House Republicans on Monday subpoenaed several FBI and IRS agents involved in the federal investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden as the party weighs whether to open an impeachment inquiry into the president this fall.
Leaders of the House Judiciary and Ways and Means committees demanded testimony from four agents who worked on the yearslong Justice Department case into President Joe Biden’s youngest son and his tax and business dealings.
The House Oversight Committee opened its investigation in June into allegations of widespread, improper interference in the high-profile case.
One focus of the congressional inquiry has been a October 2022 meeting where U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, who was in charge of the Hunter Biden case, supposedly told investigators that he was not the “deciding person whether charges are filed” and that in multiple instances his efforts to bring charges in multiple jurisdictions were denied. That’s according to Gary Shapley, an IRS employee who was in the room.
Accordingly, the congressmen on Monday subpoenaed one I.R.S. agent who was present at the October meeting.
“The Committees requested the interview with you because you have been identified as someone who was present at, and therefore has direct knowledge of, a key meeting on October 7, 2022, in which updates about the Hunter Biden investigation were discussed,” the congressmen wrote to I.R.S. Special Agent in Charge Darrell Walden.
Both Weiss and the Justice Department have denied Shapley’s account. It remains unclear whether the newly subpoenaed agent from the I.R.S. will corroborate this story.
Shapley and another IRS employee, Joe Ziegler, have testified to Congress that there was a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions in the Hunter Biden case, including during the Trump administration, in the months before the 2020 election.
The I.R.S. said Monday in a statement to The Hill, ““Although we cannot comment on matters pertaining to specific taxpayers or employees, the IRS continues to work cooperatively with the committee to support its oversight efforts.”
Besides Walden, the congressmen subpoenaed IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf, FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Sobocinski, and FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ryeshia Holley.
The subpoenas identify Walden as the only one present at the October meeting. The other three subpoenas rely on standard, legal language.
“The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the Executive Branch’s commitment to impartial justice, as well as investigating the veracity of statements made in response to congressional inquiries related to the Department of Justice’s investigation of Hunter Biden,” the congressmen wrote in their subpoenas to the FBI agents.
“As a part of this oversight, the Committee requires testimony from several Department officials, including you, who have first-hand knowledge of the Department’s investigation.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.