Right-wing media are continuing to defend Gal Luft, a key witness in the House Oversight Committee’s Hunter Biden investigation, after he was charged with arms trafficking and failure to register as a foreign agent. 

Gal Luft was previously hailed as the House Oversight Committee’s star informant in the committee’s investigation into President Joe Biden’s family. After his indictment was unsealed on Monday, however, right-wing media wasted no time in claiming Luft as a victim of a Department of Justice that they’ve argued is being weaponized against conservatives. Several right-wing media figures spread the blatant lie that Luft was recently indicted only after publicly sharing his allegations against the Biden family (Luft was indicted in November 2022). 

Right-wing media’s hypocrisy in their reporting on suspected espionage is glaring. For instance, when Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was linked to a suspected Chinese spy, right-wing media scandalized the report and called for retribution, even though Swalwell was never accused of any wrongdoing. Yet the right insists that Luft, who has been formally charged, is still a credible witness.

Even after Luft’s charges were unsealed, right-wing media have vehemently defended him and reiterated claims he made in a 14-minute video published by the New York Post in July 2023. The right is rallying behind the fugitive and his unsubstantiated claims while demonizing the Department of Justice.

November 1, 2022: The Department of Justice hands down its indictment to Luft

Last November, Luft was handed an indictment charging him with illicit arms trafficking, failing to register as an agent for China, and violating U.S. sanction laws. 

Luft claims to have met with the FBI and DOJ in March 2019 to present evidence of corruption in the Biden family, but there does not appear to be any evidence that he went public with information about this meeting or the Biden allegations prior to his indictment. 

The Washington Post reported:

February 17, 2023: Luft is arrested in Cyprus

The day after the arrest, Luft took to Twitter to claim, “I've been arrested in Cyprus on a politically motivated extradition request by the US. The US, claiming I'm an arms dealer. It would be funny if it weren't tragic. I've never been an arms dealer. DOJ is trying to bury me to protect Joe,Jim&Hunter Biden. Shall I name names?” Luft then fled the authorities after being freed on bond while awaiting extradition. 

Despite his status as a fugitive, right-wing media gave credence to Luft’s claims and accused the Justice Department and FBI of a cover-up:

• Washington Free Beacon reported Luft as “missing.” The article said: “Luft claimed that he was the target of political revenge for blowing the whistle on the Bidens. He has reportedly vanished from Cyprus while out on bail.” [Washington Free Beacon, 5/15/23]
• The Gateway Pundit wrote that “according to Luft, the Regime had him arrested on bogus weapon trafficking charges in January to try to silence him.” The article concluded, “Let’s all hope Luft is found safely because justice is counting on him.” [Gateway Pundit, 4/27/23]
• On America Reports, co-anchor John Roberts called Luft’s allegations “explosive,” giving credence to a whistleblower who has produced no salient proof. Roberts continued: “James Comer was asking the same question, ‘What did China get for the money? What were the Bidens doing for the money?’ Gal Luft is giving us a clue from his perspective into what it was all about, claiming that the Bidens were being paid to represent Patrick Ho, a Chinese national who was arrested in 2017 on bribery and money laundering charges. Luft’s American attorney, a fellow named Robert Henoch, told The New York Post, quote, ‘Congress has the Biden bank records but doesn’t know the reason for the payments. Now it does. The information that the whistleblower Dr. Luft gave the DOJ four years ago is the missing link for the reason behind the China-Biden money transfers. Clearly this is explosive stuff.’” [Fox News, America Reports, 3/23/23]
• TheBlaze published unfounded allegations from an unnamed “Israeli energy expert” who claimed that Hunter Biden had an FBI mole who would tip him off to probes of Chinese business partners. TheBlaze wrote, “Hunter Biden had a well-paid FBI mole named ‘One-Eye’ who provided confidential information about government probes of his Chinese business partners, according to an Israeli energy expert. The whistleblower was arrested in Cyprus last month after the U.S. Department of Justice accused him of being a gunrunner and made an extradition request.” [TheBlaze, 3/24/23]
• Washington Free Beacon amplified Luft’s claim that he was the “target of political revenge” for his whistleblowing. In the article, Washington Free Beacon continued: “Gal Luft, a director at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, has claimed he provided the FBI with information about Hunter and Joe Biden in March 2019. Luft came forward after the Justice Department sought his extradition from Cyprus on arms trafficking charges. Luft claimed that he was the target of political revenge for blowing the whistle on the Bidens. He has reportedly vanished from Cyprus while out on bail.” [Washington Free Beacon, 5/15/23]

July 5, 2023: The New York Post publishes a video of Luft claiming that his arrest was made to prevent him from testifying to the House Oversight Committee about supposed Biden family corruption

In the video, Luft claimed that he provided incriminating evidence to the FBI and DOJ in a secret meeting in March 2019. He claimed the meeting was “covered up” and that he is “now being hunted by the very same people whom [he] informed.” It does not appear that Luft ever made a public mention of this meeting prior to his indictment or arrest, but he claimed that he is “patient zero of the Biden family investigation.” The New York Post's Miranda Devine wrote an article accompanying the video in which she reiterated his claims.

