{"id":2008615,"date":"2023-08-22T19:39:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T23:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-probes-possible-doj-interference-in-hunter-biden-whistleblower-investigation\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T19:43:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T23:43:19","slug":"house-gop-probes-possible-doj-interference-in-hunter-biden-whistleblower-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-probes-possible-doj-interference-in-hunter-biden-whistleblower-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"House GOP investigates potential DOJ interference in Hunter Biden whistleblower probe."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-gop-probes-possible-doj-interference-in-hunter-biden-whistleblower-investigation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008615&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>House Republicans\u2062 Investigate DOJ&#8217;s Potential Interference in Hunter Biden Tax \u2064Investigation<\/h2>\n<p>House Republicans are currently looking into concerns \u2064that\u200c the\u2063 Department of Justice (DOJ) may be impeding an investigation by the \u2064Office of the Inspector General\u200d (OIG) regarding whistleblower disclosures \u2063related to the tax investigation of Hunter \u200bBiden.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, House Ways and\u200b Means\u2064 Committee Chairman Jason\u200b Smith (R-Mo.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/hunter-biden-received-preferential-treatment-from-irs-doj-over-felony-tax-fraud-investigation-irs-whistleblowers-5349754\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revealed<\/a> whistleblower testimony from Internal Revenue \u200dService (IRS) \u2064investigators Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.\u200d They claimed that the DOJ and IRS had intentionally slowed down and protected Hunter Biden during an \u200cinvestigation into unreported foreign income amounting to\u200b millions of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Among other alarming revelations, the whistleblowers stated that they were prevented from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-probes-possible-doj-interference-in-hunter-biden-whistleblower-investigation\/\" title=\"House GOP investigates potential DOJ interference in Hunter Biden whistleblower probe.\">executing lawful search warrants\u2063 due<\/a>\u200c to\u2062 concerns about the potential political implications of pursuing certain leads.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/house-panel-subpoenas-doj-irs-officials-over-claims-of-meddling-to-protect-hunter-biden-5477934\">House Panel Subpoenas DOJ, IRS Officials Over Claims of Meddling to Protect Hunter Biden<\/a> (8\/21\/2023)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/3-more-hunter-biden-attorneys-withdraw-from-case-5477835\">3 More Hunter Biden Attorneys Withdraw From\u2063 Case<\/a> (8\/21\/2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The resulting tax charges \u200bagainst Hunter Biden, which consisted of two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay tax, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paramount-begins-layoffs-executive-purge-as-advertising-market-craters\/\" title=\"Paramount Begins Layoffs, Executive Purge as Advertising Market Craters\">fell significantly short<\/a> of the more serious felonies initially proposed by prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>Following their disclosures, the whistleblowers faced immediate retaliation from their superiors, which is illegal under U.S. laws protecting whistleblowers.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Republicans&#8217; request for the DOJ OIG \u2064to investigate \u200bhas yielded limited results, raising concerns among the investigating Republicans that the DOJ may be obstructing the investigation for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>In an Aug. 22 letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz (<a href=\"https:\/\/waysandmeans.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Letter-from-Committees-to-IG-Horowitz.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>), Chairman Smith, Chairman Comer, and Chairman Jordan sought answers regarding the OIG&#8217;s handling of the whistleblower allegations and claims of retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>The Republicans argued that the testimony provided by the whistleblowers &#8220;raised serious questions about the federal \u2063government\u2019s commitment to evenhanded justice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Whistleblowers IRS Supervisory\u200d Special Agent Gary Shapley (left) and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler (right) swear\u200d before the Full\u200d Committee on \u200cOversight and \u2062Accountability at a hearing about the\u200c Biden Criminal Investigation at the U.S. Congress in Washington on July 19, 2023.