House Republican leaders on Tuesday subpoenaed Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas and other officials over allegations that President Biden’s aides were briefed on plans to interview his first son, Hunter.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) attacked the Homeland Security honcho seeking documents on the investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax evasion and gun shenanigans, citing three officials from the Department of Homeland Security and two from the Secret Service to testify.
“The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family cover-up and now DHS, under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas, is complicit in it,” Comer said in a statement.
“Investigators were never able to interview Hunter Biden during the criminal investigation because Secret Service headquarters and the Biden transition team were notified about the planned interview,” the prominent Republican said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, here with President Biden at FEMA headquarters on August 31, is the subject of subpoenas regarding Biden’s son, Hunter.AP
Comer’s scathing accusations are supported by the testimony of IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who appeared publicly before the panel in June.
“On December 7, 2020, I was informed that FBI Headquarters had notified Secret Service Headquarters and the [Biden] transition team on the actions planned for the next day,” Shapley testified before the Ways and Means Committee on May 26.
“This basically alerted a group of people very close to President Biden and Hunter Biden and gave this group the opportunity to obstruct the approach to witnesses,” Shapley said.
James Comer, a senior member of the House GOP, is eager to uncover communications that may shed light on allegations that Biden aides were tipped off about an upcoming interview with Hunter Biden.Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock
Hunter allegedly avoided paying $1.2 million in federal income taxes several years ago and had an illegal weapon while addicted to drugs.
FBI and IRS investigators wanted to interview him on December 8, 2020, without notice, but ultimately, after notice, the interview never took place, according to Shapley.
Shapley’s testimony was corroborated by an FBI whistleblower.
Comer’s document demand directed at Mayorkas requires communications about the Hunter Biden investigation from members of his department or former members between December 1 and December 31, 2020.
President Biden has long supported his son Hunter through all kinds of scandals.AP
Additionally, he is seeking material related to a June 29, 2023 letter he sent demanding interviews with members of the Secret Service regarding the Hunter Biden investigation. She said her panel did not receive “an adequate response” in time.
The Secret Service reports to DHS, which is why Comer is directing some of the subpoenas to the department.
A DHS official said the department is “working to respond to this inquiry appropriately, including identifying relevant information and individuals.”
The official said Comer’s suggestion that the department “obstructed or withheld a response is categorically false and these subpoenas are completely without merit.”
In the end, the Hunter Biden investigation culminated in a possible plea deal. Under the agreement, Hunter would plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willful failure to pay federal income taxes and a pretrial diversion agreement to a felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm while he was addicted to illicit drugs.
Many Republicans have clamored to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas for the border crisis.AP
But that agreement imploded in federal court in Delaware on July 26.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, ripped up the deal by raising constitutional concerns and exposing the disagreement between Hunter Biden’s defense team and federal prosecutors over the extent of his immunity.
As a result, Hunter pleaded not guilty. Delaware US Attorney David Weiss, who led the investigation, was elevated to special prosecutor status last month.
James Comer has been leading the series of GOP investigations into Hunter Biden since the GOP seized the House earlier this year. PA
This means he can accuse the younger Biden of crimes outside his jurisdiction.
Last month, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, who helped him weather the avalanche of congressional investigations, took the lead in his defense against the federal probe.
Separately, Comer has long been leading House Republicans’ deep dive into the Biden family’s overseas businesses.
This includes testimony from the IRS whistleblower alleging a series of irregularities in the five-year investigation of the first child.
Hunter Biden risks facing additional charges after a plea deal involving him fell through.AP
The White House has reprimanded Comer for the avalanche of investigations.
“James Comer’s playbook is simple,” said White House spokesman Ian Sams. tweeted in June. “Making sweeping claims and promising bombs to try to get media attention, then failing to deliver.
“Do not fall in the trap. “His repeated pattern of whitewashing insinuations without evidence has cost him his credibility.”
Biden maintains that he has never spoken to his son about Hunter’s lucrative business deals abroad.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn