
Worse still, Justice Department prosecutors say he lied to them in interviews about the alleged scheme.
“In a voluntary interview with US law enforcement in which he was asked about his involvement in the arms trade, LUFT made numerous false statements, including that he did not seek to engage in or profit from arms transactions,” the department said in a statement.
Luft is also accused of brokering purchases of Iranian oil – which he wrongly labeled “Brazilian” – in violation of US sanctions.
In total, Luft faces 36 counts that carry a maximum of 100 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.
