A top House Republican released new details from IRS whistleblowers involved in the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden that allege the lead federal prosecutor was denied when he tried to bring charges in Washington, D.C., and in California against President Joe Biden’s son.
Hunter Biden reached a plea deal on federal charges related to tax crimes and the illegal purchase of a handgun, Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s office revealed in a court filing on Tuesday. Two days later, IRS whistleblower claims detailing the politicization of the Justice Department investigation were made public, including further information on “preferential treatment," Hunter Biden’s lucrative overseas business dealings, and an allegation that Weiss had sought special counsel status from the DOJ but was denied.
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Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, held a closed-door executive session Thursday morning in which the committee reviewed multiple whistleblower reports about government misconduct inside the IRS and DOJ and held a press conference shortly thereafter.
Smith revealed that “Weiss tried to bring charges in the District of Columbia around March of 2022 and was denied" and that “Weiss sought to bring charges in the Central District of California in the fall of 2022 and had that request denied in January 2023.”
The House chairman said that “Weiss sought special counsel status from the DOJ in the spring of 2022" but again "was denied.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland had repeatedly vowed to ensure that Weiss would be insulated from any political interference. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) pressed Garland in March about this, suggesting that Garland’s testimony last year “could be misleading because without special counsel authority, he could need the permission of another U.S. attorney’s office in certain circumstances to bring charges” beyond Delaware.
“The U.S. attorney has been advised that he has full authority to make kind of those referrals you’re talking about or to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it is necessary, and I will assure that if he does, then he will be able to do that,” Garland promised. “He has been advised that he should get anything he needs. … I have not heard anything from that office that suggests they are not able to do anything that the U.S. attorney wants them to do.”
“I can now confirm that we have credible whistleblower testimony alleging misconduct and government abuse that is resulting in preferential treatment for the president’s son, Hunter Biden,” Smith said Thursday, noting that Hunter Biden “has been under investigation for tax crimes that include evading taxes on income" from foreign sources.
Smith also said Thursday there were pervasive “unjustified delays” in the investigation, including “authenticating a WhatsApp message in which Hunter Biden demands payment from Chinese officials noting that his father was in the room.”
The whistleblowers also said IRS investigators were told by federal prosecutor Lesley Wolf that because evidence would be found in Joe Biden’s guesthouse, “there is no way” a search warrant would ever get approved.
Smith additionally said that “crucial information about the investigation was divulged to Hunter Biden’s attorneys,” pointing to Hunter Biden’s lawyers being given a heads-up about a potential search of a northern Virginia storage unit where Hunter Biden had files.
The House chairman said that there were three main areas of focus in the transcripts of interviews with whistleblowers.
“No. 1, the federal government is not treating taxpayers equally when enforcing tax laws,” Smith said. “No. 2, whistleblowers claim the Biden Department of Justice is intervening and overstepping when it comes to the investigation of the president’s son. And No. 3, these whistleblowers report they have faced almost immediate retaliation.”
Smith said that “despite what whistleblowers described as a clear-cut case for tax liability on these payments, IRS investigators say they found themselves hamstrung internally.” The House chairman said whistleblower testimony also detailed “a lack of U.S. attorney independence, recurring unjustified delays, unusual actions outside the normal course of any investigation, a lack of transparency across the investigation and prosecution teams, and bullying and threats from the defense counsel.”
The House chairman said the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden opened in November 2018 and that whistleblower testimony revealed that "the IRS recommended charges against Hunter Biden that included attempt to evade or evade tax — a felony — fraud or false statements — a felony — and willful failure to file returns, supply information, or pay tax crimes.”
Weiss's office announced Tuesday that Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges of two counts of "willful failure to pay" his federal income taxes, and the DOJ said he will be entering a "pretrial diversion agreement" pertaining to possession of a firearm "by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.”
Weiss’s office noted Biden had been hit with “two misdemeanor tax offenses and a felony firearm offense.” The Delaware federal prosecutor said that “the investigation is ongoing."
Hunter Biden's attorney, Chris Clark, issued a statement claiming: "It is my understanding that the five-year investigation into Hunter is resolved."
Then-Attorney General William Barr rejected the idea of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden in December 2020 but said last year that Garland should have granted those powers to Weiss, echoing GOP demands from Capitol Hill.
Garland rejected the special counsel calls and said last year that “I’m quite comfortable with the United States attorney for that district continuing in the role that he is playing." Whistleblowers said Weiss also sought this protection but was denied.
“Hunter Biden received taxable income in excess of $1.5 million annually in the calendar years 2017 and 2018," Weiss's office explained Tuesday. "Despite owing in excess of $100,000 in federal income taxes each year, he did not pay the income tax due either year."
“If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison on each of the tax charges and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the firearm charge,” Weiss added. “Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
The IRS whistleblowers provided Congress with granular details on the crimes Hunter Biden is accused of.
“These tax crimes cover an estimated $2.2 million in unreported tax on global income streams to Mr. Biden and his associates from Ukraine, Romania, and China, totaling $17.3 million from 2014 to 2019,” Smith said Thursday. “Mr. Biden personally received $8.3 million.”
The whistleblowers laid out foreign payments to Hunter Biden, including “$664,000 from the Chinese company State Energy HK, a large diamond worth $80,000, and a Porsche worth $142,000.”
“These payments are just a fraction of the total, but they provide insight into a world of wealth and influence that no ordinary American would recognize,” Smith said. “And what plea deal did Mr. Biden just receive? A slap on the wrist for charges that have put other Americans behind bars.”
One of the IRS whistleblowers stepped forward last month as supervisory special agent Gary Shapley and testified for about six hours to the House Ways and Means Committee staff. Lawyers for Shapley said he had documented examples of "preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting" the criminal tax case related to Hunter Biden. The IRS supervisory special agent also disputed the "sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee" — which a source later confirmed was Garland.
A second whistleblower, an IRS case agent, wrote last month about "deeply troubling and unacceptable" issues with the Hunter Biden investigation. He contended the DOJ's and Weiss's actions prevented him from doing his job adequately and that “my concerns were ignored by senior leadership.”
Hunter Biden revealed he was under federal investigation in Delaware for his taxes shortly after the 2020 election, saying, “I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisers.”
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Joe Biden repeatedly contended as president that his son had done nothing wrong.
Hunter Biden held a lucrative position on the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma when his father was vice president. He also pursued business deals in China and elsewhere during and after his father’s tenure, raking in millions thanks to these associations.