Congressional Republicans have taken steps to investigate whether President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, received special treatment during a federal probe. The investigation, which looked into tax and firearm charges against Hunter Biden, has been the subject of whistleblower claims that it was delayed for political reasons.
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan and Ways and Means Committee chair Jason Smith issued a joint statement stating the importance of the subpoenas for testimony from Biden administration officials. They believe that these testimonies will shed light on the extent of special treatment received by Hunter Biden and who made the ultimate decision in the case.
The Ways and Means Committee has scheduled hearings starting on September 7, where they intend to hear from several key individuals involved in the investigation. These individuals include Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf, IRS special agent Darrell Waldon, and FBI agents Thomas Sobocinski and Ryeshia Holley. Additionally, the Judiciary Committee has requested to speak with 11 officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding this matter.
David Weiss, the US attorney for Delaware who investigated the tax and firearm charges against Hunter Biden, has recently been appointed as a special counsel in the case. This appointment followed the collapse of a plea deal with the government, which would have resulted in a symbolic punishment for Hunter Biden and guaranteed him immunity going forward.
Recent reports from Politico have revealed that Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, reached out to individuals at the highest levels of the Justice Department between October 2022 and April 2023. In these conversations, Clark mentioned the possibility of calling President Biden as a defense witness in the case, potentially undermining the department’s reputation. Clark argued that any charges against Hunter Biden were a result of political pressure from Republicans and former President Donald Trump.
Eventually, Clark contacted Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer to discuss a plea deal. He pushed for the strongest possible guarantees of immunity for his client. The charges against Hunter Biden, which include two counts of tax fraud and a firearm offense, stem from information found on a laptop that he abandoned at a Delaware repair shop. While the laptop was given to the FBI in 2019, its existence only became public in October 2020, just before the US presidential election. Hunter Biden’s campaign team immediately dismissed the laptop as “Russian misinformation,” and the story faced censorship, including the New York Post, the publisher of the information.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has acknowledged that the laptop belonged to him but claims that he was too “high on crack cocaine” at the time to remember many details of his life.
The congressional Republicans’ investigation aims to uncover the truth behind the allegations surrounding Hunter Biden’s case. Through the testimonies of key individuals involved, they hope to ascertain whether there was indeed special treatment and who was responsible for the decision-making process. As the hearings approach, it remains to be seen what new information and insights will be brought to light regarding this controversial issue.
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