US justice department blocked two probes into Hunter Biden
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Chief of a US committee that oversees all federal taxes says that the DoJ prevented two more investigations that would have brought tougher charges against the president's son.
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US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Syracuse, New York, February 4, 2023 (AFP)
The United States Department of Justice DoJ blocked two probes by US Attorney David Weiss that would have brought stronger charges against the son of President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden. The information was revealed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) on Thursday during a press briefing.
His statement came in light of the committee’s vote to unseal alleged evidence put forward by an IRS whistleblower claiming that the DoJ carried out a politically-driven intervention in the Hunter Biden investigation.
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Smith told reporters that the justice department under Joe Biden's administration prevented charges against Hunter Biden twice in Washington, DC, and California in 2022.
Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress in March that charges introduced by Weiss against Hunter Biden must pass by him for authorization. But last Wednesday, Garland said he granted Weiss “full authority to decide the matter as he decided was appropriate.”
Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to only two offenses: federal tax violation charges and one violation of gun laws.
“Testimony shows that U.S. Attorney of Delaware David Weiss tried to bring charges in the District of Columbia around March of 2022 and was denied. Weiss sought Special Counsel status from the DOJ in the spring of 2022 and was denied,” Smith said. “And Weiss once again sought to bring charges in the Central District of California in the fall of 2022 and had that request denied in January of 2023.”
Smith also stated that the IRS recommended charges against Hunter Biden that were not approved by Garland. “The testimony we released today shows the IRS recommended charges against Hunter Biden that included attempt to evade or defeat tax, a felony; fraud or false statements, a felony; and willful failure to file returns, supply information, or pay tax,” he told reporters.
“These tax crimes cover an estimated $2.2 million and unreported tax on global income streams to Mr. Biden and his associates from Ukraine, Romania, and China totaling $17.3 million from 2014 to 2019," adding that “Mr. Biden personally received $8.3 million."
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“Whistleblowers detail foreign payments to Mr. Biden, including $664,000 from the Chinese company, state energy HK, a large diamond worth $80,000, and a Porsche worth $142,000. These payments are just a fraction of the total, but they provide insight into a world of wealth and influence that no ordinary American would recognize.”
Moreover, the Attorney said in the press conference that unusual problems faced Biden's son's investigations, including claims suggesting that Hunter Biden received special treatment due to his father's position.
“IRS employees who blew the whistle on this abuse were retaliated against, despite a commitment IRS Commissioner Werfel made before the Ways and Means Committee to uphold their legal protections. They were removed from this investigation after they responsibly worked through the chain of command to raise these concerns."
Smith added that the IRS whistleblowers describe how the "Biden Justice Department intervened and overstepped in a campaign to protect the son of Joe Biden by delaying, divulging, and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes."
"If the federal government is not treating all taxpayers equally, or if it is changing the rules to engineer a preferred outcome, Congress has a duty to ask why and to hold agencies accountable and consider appropriate legislative action," Smith said
"The scales of justice must not be skewed in favor of the wealthy and the politically connected.”
The testimony shows tactics used by the DoJ to delay the investigation long enough to reach the statute of limitations, evidence they divulged sensitive actions by the investigative team to Biden’s attorneys and denied requests by the US Attorney to bring charges against Biden, he continued.
The whistleblower, Gary Shapley, told the House Ways and Means Committee that as an investigator for the IRS, he obtained Whatsapp messages sent by Hunter Biden. Shapley claimed that Hunter Biden demanded money from Chinese businessman Henry Zhao in one of the messages.
In the messages, Hunter Biden hinted that his father, President Biden, was in the same room during the Whatsapp conversation.
"I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction," Bident told Zhao according to Shapley.
He added that the DoJ probe warned Hunter Biden of future searches that he might make that could be used against him in trial.
Giving an example, Smith said that Hunter Biden's attorney was given a heads up to a possible search of his Northern Virginia storage unit where it was believed he was storing files that could be considered as evidence, which in turn provided them time to clear out the material.
Hunter Biden will appear before a judge on July 26, when is expected to accept a plea deal. His lawyer said in an interview with MSNBC earlier that if the judge accepts the plea deal, his client will not be subjected to further charges.
