House of Representatives committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden have published an interim staff report concluding Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) attempted to control and impede the Internal Revenue Service’s tax crime investigation of his son Hunter. The report serves to address just one of the three lines of investigation the committees opened nearly three months ago.
According to the report, “…the Justice Department afforded Hunter Biden—the President’s son—preferential treatment throughout its investigation of his numerous alleged crimes… then sought to cover up its actions after two courageous IRS agents stepped forward to blow the whistle on the Department’s deviations from its investigative standards.”
The committees state Biden appointees “exercised significant oversight and control over the investigation,” adding Special Counsel David Weiss “…did not have ‘ultimate authority’ over the Hunter Biden case.”
“[DOJ} officials slow-walked the investigation, informed defense counsel of future investigative actions, prevented line investigators from taking otherwise ordinary investigative steps, and even allowed the statute of limitations to expire on the most serious potential charges,” House investigators reported. They went on to add the actions undertaken by the DOJ were “unprecedented” and “conflicted with standard operating procedure” – and evidentiary of an effort to engineer a politically favorable outcome for President Joe Biden and his family.
The report details evidence indicating the DOJ likely would not have moved forward with a criminal prosecution of Hunter Biden had IRS whistleblowers not come forward and exposed the Department’s slow-walking of the tax crime investigation. The evidence of DOJ and FBI stonewalling efforts is further corroborated by testimony given to the House Judiciary Committee by FBI officials which indicated no significant progress had been made in Weiss’s investigation in October of 2022.
The House committees believe the DOJ was forced to renew its investigation after IRS whistleblowers came forward in April 2023. This culminatied with Attorney General Merrick Garland announcing the appointment of Weiss as special counsel on August 8, 2023.
In addition to DOJ interference, the interim staff report contends attempts by Hunter Biden’s lawyers to influence the DOJ towards investigating witnesses against him is demonstrative of “the extent to which Hunter Biden believes it[sic] can influence the investigation in a manner favorable to him.” House investigators reiterated concerns over how closely the DOJ worked with Hunter Biden’s lawyers in crafting the ‘sweetheart‘ plea deal later rejected by a federal judge.
A formal vote to adopt the impeachment inquiry is expected next week.