Gal Luft Indictment Sparks Joe Biden Conspiracy Theories

The indictment of Gal Luft, a U.S.-Israeli citizen linked to the House Republicans' probe into the Biden family, has prompted conspiracy theories that the charges announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) were part of an effort to hinder an investigation into U.S. President Joe Biden.

On Monday, the DOJ's Southern District of New York charged the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security think tank on eight counts, including several alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Luft previously came forward as an informant in the probe into allegations about the Biden family's overseas business dealings, telling The New York Post that he was aware of dealings between them and Chinese energy firm CEFC.

The DOJ alleges that Luft conspired to advance Chinese interests in the U.S., brokered arms deals between vendors in China and clients in Libya and the United Arab Emirates and attempted to broker a deal for Iranian oil with Chinese firms.

It noted that the think tank founder had been arrested on February 17 in Cyprus and had subsequently fled after being released on bail pending extradition proceedings. At the time, he denied the charges and claimed the DOJ was "trying to bury me to protect" the Bidens.

The announcement of Luft's indictment has led to a division between those who agree with Luft, arguing that the DOJ was prosecuting him to reduce his credibility, and others who argued the scale of the allegations against him precluded them being fabricated so quickly.

"Is [the] DOJ trying to silence Dr. Gal Luft from publicly exposing Biden family corruption?" Republican senator for Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, wrote on Sunday. "The American people deserve the truth and Dr. Luft must have the chance to testify before Congress."

"They're charging the guy who brought them information on Hunter Biden's foreign influence-peddling," Sean Davis, CEO of online news outlet The Federalist, tweeted on Monday. "Not even trying to hide the corruption."

Meanwhile, Colin Rugg, the co-owner of conservative commentary site Trending Politics, said: "The Department of 'Justice' solely exists to protect the Washington elites."

The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment when approached by Newsweek on Tuesday.

However, others were skeptical of claims that Luft's indictment was a consequence of his leveling accusations at the Biden family.

"If you honestly think that just days after Gal Luft came forward alleging Biden was corrupt, the DOJ was able make up multiple fake indictments in order to silence him, then you really have no clue how the Justice system works," Ed Krassenstein, an internet personality, tweeted on Monday evening.

He added: "Stop trying to create conspiracy theories to suit the narrative that you want and start admitting that there are bad people out there who deserve to be held accountable. Indictments of this scale can't be made up out of thin air in 4-5 days."

Marina Medvin, a defense attorney representing some of the individuals facing charges relating to the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, said that it appeared Luft "was being watched for a while, probably knew an indictment was near. He could have come out with that Biden thing just to make it look like he's a victim of Biden's persecution.

"Maybe he knows something about Biden. But his veracity is suspect at best."

Newsweek approached Luft, through the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, via email for comment on Tuesday.

The House Oversight Committee has been leading an inquiry into the business dealings of the Biden family, specifically allegations that the president used his political standing to facilitate the work of his son, Hunter. Biden has dismissed the allegations as "malarkey."

The allegations relate to Hunter Biden's place on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, as well as his relationship with Chinese companies, including CEFC.

The DOJ stated on Monday that Luft "agreed to covertly recruit and pay" a former high-ranking U.S. official on China's behalf in 2016, when the official was said to also be an adviser to then President-elect Donald Trump, "to publicly support certain policies with respect to China."

It also said the 57-year-old worked with Chinese arms manufacturers to broker deals for anti-tank launchers and mortar rounds to be sold to Libya and for aerial rockets and bombs to be sold to the UAE and drones to Kenya.

The Maryland resident is now considered a fugitive, the DOJ said, and the combined maximum prison sentence of the eight charges against him is 100 years.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Luft "engaged in multiple, serious criminal schemes," adding: "Our office will continue to work vigorously with our law-enforcement partners to detect and hold accountable those who surreptitiously attempt to perpetrate malign foreign influence campaigns here in the United States."

Update 07/15/23, 9:33 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a response from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.