WASHINGTON — The chairmen of three House committees called on Attorney General Merrick Garland Friday to make the “voluntary” decision to allow 11 Justice Department officials to testify about an alleged coverup in the investigation of first son Hunter Biden — setting a Monday deadline that signals potentially swift escalation next week.
“Absent cooperation with this request, the Judiciary Committee will issue subpoenas to obtain the required testimony,” says the letter, signed by Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.).
The lead IRS agent on the case, Joseph Ziegler, and his supervisor, Gary Shapley, publicly testified Wednesday that Justice Department officials obstructed standard investigative steps and that US attorneys appointed by President Biden blocked tax fraud charges in Southern California and Washington, DC — contradicting Garland’s claims that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss could bring charges outside his district.
“In the wake of testimony from brave Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers about special treatment for the son of President Biden during the course of a criminal investigation, our Committees are conducting oversight of the Executive Branch’s commitment to impartial justice, as well as investigating the veracity of statements made in response to congressional inquiries,” the congressional letter says.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
Attorney General Garland was called on to make the “voluntary” decision to allow 11 Justice Department officials to testify about the investigation of Hunter Biden. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Republican-led committees previously requested testimony from the DOJ officials — including Weiss, Los Angeles-based US Attorney Martin Estrada and DC US Attorney Matthew Graves — in a June 29 letter to Garland.
Also on the list is Delaware assistant US attorney Lesley Wolf, who allegedly steered IRS investigators away from analyzing Joe Biden’s role in Hunter Biden’s foreign dealings, despite communications seeming to directly implicate the president. Wolf also allegedly tipped off Hunter Biden’s team to a proposed storage-locker search, wrecking the opportunity to retrieve evidence, the whistleblowers said.
The Republican-led panels also want to interview DOJ tax division attorneys Mark Daly, Jack Morgan and Stuart Goldberg, Delaware US Attorney’s Office Criminal Chief Shawn Weede and Delaware assistant US attorney Shannon Hanson — as well as special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office Tom Sobocinski and his assistant special agent in charge Ryeshia Holley, whose office worked on the case.
Last month Hunter Biden agreed to a probation-only plea deal. Teresa Kroeger
Hunter Biden agreed to a probation-only plea deal last month for two tax-crime misdemeanors for the years 2017 and 2018 — despite what Shapley and Ziegler described as $2.2 million in tax evasion on $8.3 million in foreign income earned between 2014 and 2019. The 53-year-old also agreed to plead guilty to a gun-possession felony that will be expunged after two years on probation.
The plea deal still must be approved by a judge. The first son’s first court date in the case is scheduled for Wednesday before US District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware.
Hunter Biden avoided money laundering charges and counts for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in his plea deal — despite FARA charges being leveled this month against another US citizen, Gal Luft, who earned less money than the first son while representing the same Chinese energy company.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan signed the letter along with Oversight Chairman James Comer and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith.Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
The latest letter to Garland says that the Justice Department has raised objections to the requested testimony, including “question[ing] the Committees’ legislative purpose” and expressing a concern about the impact on “pending investigations.”
“On a recent teleconference with Judiciary Committee staff, the Department confirmed that Weiss would appear before the Committee. While we look forward to Weiss appearing at a hearing at the appropriate time, we must first conduct our investigative work, including conducting the transcribed interview of witnesses identified in our June 29 letter,” the Republican chairmen write.
Weiss has given the impression in written statements that he denies the IRS whistleblowers’ claims that he lacked independent charging authority and Garland has maintained that he stands by his under-oath testimony to Congress about the independence of Weiss, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on the recommendation of the state’s two Democratic senators.
Hunter Biden’s first court date is on Wednesday in Delaware. ZUMAPRESS.com
The GOP letter accuses Weiss of “shifting statements about his authority to bring charges against Hunter Biden.”
“Initially, in response to a letter addressed to you, Weiss asserted: ‘I have been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges…’ Subsequently, in his June 30 letter to the Judiciary Committee, Weiss claimed that his ‘charging authority is geographically limited to [his] home district’ and that ‘[i]f venue for a case lies elsewhere, common Departmental practice is to contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the district in question and determine whether it wants to partner on the case,’” the letter says.
“If a fellow U.S. Attorney declined to ‘partner,’ Weiss explained, he would have had to request ‘Special Attorney’ status, which he claimed to ‘have been assured that, if necessary’ he would receive. Finally, in a July 10 letter to Senator Lindsey Graham, Weiss acknowledged that he had ‘discussions’ with unnamed ‘Departmental officials’ about seeking Special Attorney status and ‘was assured’ the authority would be granted.”
“In other words, in his first letter, Weiss represented to the Judiciary Committee that he had been granted ultimate authority with respect to the filing of charges,” the chairmen wrote.
“But in his second letter, Weiss told the Committee that he had been assured by unnamed officials that he would be granted that authority in the future if necessary after going through a specified process, and he notably provided no explanation of who would make the determination of necessity. These are inconsistent representations, and it is not possible for both of them to be true.”
Weiss’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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