The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to an assistant U.S. attorney from Delaware who was part of the five-year investigation into first son Hunter Biden, following several denials by the Justice Department of her volunteer testimony.
Lesley Wolf had “firsthand knowledge” of the Hunter Biden case and attended “a substantial majority, if not all” of the meetings held at Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ office during the course of the investigation, according to a letter from the president of the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent Wolf on Tuesday, information that was obtained by The Post.
The subpoena orders Wolf to attend a 10 a.m. Dec. 7 deposition with authorized committee members and staff, a copy of the subpoena reviewed by The Post shows.
Jordan wrote that Wolf had made several decisions “either directly or by instructing others” that “deviated from standard investigative procedures,” according to previous testimony two IRS whistleblowers provided to the House Ways and Means Committee. .
Those decisions included alerting Hunter Biden’s defense team about a possible search warrant for his storage facility and objecting to federal investigators’ plans to conduct the search.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf had “firsthand knowledge” of the Hunter Biden case and attended “a substantial majority, if not all” of the meetings held during the course of the investigation. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) issued a subpoena to a deputy prosecutor who was part of the five-year investigation into first son Hunter Biden.AP
Wolf further advised against lines of inquiry that could lead to Hunter’s father, President Biden, saying he didn’t want IRS or FBI agents asking questions “about the big guy” or “dad” because “there wasn’t any specific crime.” in that line of questioning.” ” IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley testified.
Other IRS documents revealed by the whistleblowers revealed that Wolf also asked investigators to remove any references to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, who she said was outside the “scope” of her investigation.
Shapley’s personal notes from a Jan. 12, 2022, meeting also show that Wolf said she was not “personally” interested in delving into a May 2021 report from tax investigators that outlined alleged “criminal campaign finance violations” that They involved Hunter’s “sugar brother”, Kevin Morris. , a lawyer who paid the first child’s $2 million tax obligations.
Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss was elevated to special prosecutor status in August after overseeing the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden.AP
Wolf also refused to allow investigators to conduct interviews with Hunter Biden’s adult children, according to Shapley and his fellow whistleblower, IRS Special Agent Joseph Ziegler.
Jordan also pointed to other testimony recounting how Wolf “obstructed” a briefing by former Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney Scott Brady about an FBI informant dossier that alleged Hunter and Joe Biden accepted a $10 million bribe from the owner. from Burisma Holdings.
The then second son served on the board of directors of the Ukrainian gas company from 2014 to 2019 and earned $1 million a year, despite having no relevant energy experience.
Wolf further discouraged lines of inquiry that could lead to Hunter’s father, President Biden, saying he didn’t want IRS or FBI agents asking questions “about the big guy” or “dad.”
The file, which contained information about the alleged bribery from a highly credible confidential human source, was released last summer by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Brady told the House Judiciary Committee in a statement in October that members of Weiss’ office only agreed to hear the report after then-Principal Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue ordered it.
The House panel noted that Attorney General Merrick Garland had provided “unconvincing” reasons for denying them the opportunity to remove Wolf, leaving them “no choice but to force” him to make potential legislative reforms and conduct his impeachment inquiry. against the president.
The House panel noted that Attorney General Merrick Garland had provided “unconvincing” reasons for denying them the opportunity to depose Wolf, leaving them “no choice but to compel her.”
“Given the pivotal role he played in the Hunter Biden investigation, he is uniquely positioned to shed light on whether President Biden played any role in the Department’s investigation and whether he attempted, in any way, to directly or indirectly obstruct that investigation.” or our investigation,” Jordan wrote.
The Justice Department had maintained that only its employees who had been confirmed by the Senate should be available to testify, but Jordan disagreed, saying that more than 90 years of precedent confirm that direct-level prosecutors have also been questioned.
Jordan also questioned whether federal prosecutors’ “ongoing investigation” into Hunter Biden, for which Weiss was elevated to special counsel status in August, prevented them from conducting oversight.
The Justice Department had maintained that only its Senate-confirmed employees should be available to testify, but Jordan disagreed, citing precedent from others who were deposed.
“The historical record is replete with examples of how the Department provided information related to ongoing criminal investigations to congressional committees, including the exact type of information the Committee is seeking in this investigation,” he wrote.
Hunter Biden will go on trial next year for allegedly lying on a gun purchase form about his drug use.
Weiss has also reportedly begun the process of empaneling a federal grand jury in Los Angeles to consider more tax charges after an earlier plea deal imploded in federal court last summer.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn