(Washington) Elected Republicans tried on Tuesday in the United States Congress to highlight, with the testimony of two tax officials, possible pressure exerted by the Biden administration on judicial investigations targeting the son of the president.
Hunter Biden, 53, admitted in June to tax evasion and acquiring a firearm while a drug addict, both federal offenses. He must appear on July 26 in court to ratify this agreement which will save him from an embarrassing trial in the midst of his father’s re-election campaign.
With this dossier and other dubious deals carried out in Ukraine and China, the son of the Democrat has become a privileged target of the American right.
The elected Republicans of a committee of the House of Representatives auditioned Wednesday two American tax agents, designated as whistleblowers after having assured in June that Hunter Biden had benefited from “preferential treatment” from federal justice.
One of them, Gary Shapley, assures that the federal prosecutor in charge of the case did not have, on the part of the Department of Justice, the freedom necessary to carry out his investigation, which he denies.
PHOTO STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gary Shapley
Mr. Shapley assures that this magistrate, David Weiss, could not in particular take a decision on the charges himself.
The second whistleblower, Joseph Ziegler, a seasoned tax investigator, went along the same lines, saying Tuesday that this prosecutor “was constantly hampered, limited, marginalized” by Justice Department officials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland replied at the end of June that David Weiss – appointed by former President Donald Trump – had had “full latitude” in this file.
Republicans have called for an impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland, appointed by Joe Biden, to be opened. For Democrats, debates and disagreements within a team of investigators are commonplace and there is nothing political about it.
Joe Biden keeps repeating that he is “very proud” of his son, despite his vicissitudes.
The hearings conducted on Wednesday are part of the Republicans’ desire to convince voters that the federal state apparatus is being hijacked by President Biden and his relatives with the aim of targeting his political opponents.
The Democrats answer them that these efforts of the right are only screens serving to hide the legal disputes which accumulate for Donald Trump.
The former president, the big favorite in the race for the Republican primary for 2024, said on Tuesday that he was personally targeted in the federal investigation into the assault on the Capitol. He is already charged in two other cases.