(Washington) The 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 regarding the judicial investigations targeting the president’s son.
Hunter Biden, 53, pleaded guilty in June to tax evasion and possession of a firearm while hooked, both federal offenses. On July 26, he must appear in court to ratify the agreement that will save him from an embarrassing trial in the midst of his father’s re-election campaign.
With this dossier and other shady deals carried out in Ukraine and China, the son of a democrat has become a privileged target for the American right.
Republicans-elect on a House of Representatives panel tested two US tax agents identified as whistleblowers on Wednesday after asserting in June that Hunter Biden had benefited from “preferential treatment” from federal justice.
One of them, Gary Shapley, maintains that the federal prosecutor in charge of the case did not, on the part of the Department of Justice, have the necessary latitude to conduct his investigation, which he denies.
PHOTO STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH, Auxiliary Press
Gary Shapley
Mr Shapley maintains that Judge David Weiss was unable to decide the charges himself.
The second whistleblower, Joseph Ziegler, a veteran tax investigator, followed suit, saying Tuesday that this prosecutor was “continually obstructed, limited, and sidelined” by Justice Department officials.
Attorney General Merrick Garland responded at the end of June that David Weiss – an appointee of former President Donald Trump – had “total freedom” to file.
Republicans have called for an impeachment investigation of Merrick Garland, who was appointed by Joe Biden. For Democrats, debates and disagreements within a team of investigators are commonplace and there is nothing political about them.
Joe Biden keeps repeating that he is “so proud” of his son, despite his ups and downs.
Wednesday’s hearings come as part of 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.
Democrats answer that these right-wing efforts are nothing more than screens that serve to hide the legal disputes piling up on Donald Trump.
The former president, the frontrunner in the race for the 2024 Republican primary, said Tuesday that he was personally targeted in the federal investigation into the assault on the Capitol. He is already charged in two other cases.
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