Other right-wing figures and outlets quickly followed suit, reiterating Luft’s claims: 

• The Daily Wire repeated Luft’s claims that he had evidence of Biden family corruption and that he had presented it to the DOJ and the FBI. The headline referred to Luft as a “missing” witness despite his status as a fugitive. [Daily Wire, 7/6/23]
• Devine told Fox News’ Pete Hegseth, “I think he is going to be a witness still. … You know, he is a fugitive. Obviously, that discredits him somewhat, but perhaps that is the aim — to stop him, as he says, to stop him from testifying.” Hegseth noted that Luft was arrested in February, but failed to mention that the indictment is from last November. [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 7/6/23]
• Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade said that Luft is “in hiding” and “concerned for his own welfare” before reading statements from the New York Post video. Fox’s Pete Hegseth later added, “This guy on the screen is afraid for his life and rightfully so. He released this 14-minute video. The House Oversight Committee want to hear more, and he could be able to connect the dots. Now it's names and dollar amounts, Brian. That’s dangerous for the Bidens at this point.” [Fox News, Fox and Friends, 7/6/23]
• The Gateway Pundit published an article claiming that “Dr. Gal Luft released a 14-minute video to The New York Post on Thursday detailing damning allegations against Joe Biden and his family in a massive international bribery scheme filmed in an undisclosed location while on the run from the Biden regime and Department of Justice.” The publication claimed that Luft “vanished from Cyprus in April under mysterious circumstances” rather than specifying that he fled from the authorities. [The Gateway Pundit, 7/6/23]
• RedState wrote, “The walls seem to be crumbling down around the Biden family foreign dealings scandal as more and more whistleblower information is coming out, revealing not only troubling things about the Bidens but how the FBI and DOJ allegedly failed to investigate the matter properly.” The article also claimed that Luft “says he was then going to talk to the House Oversight Committee earlier this year when he was arrested, he believes, to stop him from doing so. He is now a fugitive in hiding, he says, because he fears for his life.” [RedState, 7/7/23]

July 10, 2023: The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York unseals Luft’s charges

On July 10, the public learned for the first time that Luft is charged with “acting as an unregistered foreign agent, trafficking in arms, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, and making false statements to federal agents.”

Knowledge of Luft’s charges and fugitive status did not deter right-wing media figures and outlets from supporting Luft; in fact, it seems only to have emboldened them to claim that the Department of Justice is trying to silence him. 

Right-wing media theorized that Luft’s indictment is retaliation from the Biden family and that the DOJ is being weaponized to protect the Bidens:

• Newsmax host Sebastian Gorka tweeted, “BREAKING Biden’s DoJ brings charges against #GalLuft, the latest Biden corruption witness. Give them credit. They know how to run a police-state. And Hunter’s FARA violations? Nah, don’t worry about that!” [Twitter, 7/10/23]
• Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson tweeted, “Last week, whistleblower Gal Luft released a video exposing details of the Biden racketeering scheme in China because he claims he was involved in it. Yesterday, Gal was indicted by the Biden Administration for Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations. What’s a FARA violation? It’s when you act as an agent of a foreign government and take money from them in order to influence American policy. EXACTLY what the Biden’s we’re doing. Who did the Biden’s take money from? CHINA. Who did Gal Luft take money from? CHINA. Joe Biden is imprisoning the people who know his crimes.” [Twitter, 7/11/23]
• HotAir editor Ed Morrissey tweeted: “What do Dr. Gal Luft and COVID vaccine risks have in common? The media wanted to distract you from both, and worked with the government to do so.” [Twitter, 7/10/23]

Right-wing media also complained that it’s hypocritical that Luft has been indicted for Foreign Agents Registration Act violations and other charges when, they claim, Hunter Biden has allegedly committed similar crimes:

• Student Freedom Caucus Network communications director Greg Price tweeted: “Yesterday, the DOJ indicted Gal Luft, who had just come forward to Congress alleging he gave the FBI evidence of the Bidens committing financial crimes in 2019. The DOJ accused him of violating FARA by working without registration for a Chinese energy company called CEFC and that his think tank took $700K from them. CEFC is the same company that paid Hunter Biden's business parter $5.1 million in 2017, who then wired it to Hunter's personal corporation. A CEFC subsidiary sent Hunter $100,000 the same year. Gal Luft got indicted with 8 felonies. Hunter Biden got a plea deal on two misdemeanors of failing to pay his taxes.” [Twitter, 7/11/23]
• Breitbart published an article highlighting critics of Luft’s indictment who claim that Hunter Biden should have also been charged with FARA violations. In the article, Breitbart reported: “The U.S. Department of Justice indicted Gal Luft, a whistleblower in the Biden family scandals, for failing to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) — but has never indicted Hunter Biden for the same. … Though Luft faces FARA charges, critics note that Hunter Biden has never been charged with the same, despite acting as a representative for foreign companies and officials.” [Breitbart, 7/11/23]
• Washington Free Beacon reported on Luft’s payments from CEFC China Energy, while also reporting on Hunter Biden’s payments from the same company. In the article, Washington Free Beacon reported: “The Washington Free Beacon reported in March that Luft worked closely with CEFC China Energy, which gave his think tank $350,000 in grants. CEFC paid Hunter Biden at least $6 million in 2017 and 2018. The firm, which has suspected ties to Chinese military intelligence, gave Hunter Biden at least $5 million for business consulting, and another $1 million to provide legal services to Patrick Ho, a CEFC executive who was indicted for trying to bribe two African officials for oil rights.” [Washington Free Beacon, 7/10/23]

Some right-wing figures expressed support for Luft while minimizing the severity or credibility of the indictment:

• Benny Johnson tweeted: “Senator Ron Johnson says Gal Luft, who was just indicted by the DOJ, should be granted immunity to testify before Congress about the criminal behavior he witnessed by the Biden family.” [Twitter, 7/10/23]
• Roberts asserted that Luft’s indictment actually gives credence to his allegations. He said: “Luft insists he told the FBI about potential corrupt ties between the Biden family and China. The fact that he's been arrested now and is accused of being an agent of China has got the left just, you know, having a field day with this, saying it shreds his credibility. But the flip side of that coin is if you are accused of being a foreign agent for China you probably know who else is working with them.” [Fox News, America Reports, 7/11/23]