Prosecutor accused of limiting questions on Biden during Hunter probe speaks to closed-door House panel
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf was subpoenaed last month by the House Judiciary Committee
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The assistant U.S. attorney who is accused of limiting questions related to President Biden during the federal investigation into Hunter Biden is sitting for a transcribed interview at the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf was subpoenaed last month to appear before the panel. She is sitting behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee.
Fox News reported before her testimony began that she is no longer employed by the Justice Department, according to a source familiar with the situation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The source said Wolf had long-standing plans to leave the Department of Justice and did so weeks ago.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to the press. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Whistleblowers Gary Shapley, who led the IRS’ portion of the Hunter Biden probe, and Joseph Ziegler, a 13-year special agent within the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division, alleged political influence surrounding prosecutorial decisions throughout the Hunter Biden investigation, which began in 2018.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shapley alleged that Wolf sought to block investigators from asking questions related to President Biden throughout the yearslong federal investigation into his son, Hunter Biden.
Specifically, Shapley alleged that Wolf worked to "limit" questioning related to President Biden and apparent references to Biden as "dad" or "the big guy."
IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, left, and Joseph Ziegler, an IRS agent with the Criminal Investigations Division, take their seats at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 19. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Wolf allegedly said there was "no specific criminality to that line of questioning" relating to President Biden, which Shapley said "upset the FBI."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}COMER, JORDAN DEMAND HUNTER BIDEN APPEAR FOR DEPOSITION, SAY HE WILL NOT RECEIVE 'SPECIAL TREATMENT'
In October 2020, Wolf reviewed an affidavit for a search warrant of Hunter Biden’s residence and "agreed that probable cause had been achieved," Shapley testified. However, Shapley said Wolf ultimately would not allow a physical search warrant on the president’s son.
Shapley said Wolf determined there was "enough probable cause for the physical search warrant there, but the question was whether the juice was worth the squeeze."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wolf allegedly said that "optics were a driving factor in the decision on whether to execute a search warrant," Shapley said, adding that Wolf agreed that "a lot of evidence in our investigation would be found in the guest house of former Vice President Biden, but said there is no way we will get that approved."
Wolf also allegedly tipped off Hunter Biden’s legal team ahead of a planned search of his storage unit.
President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, step off Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on Feb. 4. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Wolf’s testimony at Judiciary comes as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.; Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., are leading the investigation as the House gathers evidence and considers whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden.
COMER DEFENDS PRIVATE DEPOSITION OF HUNTER BIDEN, VOWS TO RELEASE TRANSCRIPT AND HOLD PUBLIC HEARING
The committees are investigating the alleged politicization of the federal probe into Hunter Biden. They are also investigating the Biden family’s foreign business dealings and whether the president was involved or benefited directly from those ventures.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden has repeatedly denied having any involvement in his son’s business dealings.
Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition at the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Instead, he made a public statement on Capitol Hill, blasting the Republican impeachment inquiry and saying his father was "not financially involved" in his business dealings.
Comer and Jordan have threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
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Hunter Biden's public statement Wednesday came just days after he was charged out of Special Counsel David Weiss' investigation.
Weiss alleged Hunter Biden was engaged in a "four-year scheme" when the president's son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that were since paid.
Weiss also indicted Hunter Biden in September on federal gun charges, to which the president's son has pleaded not guilty. Biden's defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, this week moved to dismiss those charges altogether.
Weiss' investigation is ongoing.