Yesterday (July 10th) the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Gal Luft. The indictment charges Luft with being an unregistered Chinese agent and illegally arranging oil sales, in violations of sanctions, to Iran, along with other charges.
The Chinese agent charge includes recruiting and paying an unnamed, but high ranking, U.S. Government official, on behalf of China. This payment occurred while the American official was an advisor to the President-elect Donald Trump. The payment occurred in December 2015 and was for the purpose of influencing the soon-to-be President’s policies towards China. To summarize, Luft is accused of arranging a Chinese bribe of the Trump Administration to influence Trump’s policy towards China.
While Luft’s name is not well known to most Americans, those following the Republican investigation of the Bidens have heard it. Luft was one of their secret “whistleblowers,” that they told the American people was very credible. In May, House Oversight Committee James Comer was pushing Luft, and his testimony, as central to the investigation of Biden corruption. But then something strange happened. Comer was forced to admit that their star witness had disappeared. Poof. Comer claimed to have no idea where he was, or what happened to him. We know now, though.
Comer is now whining about the timing of this DOJ charge. Indeed, as I shall discuss, the timing is highly suspect.
Please note that I said the Luft’s indictment was unsealed on Monday. As the indictment makes clear he was actually indicted on November 1, 2022. At that time Democrats controlled the House and Comer and his crew had not even started their bogus investigations. At that time Luft was not a “whistleblower” and had not made any allegations against the Bidens.
Luft was arrested in Cyprus on an international warrant in February of this year, but jumped bail and fled while awaiting extradition. His whereabouts remain unknown to U.S. law enforcement. Yesterday’s DOJ announcement of the indictment included the following statement:
“If you have any information about LUFT’s whereabouts, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips can be reported anonymously and can also be reported online at tips.fbi.gov.”
After he skipped bail, Republicans, desperate to groom whistleblowers, used this person, one they knew to be a federal fugitive, as a supposed “witness,” all while telling the American people that he was very credible. This point bears repeating. Luft was talking to Republicans in Congress while he was a fugitive who had jumped bail. Just exactly how does that happen?
A real question arises as to whether Republicans in Congress assisted a known fugitive in evading the law. The timing suggests they did. That’s what needs to be investigated now.
Edit & Update
The person Luft recruited and paid the Chinese bribe to has been identified as James Woolsey, who served as National Security Advisor to Trump’s campaign. Woolsey was Director of the CIA from 1993–1995. To summarize, the Former Director of the CIA, while working as President-elect Trump’s National Security Advisor, accepted a bribe from China intended to influence the administration towards favorable policies for China.
