House Republicans plan to ramp up their investigation into the President’s son after whistle-blower testimony
BY ERIC CORTELLESSA
AFTER THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED on June 20 that Hunter Biden had reached a plea deal on misdemeanor tax charges, Republicans in Congress made clear they were not done with the President’s son. The emergence of an Internal Revenue Service whistle-blower alleging that the younger Biden received special treatment from federal prosecutors lit a fire under House Republicans, who accelerated an investigation that could stretch into 2024.
According to sources familiar with the matter, House GOP leadership intends to wait for Hunter Biden’s July arraignment before moving ahead with a multipronged investigatory effort spearheaded by three committees: Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means.
The panels are “pursuing a thorough investigation into this misconduct to deliver the transparency and accountability that the American people demand and deserve,” their chairs—Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Jason Smith of Missouri—said in a statement.
THE NEW PHASE of the inquiry stems from testimony provided to the Ways and Means Committee by Gary Shapley, an IRS official who supervised the agency’s role in the DOJ investigation. Asserting whistle-blower protections, he claimed that Attorney General Merrick Garland prevented the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney overseeing the probe from bringing more charges against Joe Biden’s son. Both Garland and the prosecutor, David Weiss, have strenuously denied the allegations, and the DOJ said when announcing the agreement, without elaboration, that the “investigation is ongoing.” Sources say that House Republicans are likely to call Weiss to testify on the matter in the coming months.
Shapley, a 14-year IRS employee, also told lawmakers the Justice Department denied requests from prosecutors to examine text messages in which Hunter Biden allegedly used his father as leverage to pressure a Chinese company to pay him. “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter Biden texted the CEO of a Chinese fund-management company in 2017, according to testimony from Shapley. Joe Biden has told reporters he wasn’t with his son during the exchange six years ago.
Since assuming a slim majority in January, House Republicans have put investigating malfeasance related to Hunter Biden at the top of their agenda, but have so far failed to deliver anything that incriminates the
