House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) says Congress must figure out who is lying about the federal investigation of Hunter Biden, the adult son of President Joe Biden.
The California Republican wrote an op-ed, published by Fox News on Wednesday, in which he said Delaware’s U.S. Attorney David Weiss and others “must testify before Congress, cooperate fully, and provide full access to their records.”
Weiss, a Trump appointee, told House Republicans that he has been granted the “ultimate authority” in leading the inquiry, including when it comes to bringing charges. Attorney General Merrick Garland seemed to agree, testifying to Congress that Weiss “has full authority to … bring cases in other districts if he needs to do that.”
In a letter sent this week to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Weiss further claimed that he never requested special counsel status and acknowledged some discussions with Department of Justice (DOJ) officials about obtaining the authority to charge Biden outside of his district.
But McCarthy pointed out that whistleblowers, including IRS supervisory special agent Gary Shapley, insist Weiss told investigators in the case that he was not the “deciding person” on whether charges get filed during an October 2022 meeting. McCarthy said Weiss and the DOJ have “failed to answer” that particular allegation.
“Clearly, someone is not telling the truth, and Congress has a duty to get answers,” McCarthy added.
So far, the years-long investigation into the 53-year-old Hunter Biden has amounted to a plea deal for tax and gun violations that could keep him out of prison, an arrangement that still needs to be approved by a judge.
Whistleblower allegations have raised the prospect that the DOJ has slow-walked the Hunter Biden investigation, possibly for political reasons, and allowed the statute of limitations to run out on more serious charges that could have been brought in years that covered when he was working on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings while his father was leading U.S. policy in Ukraine as vice president.
“When a prosecutor shields his boss’s son from investigators, it smells like a cover-up,” McCarthy wrote. “Garland’s DOJ did not aggressively follow the money. Why? Are they afraid of where that trail ends?”
McCarthy pledged that GOP-led committees will continue to “gather evidence and conduct oversight” as they search for the truth, and a formal impeachment inquiry may follow if the facts warrant one.
“At the conclusion of a serious, thorough and fair inquiry, the Judiciary Committee would decide whether to refer any articles of impeachment to the full House for an impeachment vote,” McCarthy added. “Given the gravity of this constitutional remedy, House Republicans will ensure that any inquiry would be conducted in a transparent and public manner, without the partisan missteps of prior impeachments.”