FBI and IRS agents involved in investigations into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter were subpoenaed by the House Ways and Means and Judiciary committees on Monday, as several Democratic lawmakers came forward to say Hunter Biden should be held accountable if he broke the law.
“Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they may lead, and our subpoenas compelling testimony from Biden Administration officials are crucial to understanding how the president’s son received special treatment from federal prosecutors and who was the ultimate decision maker in the case,” Republican Reps. Jason Smith of Missouri and Jim Jordan of Ohio said in a statement.
In letters to two IRS agents, Smith wrote the committee had requested interviews “because you have been identified as someone who was present at, and therefore has direct knowledge of, a key meeting on Oct. 7, 2022, in which updates about the Hunter Biden investigation were discussed.”
During the meeting, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss allegedly told DOJ and IRS agents he wasn’t “the deciding person on whether charges are filed,” according to sworn whistleblower testimony.
“Our committees, along with the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, have sought these interviews since IRS whistleblowers came forward with concerning allegations of political interference in the investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign influence peddling and tax evasion. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has consistently stonewalled Congress,” Smith and Jordan said in their statement. “Americans deserve to know the truth, especially now that Attorney General (Merrick) Garland has appointed as special counsel the same U.S. attorney who oversaw Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal and botched the investigation into his alleged tax crimes.”
The subpoenas come more than a week after Garland appointed a special counsel for the federal investigation into Hunter Biden and as some Democrats say publicly they’re fine with the president’s son facing consequences if he broke the law.
“I think what (Biden) needs to do is let the system work and, again, you know, I’m sure he wants the best for his son, but if the justice system says, ‘Look, these laws were violated and here’s the penalty for it,’ that needs to happen,” Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Sunday on “Meet the Press.” Walz also said he’s open to an ethics code for presidential family members.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told “State of the Union” last week “if Hunter Biden has committed crimes, he should be charged with them.”
“I’m a Democrat saying that,” Goldman said, adding Republicans weren’t similarly saying that former President Donald Trump should be charged and held accountable if he committed crimes.
A spokesperson for Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee accused House Republicans on the committee of “cherry-picking to build a politically-expedient narrative” in a statement to CBS News, and said “the committee has a duty to seek the whole truth related to these allegations, and when more than 59 individuals have relevant information, sending two subpoenas is premature.”