DOJ's Preferential Treatment of Hunter Biden

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee, House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee released an interim staff report titled, "The Justice Department'sDeviations from Standard Processes in its Investigation of Hunter Biden."

In the spring of 2023, two brave IRS whistleblowers stepped forward to notify Congress of how the Justice Department had impeded, delayed, and obstructed the criminal investigation of the President's son, Hunter Biden. The whistleblowers, who came forward only after IRS leadership failed to address their concerns, noted several deviations by Justice Department officials "from the normal process that provided preferential treatment, in this case to Hunter Biden." The whistleblowers exposed how the Justice Department allowed the statute of limitations on certain charges against Hunter Biden to lapse, prohibited line investigators from referring to or asking about President Biden during witness interviews, withheld evidence from line investigators, excluded the investigative team from meetings with defense counsel, and tipped off defense counsel about pending search warrants.

On September 12, 2023, on the basis of testimony from these whistleblowers and other evidence gathered to that point, the Speaker of the House directed the Committees to conduct an inquiry to determine whether sufficient grounds existed for the impeachment of President Biden. On September 27, 2023, pursuant to the Speaker's directive, the Committees released a memorandum laying out what the Committees were investigating, including: (1) foreign money received by the Biden family; (2) President Joe Biden's involvement in his family's foreign business entanglements; and (3) steps taken by the Biden Administration to slow, hamper, or otherwise impede the criminal investigation of the President's son, Hunter Biden, which involves funds received by the Biden family from foreign sources.

The third prong of the impeachment inquiry encompasses oversight, initiated by the Committees following the whistleblowers’ revelations, into the Biden Justice Department’s purported commitment to impartial justice. As part of this aspect of the inquiry, as it relates to the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden and the potential obstruction of that investigation, the Committees have so far obtained hundreds of pages of documents from the whistleblowers and conducted transcribed interviews with ten officials from the Justice Department, FBI, and IRS. Those officials are:

• Special Counsel and U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss,
• U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves,
• U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California E. Martin Estrada,
• Former U.S Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady,
• Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Matters at the Justice Department's Tax Division Stuart Goldberg,
• FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Sobocinski,
• FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryeshia Holley, 
• Former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joe Gordon, 
• IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf, and
• IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon
  

The testimony and documents received by the Committees to date corroborates many of the allegations made by the IRS whistleblowers. For example:

• Testimony demonstrated that the Justice Department and FBI bureaucrats afforded special treatment to Joe Biden's adult son Hunter. Several witnesses acknowledged the delicate approach used during the Hunter Biden case, describing the investigation as "sensitive" or "significant." Evidence shows Department 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. These unusual—and oftentimes in the view of witnesses, unprecedented—tactics conflicted with standard operating procedures and ultimately had the effect of benefiting Hunter Biden.
• Biden Justice Department officials explained to the Committees how U.S. Attorney Weiss did not have "ultimate authority" over the Hunter Biden case, contrary to his assertions to Congress. Instead, Biden Administration political appointees exercised significant oversight and control over the investigation. Witnesses described how Weiss had to seek (1) agreement from other U.S. Attorneys to bring cases in a district geographically distinct from his own and (2) approval from the Biden Justice Department’s Tax Division to bring specific charges or take investigative actions against Hunter Biden. 
• After the whistleblowers came forward, the Biden Justice Department attempted to cover-up Hunter Biden's wrongdoing, as well as its own. There is no question that without the brave IRS whistleblowers, it is likely that the Biden Justice Department would have never acted on Hunter Biden's misconduct. When forced to act, the Biden Justice Department worked closely with Hunter Biden's counsel to craft an unprecedented plea deal that was so biased in the direction of Hunter Biden it fell apart in open court. When a federal judge rejected the Department's attempt to push through a sweetheart plea deal and quietly end the five-year investigation of Hunter Biden, Attorney General Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel and refused to answer questions about the case on the basis of the existence of an "ongoing investigation." Using the "ongoing investigation" as a veil to shield its misconduct, the Biden Justice Department unilaterally limited the scope of witness testimony and document productions to Congress, severely curtailing the Committees’ ability to gather information. 
  

Even still, despite these troubling findings, there is more information that the Justice Department is keeping from the Committees. The Justice Department has still not fully complied with requests for relevant documents, and it has impeded the Committees’ investigation by baselessly preventing two Tax Division officials—Senior Litigation Counsel Mark Daly and Trial Attorney Jack Morgan—from testifying, despite subpoenas compelling their testimony. These documents and this testimony are necessary for the Committees to complete our inquiry. 

The Department's blatant disregard for the Committees' constitutionally prescribed oversight responsibilities is yet another stain that the Biden Administration has placed on the Justice Department's once-venerated reputation. Although the Committees' investigation is far from complete, this interim report details the findings to date and summarizes some of the evidence uncovered in the impeachment inquiry. The Committees will continue to gather evidence to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden for consideration by the full House of Representatives. Read the full report here.

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-- House Republicans Judiciary Committee