Main Topic: Accusations of misconduct and misrepresentation in Hunter Biden's criminal tax case.
Key Points:
1. Attorney for Rep. Jason Smith sought to introduce evidence from the House Ways and Means Committee.
2. Hunter Biden's lawyer opposed the filing, citing failure to follow proper procedures and inclusion of unredacted tax information.
3. Accusations were made regarding impersonation and misrepresentation during communications with the court clerk.
Main Topic: Hunter Biden expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes.
Key Points:
1. Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes for the years 2017 and 2018.
2. He also faced a separate gun charge, but a pretrial agreement may result in the case being wiped from his record.
3. Republicans have criticized the plea deal, arguing that it is lenient and questioning the handling of the investigation by the Justice Department.
Main Topic: House Republican committee chairmen investigating the circumstances of the plea agreement with Hunter Biden.
Key Points:
1. Investigation into the provision in the plea agreement that would have allowed the judge to determine if Biden violated the terms over a 24-month period.
2. Concerns raised about the clause granting Biden immunity from all other crimes in exchange for completing the pretrial diversion program.
3. Allegations of preferential treatment and requests for information about similar provisions in other pretrial diversion agreements.
Main Topic: Appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the ongoing probe of Hunter Biden
Key Points:
1. U.S. Attorney David Weiss appointed as special counsel in the investigation of Hunter Biden and any related matters.
2. Weiss was already overseeing the Hunter Biden probe and requested to be appointed special counsel.
3. Plea negotiations with Hunter Biden's team on tax charges have fallen apart, and the case is now expected to go to trial.
Main Topic: Appointment of David Weiss as special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe
Key Points:
1. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe.
2. Weiss, who was already overseeing the probe, requested the special counsel title.
3. The appointment confirms Weiss's authority to conduct a thorough investigation independently.
Main Topic: Republicans criticize the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the investigation into Hunter Biden.
Key Points:
1. Republicans accuse Weiss of signing a "sweetheart deal" with Hunter Biden and question his trustworthiness as special counsel.
2. Republicans suggest that Weiss was appointed to inhibit congressional investigations into the Bidens and to avoid testifying before Congress.
3. Republicans vow to continue their own investigations into the Biden family's alleged corruption and insist that Weiss must still testify before Congress.
Main Topic: Hunter Biden's tax charges dismissed, but expected to face new charges in the future
Key Points:
1. Federal judge in Delaware dismissed misdemeanor tax charges against Hunter Biden.
2. Failed plea agreement led to the dismissal, citing venue problems.
3. Prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against Biden, possibly in California or Washington, D.C.
Main Topic: House GOP committee chairmen issue subpoenas to IRS and FBI officials regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden's tax violation allegations.
Key points:
1. The subpoenas are issued to IRS and FBI officials who were present at or had direct knowledge of a meeting where the investigation into Hunter Biden was discussed.
2. The House GOP committee chairmen have been looking into potential political interference in the federal probe.
3. The subpoenas are crucial to understanding if Hunter Biden received special treatment and who made the ultimate decision in his case.
Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit reveal that false information about the origins of evidence implicating Hunter and Joe Biden in a bribery scandal was fed to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss by the FBI and then leaked to The New York Times.
Special counsel overseeing the investigation into Hunter Biden plans to seek a grand jury indictment of the president's son before the end of September, according to a court filing.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer criticized special counsel David Weiss for seeking to indict Hunter Biden on a gun charge, stating that it is the least of the crimes Biden has committed.
Emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation reveal a lack of documentation supporting Attorney General Merrick Garland's claim that he gave U.S. Attorney David Weiss authority over the Hunter Biden investigation, raising questions about misleading Congress in his testimony.
Republicans are continuing their investigations into Hunter Biden, with two IRS employees testifying privately about the federal probe into President Biden's son, raising concerns of interference from the Biden White House or Justice Department.
House Republicans accuse Hunter Biden's legal team of intimidating and harassing IRS whistleblowers involved in the Hunter Biden tax probe.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has not yet subpoenaed Hunter Biden due to the legal complexities, but indicated that he is open to Hunter Biden voluntarily testifying before the committee to clear his name.
