IRS whistleblowers told Congress that a Justice Department official dissuaded investigators from talking to President Biden’s grandchildren as part of the federal probe into Hunter Biden to avoid getting into “hot water.”
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee released transcripts of interviews with two IRS whistleblowers who say decisions made during the investigation by DOJ, FBI and IRS officials appeared to be “influenced by politics”.
Testimony from IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley Jr., who oversaw the investigation, and an unnamed IRS special agent who claims to have opened the initial investigation, allege that investigators they were told not to interview President Biden’s grandchildren.
Investigators said interviewing the grandchildren would have been routine under normal circumstances because some of the payments Hunter Biden made they were investigating involved his children, including a $30,000 tuition payment to Columbia University.
President Biden, left, and his son Hunter Biden. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
DOJ, FBI and IRS interfered with HUNTER BIDEN PROBE, ACCORDING TO WHISTLEBLOWER TESTIMONY RELEASED BY GOP
According to whistleblowers, Hunter Biden was fraudulently claiming amounts as business write-offs on his tax returns, so they wanted to speak with the grandchildren involved as part of their investigation.
But Assistant US Attorney Lesley Wolf told investigators in a meeting that “it would get us into a lot of hot water if we interviewed the president’s grandchildren.”
“I don’t remember what eventually happened with the grandchildren. I know I never interviewed them and we didn’t interview them,” she said.
The unnamed whistleblower said his supervisor suggested documenting meetings between the IRS and officials from U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ office, who were working on the investigation.
“My supervisor felt it necessary when some of the inappropriate comments were being made, to start documenting them,” the whistleblower said.
Hunter Biden, Melissa Cohen and their son Beau are seen on an outing in Malibu, California on July 21, 2022. (Photo by Clint Brewer / BACKGRID)
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“There were a lot of times where they talked about the election or politics, and I had to say, on several occasions, that I felt it was inappropriate for them to say that,” he said.
The whistleblower described other investigators referring to people surrounding the matter as related to President Biden, including Joe Biden’s brother James Biden.
“James Biden, we would call him uncle. That’s how we refer to him, as uncle,” the whistleblower claimed.
At another point, the whistleblower said Venmo transactions were paid to Hunter Biden’s “family and friends” that were deducted on his returns.
President Biden walks with Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen after lunch in Nantucket, Massachusetts on November 25, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
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“So I kept asking, ‘Can I go interview them?’ And can we understand what these payments were for? Would they make other payments?” And those were always met with no. And I think one of them was Valerie Owens that we talked about that I wasn’t allowed to go do this interview. I think Valerie is a relative of Joe Biden. She might be his sister. I don’t know, all I know is that she’s a relative of his,” the whistleblower said.
During a press conference Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland denied the whistleblower’s allegations of DOJ interference in the Hunter Biden investigation.
“As I said at the outset, Mr. Weiss, who was appointed by President Trump as the United States Attorney in Delaware and assigned this matter during the previous administration, would be allowed to continue his investigation and make the decision to to prosecute in any way he wanted and in any district he wanted. Mr. Weiss has since sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee confirming that he had that authority,” Garland told reporters.
The unnamed whistleblower stated in his testimony that “while the impression was that the United States attorney in Delaware essentially has the powers of special counsel in this case, he is free to do whatever is necessary, as shown This was clearly not the case.”
“The U.S. attorney in Delaware in our investigation was constantly hamstrung, limited, and sidelined by DOJ officials as well as other U.S. attorneys. I believe that a special counsel for this case would have eliminated the more difficult issues that remain creating problems for this case. case,” he said.
The complainant’s interview was recorded on June 1 and made public on Thursday.
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On Tuesday, Weiss announced that the DOJ and Hunter Biden reached a plea deal in which the president’s son will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income taxes.
Hunter Biden also agreed to enter a pretrial diversion agreement on a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user or addict of a controlled substance.
Weiss said the investigation remains “ongoing.”
Christopher Clark, Hunter Biden’s attorney, said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday that the whistleblower’s claims are misleading.
“Selective, biased and politically motivated leaks have plagued this matter for years. Not only are they irresponsible, they are illegal. A close examination of the document released yesterday by a highly biased individual raises serious questions about whether it is whatever it claims. whatever. It is dangerously misleading to draw conclusions or inferences based on this paper,” Clark said. “The DOJ investigation covered a period that was a time of turmoil and addiction for my client.”
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Clark also said that “[a]All of my client’s verifiable words or actions in the midst of a horrific addiction are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
“This week concluded an extensive, five-year investigation by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), which resulted in my client being found guilty of two counts of failure to pay taxes, as well as a firearms charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement. As a lawyer in this entire matter, I can say that any suggestion that the investigation was not thorough, or cut corners, or cutting off my client, is absurd and deeply irresponsible,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Adam Sabes contributed to this report
Brianna Herlihy is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
