Hunter Biden Lawyer to Meet With Justice as Walls Close in: Hunter Biden’s attorneys plan to meet with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss and other Justice Department officials in the coming week. Weiss, a Trump appointee, is overseeing the investigation.
Hunter Biden: The Latest
The attorneys had been seeking an update on their client’s case, which appears to have been slow walked through the Justice Department, according to reports.
The IRS and FBI concluded their investigations last year and reportedly found sufficient evidence to charge Hunter Biden.
Reports suggest that Biden could face two misdemeanor charges for failing to file taxes, felony tax evasion for overreporting expenses, and a felony count for lying about his drug abuse when he purchased a pistol at a Delaware gun store.
The case faces renewed scrutiny following an IRS criminal supervisory agent’s complaint to Congress that politics has impeded the investigation into alleged crimes. The agent asked for congressional whistleblower protection to discuss how Attorney General Merrick Garland had allegedly lied to Congress when he said politics would not become a factor in the investigation.
“He is the supervisor of this investigation,” Garland told Sen. Bill Hagerty regarding Weiss a year ago. “… [W]e put the investigation in the hands of a Trump appointee from the previous administration, who is the US attorney for the district of Delaware, and … you have me as the attorney general, who is committed to the independence of the Justice Department from any influence from the White House in criminal matters.”
Garland reiterated the same claim during Senate testimony in early March, saying that he had “pledged not to interfere with that investigation.”
The letter does not mention Biden or Garland by name; however, media reports suggest they are who it references. The relevant congressional committees are looking into how to properly interview the investigator considering that tax records are privileged information under the law.
“My client would like to share the same legally protected disclosures with Congress pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6103(f)(5) and the protections afforded by 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(8)(C)—that he has already shared with other oversight authorities. Out of an abundance of caution regarding taxpayer privacy laws, my client has refrained from sharing certain information even with me in the course of seeking legal advice. Thus, it is challenging for me to make fully informed judgments about how best to proceed,” the whistleblower’s attorney Mark Lytle wrote in his letter to congressional leaders.
The whistleblower alleged that Hunter Biden has been treated differently than other potential defendants due to his political connections.
Thus far, mum has been the word from the Justice Department.
The Walls Look to Be Closing In
Biden’s finances are currently being reviewed by the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and by Senate Republicans led by Sens. Charles Grassley and Ron Johnson.
Biden’s lawyer Chris Clark questioned the whistleblower’s motivations and whether his actions were legal.
“It is a felony for an IRS agent to improperly disclose information about an ongoing tax investigation,” Clark told NBC News. “The IRS has incredible power, and abusing that power by targeting, embarrassing, or disclosing information about a private citizen’s tax matters undermines Americans’ faith in the federal government. Unfortunately, that is what has happened and is happening here in an attempt to harm my client.”
Lytle defended his client, saying he was trying to do the right thing.
MORE: Something Is Wrong With Kamala Harris
MORE: ‘Americans Will Pay The Price’: One Democrat Is Angry At Joe Biden