An FBI agent involved in the Hunter Biden probe testified that the prosecutor leading it faced hurdles and lack of cooperation from other U.S. attorneys, but still had the authority to bring tax charges against Hunter Biden; the testimony comes amid investigations into the Biden family and Republicans' push for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley's former superior, IRS Special Agent Darrell Waldon, recommended removing him from the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, confirming key parts of Shapley's claims about the limited scope of the probe.
There is "no indication" that Hunter Biden tax charges will be dropped after his indictment, according to a former U.S. attorney.
Hunter Biden's attorneys filed a lawsuit against the IRS, accusing agents of targeting and embarrassing him by disclosing his confidential tax information, and seeking damages for unauthorized disclosures.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has requested more information and documents related to the Justice Department's investigation into Hunter Biden, including an interview with special counsel David Weiss and interviews with other top DOJ officials, amidst allegations of mismanagement and slow progress in the case.
New testimony from FBI and IRS officials contradicts the claims of an IRS whistleblower, who alleged political interference in the investigation of Hunter Biden's taxes, undermining Republican accusations of political influence and protecting Hunter Biden in the investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appears before the House Judiciary Committee, defending himself against Republican accusations that the Justice Department is protecting President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, while also facing questions about the investigation into Hunter Biden and the indictments against former President Trump.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland in a hearing, questioning why the Justice Department allowed potential charges against Hunter Biden to expire and highlighting Biden's business dealings with Burisma in Ukraine.
Potential tax charges against Hunter Biden faced obstacles when federal prosecutors in California and Washington, D.C. declined to assist U.S. Attorney David Weiss in charging him, leading to frustration and concerns about the investigation's future, according to testimony from an IRS law enforcement official obtained by POLITICO.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan announced that David Weiss, the special counsel appointed in the Hunter Biden case, will appear before a congressional committee on October 18th.
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to hear testimony from special counsel David Weiss and interview other Justice Department officials related to their investigation into Hunter Biden, with the goal of shedding light on claims that the Delaware US Attorney's office could have brought charges against the first son.
The House Ways and Means Committee is considering releasing more sensitive information in its investigation into Hunter Biden, protected by strict taxpayer secrecy laws, regarding Republicans' conversations with IRS whistleblowers.
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed a bank for Hunter Biden's records and obtained two wire transfers from Chinese nationals to Hunter Biden in 2019 that listed President Joe Biden's home as the beneficiary address, marking the first time the committee has issued a subpoena specifically for his records.
House Republicans released more than 700 pages of IRS whistleblower documents that they claim demonstrate Hunter Biden's use of his father's political position in a global influence-peddling scheme, fueling the House GOP impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden centered on his son's foreign business dealings.
House Republicans released documents suggesting that IRS agents investigating Hunter Biden faced obstacles whenever President Joe Biden's name came up in the probe, though senior Justice Department prosecutors believed the investigators had legitimate reasons to avoid the elder Biden, and there is no evidence that DOJ officials acted at the request of senior leadership.
The House Oversight Committee's first hearing in the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden featured several false and misleading claims from Republican members, including claims about shell companies and payments to the Bidens, Hunter Biden's qualification to sit on the board of Burisma, the Justice Department's handling of a search warrant related to Hunter Biden, wire transfers to Hunter Biden from China, allegations of bribery involving Joe Biden and Burisma, Hunter Biden's failure to pay taxes, and a purported text message between James and Hunter Biden.
The Department of Justice violated its own policy when Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss responded to congressional inquiries about the Hunter Biden investigation, contradicting their claim that only the Office of Legislative Affairs can respond to requests from the legislative branch.
President Biden's chosen federal prosecutor in DC, Matthew Graves, confirmed to Congress that he wouldn't cooperate with his Delaware counterpart to bring tax charges against Hunter Biden, arguing that such cooperation is rare and would require too much time to get up to speed on the case.
Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss sought special attorney authority to charge Hunter Biden in D.C., but his actions and testimony from D.C. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves suggest that Weiss did not actually need this authority, leading to questions about why he pursued it and why he did not pursue charges in D.C.
In his closed-door testimony to Congress, Matthew Graves, the top-ranking Justice Department prosecutor in Washington, DC, refuted claims by two IRS whistleblowers that he blocked federal investigators from charging Hunter Biden with tax crimes, discrediting allegations that have been used to fuel an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Special Counsel David Weiss will appear before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in a closed-door interview next month to clear up discrepancies regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden.
