Global Courant
Whistleblowers from the IRS told Congress that a Justice Department official stopped investigators from speaking to President Biden’s grandchildren as part of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden to avoid getting them into “hot water.”
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee released transcripts of interviews with two IRS whistleblowers who allege decisions made by DOJ, FBI and IRS officials during the investigation appeared to have been 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, alleges that investigators were told not to interview President Biden’s grandchildren.
Investigators said that under normal circumstances it would have been customary to interview the grandchildren because some of the payments Hunter Biden made that they were investigating related to his children, including a $30,000 college tuition at Columbia University.
President Biden, left, and his son Hunter Biden. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
DOJ, FBI, IRS KEEP THE HUNTER BIDEN PROBE, ACCORDING TO A CLOCKBLOGER TESTIMONIAL ISSUED BY GOP
According to the whistleblowers, Hunter Biden fraudulently claimed amounts as business debits on his tax returns, which is why they wanted to speak to the grandchildren involved as part of their investigation.
But assistant attorney Lesley Wolf told investigators at a meeting that it would “get us in a lot of trouble if we interviewed the president’s grandchildren.”
“I don’t remember what happened to the grandchildren in the end. I know I never interviewed them and we didn’t interview them,” he said.
The unnamed whistleblower said his supervisor suggested documenting meetings between IRS and officials in the office of U.S. attorney David Weiss, who led the investigation.
“My supervisor felt it necessary to document some of the inappropriate comments that were made,” the whistleblower said.
Hunter Biden, Melissa Cohen and their son Beau are seen outing in Malibu, California on July 21, 2022. (Clint Brewer Photography / BACKGRID)
HUNTER BIDEN CHARGES PROSTITUTES, SEX CLUB TO ‘CONSULTING’ COMPANY ON 2018 TAX FILE: IRS WhistlebLOWER
“There were many times when they discussed the election or politics, and I had to say on multiple occasions that I thought it was inappropriate for them to say it,” he said.
The whistleblower described other investigators referring to individuals surrounding the case about how they were related to President Biden — for example, Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden.
“James Biden, we would call him the uncle. So that’s what we called him the uncle,” the whistleblower said.
At another point, the whistleblower said that Venmo transactions were paid to “family and friends” of Hunter Biden that were deducted from his returns.
President Biden walks with Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen after lunch in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Nov. 25, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
HUNTER BIDEN USED HIS FATHER’S NAME TO GET OFF CHINESE BUSINESS PARTNER: IRS WhistlebLOWER
“So I kept asking, ‘Can I go and interview them? And can we understand what these payments were for? If they made other payments?’ And those were always answered with no And I think one of them was Valerie Owens we talked about I wasn’t allowed to do that interview I believe Valerie is a relative of Joe Biden It could be his sister I don’t know, I just know she’s a relative of his,” the whistleblower said.
At a press conference Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland denied whistleblower 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 U.S. attorney in Delaware and assigned this case during the previous administration, would be allowed to continue his investigation and make a decision on what any way to prosecute. where he wanted and in every district where he wanted. Mr. Weiss has since sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee confirming he had that authority,” Garland told reporters.
The unnamed whistleblower claimed in his testimony that “while it has been perceived that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware has essentially the powers of special counsel in this case, free rein to do what is necessary, as is clearly shown, this is not the case.”
“The Delaware U.S. attorney in our investigation was continually crippled, restricted, and marginalized by DOJ officials and other U.S. attorneys. I believe that special counsel for this case would have cut through the hardest problems that continue to cause these problems.” case,” he said.
The whistleblower interview was recorded on June 1 and made public on Thursday.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
On Tuesday, Weiss announced that the DOJ and Hunter Biden have entered into a plea deal in which the president’s son will plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income taxes.
Hunter Biden also agreed to enter into a preliminary diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Weiss said the investigation remains “ongoing.”
Christopher Clark, an attorney for Hunter Biden, claimed in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday that the whistleblower’s claims are misleading.
“Biased and politically motivated, selective leaks have plagued this case for years. Not only are they irresponsible, they are illegal. A close examination of the document made public yesterday by a highly biased individual raises serious questions about whether it is what he claims. It is dangerously misleading to make any conclusions or inferences based on this document,” Clark said. “The DOJ investigation spanned a period of time that was a time of turmoil and addiction for my client.”
FBI BIDEN NEVER BRIBE DOC TO IRS INVESTIGATORS, CLOCK BLOGER CLAIM: ‘INFLUENCED BY POLITICS’
Clark also said that “(a) any verifiable words or actions of my client in the midst of a terrible addiction are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
“An extensive, five-year investigation conducted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) concluded this week, resulting in my client accepting responsibility for two counts of misdemeanor and failure to file tax payments, as well as a charges for firearms, which will be subject to a preliminary diversionary agreement As his attorney throughout this case, I can say that any suggestion that the investigation was not thorough, or went awry, or gave my client any slack, is absurd and profoundly irresponsible ,” he added.
Brooke Singman and Adam Sabes of Fox News Digital contributed to this report
Brianna Herlihy is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