\u200c (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;IRS whistleblowers made protected disclosures to Congress regarding DOJ\u2019s investigation of Hunter Biden,&#8221; they\u2063 wrote. &#8220;Specifically, \u200bthe IRS whistleblowers testified that DOJ\u2019s investigation was\u2062 purposely \u2064slow-walked\u2063 and subjected to improper\u2062 and politically motivated interference. Further, the DOJ and IRS have reportedly engaged in unlawful whistleblower \u2064retaliation against the \u200dIRS employees.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Republican chairmen argued that subsequent evidence has continued to support the whistleblowers&#8217; claims.<\/p>\n<p>Chairman Comer, who\u200b has been\u2063 leading a separate investigation into Hunter Biden&#8217;s \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-calls-travel-lid-for-wednesday-an-hour-after-bobulinski-interview-airs\/\" title=\"Biden Calls Travel Lid for Wednesday an Hour After Bobulinski Interview Airs\">foreign business dealings<\/a>, has uncovered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/breakdown-of-21-million-the-biden-family-associates-received-from-foreign-sources-gop-reports-5454239\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$21 \u2064million \u2064in foreign funds<\/a> that flowed into the accounts of Hunter Biden, his family members, and his business associates.<\/p>\n<p>According to testimony from Mr. Devon Archer, a business associate of \u200bHunter Biden, then-Vice President Joe Biden played a\u200c significant role in facilitating these high-level business connections with influential individuals from China, \u2063Russia, Ukraine, and Romania.<\/p>\n<p>On July 26, Hunter Biden appeared \u200din a Delaware district court for a\u200b hearing on his plea agreement. The agreement initially involved pleading guilty to two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/presidents-son-gets-sweetheart-deal-from-feds-on-gun-tax-charges\/\" title=\"President\u2019s Son Gets Sweetheart Deal From Feds on Gun, Tax Charges\">misdemeanor tax crimes<\/a> and having a felony firearms charge diverted as part of a \u2064pretrial agreement.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Hunter Biden \u200d(C.) leaves the \u2063J. Caleb Boggs Federal \u2064Building in Wilmington, Del.,\u200b on July 26, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>However, the agreement went beyond that, potentially granting Hunter Biden\u200c immunity from prosecution for any tax,\u2064 gun, or drug crimes committed between 2014 and 2019, which coincided with his involvement in numerous high-level business deals.<\/p>\n<p>During the hearing, prosecutors acknowledged \u200cthat Hunter Biden could still face further prosecution, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-gay-activist-group-gave-free-bus-tickets-to-minorities-and-trans-people-it-likely-violated-civil-rights-law\/\" title=\"A Gay Activist Group Gave Free Bus Tickets to Minorities and Trans People. It Likely Violated Civil Rights Law.\">including potential violations<\/a> of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.<\/p>\n<p>Concerns \u2064about the\u2062 unusually lenient agreement led the judge \u2063to reject it, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to elevate\u200d U.S. \u200dAttorney David \u200bWeiss, the \u200dlead prosecutor in Hunter Biden&#8217;s case, to the status of special counsel.<\/p>\n<h2>Possible Political Interference<\/h2>\n<p>Republicans have suggested that this development, \u200calong with \u2063the\u200b plea agreement itself, \u200dwhich was reportedly not sought by\u2063 the U.S. attorney&#8217;s office \u200duntil \u200bMay 2023, indicates further interference by the DOJ to protect the president&#8217;s son.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The DOJ appears to be continuing to sacrifice its professional responsibility to cover for the President\u2019s son\u2014and perhaps, the President himself,&#8221; the legislators wrote.<\/p>\n<p>This conduct raises concerns that the DOJ may be obstructing the OIG&#8217;s ability to conduct a thorough investigation\u200b into the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The Republicans have \u200drequested an update on the status of \u2063the investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Republicans are investigating claims that the DOJ is obstructing the OIG&#8217;s inquiry into whistleblower allegations about Hunter Biden&#8217;s tax investigation. Jason Smith, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, disclosed testimony from IRS investigators Gary, shedding light on the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":2008616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}