House Republicans subpoenaed on Monday four senior IRS and FBI officials who reportedly heard then-Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss say he would not be given special counsel authority and was blocked from charging the president’s son outside Delaware in the Hunter Biden case.
The House Ways and Means Committee and Judiciary Committee compelled testimony from four key individuals who, according to a joint statement, were “present at or with direct knowledge of a meeting on October 7, 2022” where Weiss made that claim:
- Michael T. Batdorf, IRS Director of Field Operations
- Darrell J. Waldon, IRS Special Agent in Charge
- Thomas J. Sobocinski, FBI Special Agent in Charge
- Ryeshia Holley, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge
“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,” Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has consistently stonewalled Congress,” he added, continuing:
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.
The subpoena of the IRS and FBI officials comes after lawmakers requested in June that the officials appear before Congress to answer questions. The legislators threatened impeachment proceedings against Garland if their testimony was prevented.
In a May 26 deposition, IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley told the Ways and Means Committee that Weiss stated during an October 7, 2022, meeting with DOJ and IRS officials that “he [Weiss] is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed” against Hunter Biden. In addition, Shapley testified that Weiss’s efforts to bring charges in multiple jurisdictions were denied.
The IRS whistleblower testimony contradicts Attorney General Merrick Garland, who previously told Congress that Weiss had all necessary authority to charge Hunter Biden. He also claimed that Weiss had “ultimate” authority over the case. “I would then have to authorize it and permit it to be brought in another jurisdiction & that is what I promised I would do,” Garland said in March.
As Breitbart News reported, Shapley’s boss, Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, confirmed Weiss did not have authority to charge Hunter Biden, emails obtained by House Republicans show.
In an email to Waldon, Shapley recapped, writing: “Weiss stated he is not the deciding person of whether charges are filed. I believe this is a huge problem — inconsistent with DOJ public position and Merrick Garland’s testimony.”
Waldon replied to Shapley, “Thanks, Gary. You covered it all.”
The whistleblower allegations were also partially corroborated in June by the New York Times, which independently confirmed the DOJ prevented Weiss from bringing charges against Hunter Biden in Washington, DC, and California.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
