2023-06-23 03:28:05
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans released testimony Thursday from two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who allege the Justice Department interfered in their years-long investigation into Hunter BIden, son of President Joe Biden, an accusation that said agency quickly denied.
The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Republican Rep. Jason Smith, voted to release publicly the testimony before Congress of two former IRS (abbreviation in English of the tax agency) agents who worked in the federal investigation into the taxes and business abroad of the president’s son.
“Whistleblowers describe how Biden’s Justice Department intervened and overreached in a campaign to protect Joe Biden’s son by delaying, disclosing and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax misconduct,” Smith told reporters.
In their testimony, the two individuals—Greg Shapley and an unidentified IRS agent—detailed what they said was a pattern of “slow investigative steps” and the delay of police actions months before the election. But it’s not clear whether the conflict they describe amounts to internal disagreement over how to conduct the investigation or a pattern of interference and preferential treatment. The department has long warned prosecutors in its policies to be cautious regarding charging cases with potential political implications at election time, in order to avoid any potential influence on the outcome.
The Justice Department refuted the whistleblowers’ claims, saying the federal prosecutor in charge of the Hunter Biden investigation, David Weiss—appointed to the position by former President Donald Trump—had complete authority over the case.
The testimony comes just two days following Hunter Biden, 53, announced he will plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses as part of a deal with the Justice Department. The agreement, unveiled Tuesday, will also prevent him from being prosecuted on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm while using drugs, as long as he abides by the conditions agreed to in court.
Congressional Republicans called the plea deal favorable to the president’s son and yet another example of a “double-standard justice system” that is less harsh on Democrats. They also pledged to continue their own investigations into the Biden family and what they say are its attempts to profit from the presidency.
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Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
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