House Republicans want officials from the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service to answer questions about allegations from whistleblowers that there was improper meddling in the Hunter Biden investigation.
The chairs of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees are seeking interviews with over a dozen officials involved in the probe of the president’s son, include Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss.
Weiss, a Trump administration holdover, announced earlier this month that he’d reached a plea agreement with Hunter Biden on tax-related charges after a sprawling five-year investigation. Biden is expected to plead guilty next month to two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes.
Oversight chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Judiciary chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means chair Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., sent letters Thursday to DOJ and IRS leadership demanding they make officials available to answer claims from two IRS whistleblowers that the investigation “was purposely slow-walked and subjected to improper and politically motivated interference.”
“The federal government is supposed to work for the American people, but whistleblower evidence shows that several federal employees were working overtime to cover up for the Bidens. We need to hear from these federal employees and other witnesses about this weaponization of federal law enforcement power,” the three said in a joint statement.
They warned that the committees “will resort to compulsory process” — subpoenas — if the agencies don’t make the officials available for interviews to obtain the required testimony in the coming weeks.
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Among the whistleblowers’ claims are that Weiss sought authority to hit Hunter Biden with broader charges in Washington and California, but was told the U.S. attorneys in those districts would not do so.
The Justice Department, which has previously denied the allegations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“As both the Attorney General and U.S. Attorney David Weiss have said, U.S. Attorney Weiss has full authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges as he deems appropriate. He needs no further approval to do so,” Wyn Hornbuckle, the deputy director of the Justice Department Office of Public Affairs, said last week.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, asked last week if he would object to Weiss testifying before the House, responded, “I would support Mr. Weiss explaining or testifying on these matters when he deems it appropriate.”
The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The chairs also sent a letter to the head of the Secret Service, seeking information about whether agents may have tipped off Biden family members about the investigation.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hunter Biden’s plea hearing is scheduled for July 26. Two sources familiar with the plea agreement have told NBC News it includes a provision in which the U.S. attorney has agreed to recommend a sentence of probation.
Republicans have blasted the agreement as a “sweetheart deal.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
