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WASHINGTON — The Republican chairmen of three House committees demanded Thursday that the Justice Department allow officials to testify to Congress about the alleged coverup in the criminal investigation of first son Hunter Biden — with the invite list prominently featuring Delaware US Attorney David Weiss.
Two IRS whistleblowers alleged in sworn depositions last month that the investigation of President Biden’s 53-year-old son was stymied by preferential treatment and the refusal of Biden-appointed US attorneys in Southern California and Washington, DC, to bring Weiss-recommended charges for failure to pay taxes on foreign income.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) signed the demands for closed-door testimony, issued exactly one week after the release of the whistleblower testimony.
“The Committees must obtain the first-hand testimony from these individuals to fully assess the serious allegations raised by these brave IRS whistleblowers,” they wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is not on the initial raft of interview requests despite testimony from the whistleblower that he lied to Congress about Weiss’s ability to bring charges outside Delaware.
The requests suggest the committees will seek to first acquire testimony from lower ranking officials before possibly moving to impeach Garland, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says is possible.
“To avoid any unnecessary delay, we ask that you please direct your staff to work with the Judiciary Committee staff to begin scheduling these transcribed interviews as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m. on July 13, 2023. Please be aware that the Committees will resort to compulsory process to obtain the required testimony,” the letter says.
Weiss announced June 20 that Hunter would plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes in Delaware and a gun possession felony that will be expunged after two years of probation. Republicans derided it as a sweetheart plea deal and released the whistleblower testimony two days later. The plea deal still must be approved by a judge.
IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley said that Weiss was blocked from bringing charges by DC and Los Angeles US attorneys Matthew Graves and Martin Estrada, who also are on the list of officials invited to testify, as is Delaware Assistant US Attorney Lesley Wolf, who played a key role in the Hunter Biden case, according to the whistleblowers.
Shapley oversaw the Hunter Biden tax fraud case for more than three years and said that the first son’s most serious charged offenses avoided criminal penalties or a requirement to reimburse Uncle Sam because of a statute of limitations on 2014 and 2015 income.
An IRS case agent who worked on the Hunter Biden case since 2018 broadly backed up Shapley’s testimony in a subsequent deposition before the Ways and Means Committee.
FBI officials Tom Sobocinski and Ryeshia Holly and five other DOJ officials — Jack Morgan, Mark Daly, Stuart Goldberg, Shawn Weede and Shannon Hanson — are on the list for requested interviewees.
Similar letters were sent Thursday to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel in an attempt to corroborate the testimony from Shapley and his subordinate, who has remained anonymous.
The letter to the IRS asks for testimony from tax-agency employees Michael Batdorf and Darrell Waldon, Shapley’s supervisor.
The Secret Service request asks the agency to identify and make available for interviews agents aware of an alleged Dec. 7, 2020, tipoff to the Biden transition team that the IRS intended to approach Hunter Biden for an interview, allowing for him to duck investigators.
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