Last week, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz urged his colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to look into whether there are grounds to impeach President Joe Biden after an IRS whistleblower told lawmakers that the president’s son Hunter Biden had invoked his father to pressure a Chinese business partner.
The allegations were reportedly disclosed during a recent Congressional probe, and the whistleblower claimed that the elder Biden was in the room when Hunter was engaged with his partner.
“Look, this WhatsApp is direct evidence of Joe Biden abusing his government power to enrich his son, and, assuming 10% for the big guy, to enrich himself,” Cruz said on his “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast last week, Fox News reported.
“Remember, this WhatsApp says ‘we want to know.’ This is not just me, Hunter, just mooching off my dad…. Of course the House needs to investigate it, but the stunning thing is what the IRS whistleblower says is [Department of Justice], Merrick Garland prevented an investigation even into this message,” Cruz added.
The IRS Probe
Whistleblower Gary Shapley Jr. is reported to have overseen the IRS probe into the president’s son, and he has claimed the IRS had obtained a WhatsApp message dated July 30, 2017, from Hunter Biden to Henry Zhao, CEO of Harvest Fund Management. It is in that exchange that Hunter alleged that he was with his father and named him to put pressure on Zhao to fulfill a commitment.
“This WhatsApp directly ties Joe Biden to the millions of dollars coming from communist China,” Cruz said. “Now, it is possible Hunter Biden was lying, it’s possible Joe Biden wasn’t next to him. It’s possible Joe Biden was not going to inflict official damage on the Chinese if they didn’t pay him and his son millions of dollars. That’s possible, but you know what, we don’t know if it’s true or not. Why? Because, according to the whistleblower, they didn’t investigate, and they were prohibited from investigating. They were prevented from even asking the question.”
“Let me be clear: This, on the face of it, is obstruction of justice,” Cruz added. “And if Merrick Garland issued that order, he is the one blocking the investigation, and I think there’s real evidence of Merrick Garland being guilty of obstruction of justice.”
A Multi-Tiered Justice System?
According to multiple reports early this month, Shapley made the allegation during a transcribed interview with the House Ways and Means Committee in May. That was actually weeks before a federal prosecutor charged the younger Biden with misdemeanors for failing to pay federal taxes in 2017 and 2018. Last week, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware had reached a plea agreement with Hunter Biden, who is expected to plead guilty to two federal misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes. The younger Biden also faces a separate felony gun possession charge that is likely to be dismissed if he meets certain conditions.
As a result of the plea deal, Republicans have argued that Shapley’s testimony revealed scandalous favoritism for the president’s son, while it has been seen to further vindicate the GOP claims of a “two-tier” justice system biased against Republicans and former President Donald Trump.
“We have credible whistleblower testimony alleging misconduct and government abuse that is resulting in preferential treatment for the president’s son, Hunter Biden,” House Ways and Means chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said Thursday. “The federal government is not treating taxpayers equally when enforcing tax laws.”
What And When?
All of this has brought up what are arguably two questions that are routinely asked in Washington, D.C., namely what did the president know, and when did he know it? At this point, President Joe Biden has dodged the questions entirely
Hunter Biden’s attorney said in a statement last Friday, “Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family.”
In addition, White House Counsel’s Office spokesman Ian Sams stated, “As we have said many times before, the President was not in business with his son. As we have also said many times before, the Justice Department makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved.”
Sams continued, “As the President has said, he loves his son and is proud of him accepting responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life.”
It is unclear if President Biden is as happy that he could get dragged into it.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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