The whistleblowers also claimed US Attorney David Weiss, who was appointed by Trump and is overseeing the Hunter Biden probe, said in an October 2022 meeting he could not make final charging decisions against the president’s son, and that he was denied special counsel status when he asked for it. Shapley and his deputy told the House Ways and Means Committee in June that Justice Department officials slow-walked the criminal probe into Hunter Biden’s tax issues, stymied their efforts to obtain subpoenas and search warrants and repeatedly blocked prosecutors from filing felony charges. McCarthy fueled the momentum by saying he’s open to an impeachment inquiry if the whistleblowers’ claims hold up. The testimony from the IRS whistleblowers has also reignited a new push for potential impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces growing pressure from an increasingly restive right flank eager to take aim at President Joe Biden and his Cabinet. House Republicans have capitalized on the allegations – from Shapley, a 14-year IRS veteran who oversaw parts of the Hunter Biden criminal probe, and Ziegler, whose prior testimony was anonymous – to support their claims that the Justice Department has become increasingly politicized to protect Democrats and target conservatives. “We are curious to hear how that instance of pure harassment of a private person’s personal life informed Congress of some real gap in our tax laws,” Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell told CNN in a statement Thursday, adding that Greene’s “stunt will go down as an historic event that explains why 80% of Americans disapprove of Congress.” (The IRS whistleblowers had testified that his tax records showed payments to prostitutes and sex clubs while he struggled with addiction.) Her antics drew swift rebukes from Democrats on the panel. ![]() Marjorie Taylor Greene held up large posters showing highly explicit images of a naked Hunter Biden with a sex worker. They also accused Republicans of hypocritically focusing on the Biden family’s finances while ignoring possible conflicts tied to Trump’s business empire.Īt one point, firebrand GOP Rep. Throughout the six-hour hearing, Democrats poked holes in some of the whistleblowers’ claims and repeatedly noted that the Hunter Biden probe began under then-President Donald Trump and was overseen by a Trump-appointed prosecutor. These allegations are consistent with their previous closed-door testimony, which was made public last month.īiden has said he wasn’t involved in his son’s business deals. The Justice Department and the White House have previously denied the whistleblowers’ claims that there was any political interference in the Hunter Biden criminal probe. But a Justice Department prosecutor said that would “get us into hot water” and it didn’t happen, Ziegler wrote. Ziegler, who is Shapley’s deputy, also told the panel in his written testimony that he wanted to interview Hunter Biden’s adult children after uncovering potentially illegal deductions in Hunter Biden’s tax returns, related to payments to his children. ![]() “When the subject’s father is somehow related to the finances of the subject, in the normal course of any Investigation, we would have to get that information, to properly vet the financial flows of money, and determine what we end up charging,” Shapley said, adding that his team was blocked from running down leads related to the president. The whistleblowers also told lawmakers Wednesday that Justice Department officials stopped their investigators from scrutinizing President Joe Biden and his grandchildren, after finding evidence potentially linking them to Hunter Biden’s troubled finances. ![]() “It appeared to me, based on what I experienced, that the US attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited, and marginalized by DOJ officials as well as other US attorneys,” Ziegler said. In his testimony, Ziegler said he witnessed federal prosecutors deviating from normal procedures, and echoed fellow whistleblower Gary Shapley’s claims that IRS investigators recommended charging Hunter Biden with far more serious crimes than what the president’s son has agreed to plead guilty to. One of the two whistleblowers identified himself publicly for the first time at the hearing: Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year IRS special agent with the Criminal Investigation Division. The House Oversight Committee heard Wednesday from two IRS whistleblowers whose claims that the Justice Department politicized the Hunter Biden criminal probe have ignited a firestorm among Republicans.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |