Republicans Raise Concerns About 'Bombshell' Biden Report

Social media exploded on Wednesday after the release of bank records that Kentucky Republican Representative James Comer claimed implicated President Joe Biden and his family in an influence-peddling scheme.

The allegations—summarized in a 36-page distillation of what Republicans claimed were "thousands" of bank records—said members of the Biden family received millions of dollars from companies in countries like China and Romania during Joe Biden's time as vice president.

While the GOP-led House Oversight Committee's summary lacked a smoking gun directly implicating the president or any of his family members in crimes, Republicans said the documents symbolized a suspicious pattern that suggested Joe Biden was involved in something suspicious, or even criminal.

Not all of the feedback, however, was positive.

Appearing on Fox and Friends on Thursday morning to discuss the findings, Comer was met with skepticism from hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, both of whom noted the lack of any real evidence in the document to support the claims Comer was making.

While money was exchanged, there was no proof anything criminal had taken place, only that there were suspicious-looking transactions made during Biden's time as vice president under Barack Obama.

And even then, the appearance of impropriety is not a crime.

"I know Republicans said the smoking gun was the financial records that you were able to subpoena and got your hands on," Doocy said. "[...]Your party, and Republican investigators, say that's proof of influence peddling by Hunter and James [Biden], but that's just your suggestion. You don't actually have any facts to that point. You've got some circumstantial evidence, and of all those names, there's no evidence Joe Biden did anything illegally."

And while others—like former Trump adviser Steve Bannon—treated the documents as evidence Biden "betrayed his country," others, like former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka, were unimpressed with the material Comer produced.

"It doesn't make any difference in the eyes of the general public until there is the smoking gun of, yes, a piece of paper, saying 'I, Joe Biden, changed this policy regarding Romania or Ukraine because of the money,'" Gorka said in a podcast with Breitbart politics editor Emma Jo-Morris on Thursday morning. "Are we ever going to see that?"

Newsweek reached out to Comer's office via email for comment.

Critics of Republicans' efforts on the Democratic side saw the public response as proof that even Biden's most ardent opponents weren't convinced of the strength of the GOP's case.

"Comer has very publicly led people to believe that he has uncovered proof supporting his serious accusations, but by failing to show any evidence, he's further diminished his credibility, to the point where even his base is doubting his unfounded claims," a House staffer familiar with the Democrats' position told Newsweek.