A whistleblower has accused the CIA of impeding the tax fraud investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, by intervening to block an interview of a witness by other federal agencies.
The CIA allegedly meddled in the investigation into Mr. Biden in August 2021 by preventing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from interviewing Kevin Morris, an associate of Mr. Biden’s, according to the unidentified whistleblower, per House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).
The lawmakers made the allegation in a March 21 letter to CIA Director William Burns, in which they request records of related communications in an effort to clarify the matter, which comes as their committees assist with the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
“As part of the impeachment inquiry, the Committees are investigating, among other things, whether President Biden ‘abuse[d] his power as President to impede, obstruct, or otherwise hinder investigations or the prosecution of Hunter Biden,’” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, quoting from the Impeachment Inquiry Memorandum.
A CIA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the agency would not comment on specific investigations but that, as a matter of principle, it doesn’t interfere in investigations.
“We can say that CIA cooperates with law enforcement partners and does not obstruct investigations,” the spokesperson said. “CIA also fully and routinely cooperates with our oversight committees and will continue to do so.”
‘Preferential Treatment’
Following a five-year probe, Mr. Biden was indicted in December 2023 on nine tax-related charges—three felony and six misdemeanor tax offenses—for failing to pay roughly $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019.
Instead of paying his taxes, Mr. Biden “spent this money on drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” reads the indictment.
Court documents indicate that Mr. Biden’s alleged actions involved an intentional effort to avoid paying taxes, including subverting his own company’s payroll and tax withholding process by withdrawing millions outside of established procedures.
Mr. Biden’s indictment came after a five-year tax investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which came under scrutiny when two IRS whistleblowers—Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler—alleged that DOJ officials worked to impede the probe and prevent prosecutors from bringing the most serious charges, and that President Biden’s son was getting “preferential treatment.”
Now another whistleblower has come forward, this time alleging that the CIA intervened in the investigation to prevent the DOJ and IRS from interviewing Mr. Morris, a Hollywood lawyer and Mr. Biden’s benefactor.
“It is unknown why or on what basis the CIA allegedly intervened to prevent investigators from interviewing Mr. Morris,” Mr. Jordan and Mr. Comer wrote in the letter to the CIA chief.
“However, these allegations track with other evidence showing how the DOJ deviated from its standard investigative practices during the investigation of Hunter Biden,” they wrote, while demanding that the CIA provide documents and information that could shed light on the whistleblower’s allegations.
Mr. Morris has often been described in media reports as Mr. Biden’s “Sugar Brother” because he paid around $5 million for his housing, media relations, accounting, and legal fees, and overdue tax expenses—and bought around $875,000 worth of artwork produced by the president’s son.
‘Deviations From Standard Process’
As part of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, the two committees have been investigating whether the president abused his power to impede investigations or the prosecution of his son.
The two committees have documented various ways in which they allege that DOJ officials deviated from their normal investigative processes and provided preferential treatment to Mr. Biden, including by crafting a plea deal that they say was so biased that it fell apart in open court.
“When a federal judge rejected the Department’s attempt to push through a sweetheart plea deal and quietly end the five-year investigation of Hunter Biden, Attorney General Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel and refused to answer questions about the case on the basis of the existence of an ‘ongoing investigation,’” reads the 78-page report by the two committees.
“Using the ‘ongoing investigation’ as a veil to shield its misconduct, the Biden Justice Department unilaterally limited the scope of witness testimony and document productions to Congress, severely curtailing the Committees’ ability to gather information,” it adds.
Another way that DOJ officials allegedly stymied the investigation was by restricting what investigative steps investigators could pursue, tipping off Mr. Biden’s attorneys, and preventing witness interviews.
“The information we recently received from the whistleblower seems to corroborate our concerns about DOJ’s deviations from standard process to provide Hunter Biden with preferential treatment,” the two committee chairs wrote in the March 21 letter to the CIA chief.
The whistleblower told Mr. Comer and Mr. Jordan that, in August 2021, when IRS investigators were preparing to interview Mr. Morris, the CIA intervened to block the interview.
“Two DOJ officials were allegedly summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia for a briefing regarding Mr. Morris. At that meeting, it was communicated that Mr. Morris could not be a witness during the investigation,” their letter states.
Noting that it remains unclear why the CIA allegedly intervened to block the witness interview, the two committee chairs have requested all documents and communications from the agency in regard to DOJ and IRS investigations into Mr. Biden.
They’ve also requested all records relating to Mr. Morris, including but not limited to efforts to interview him as part of the probe into Mr. Biden.
Probe Into Hunter Biden’s Links to Kevin Morris
In mid-2022, when the investigation into Mr. Biden’s tax affairs was still in progress, Mr. Comer launched a probe into what he described as Mr. Morris’ “sudden patronage” of the president’s son.
Mr. Comer, then a ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said at the time that he was investigating Mr. Biden’s domestic and foreign business dealings to determine if they compromised U.S. national security and undermined President Biden’s ability to lead the country “with impartiality.”
The Republican lawmaker has since uncovered evidence that he says indicates that President Biden was “the brand” that his son and other members of the Biden family were selling and that his holding of high office was the only reason that any of the international business transactions took place that saw tens of millions of dollars flowing to members of the Biden family.
President Biden has repeatedly denied any involvement in his family’s business dealings.
Mr. Comer wrote in a letter to Mr. Morris in June 2022 that, “Your sudden patronage of the President’s son, enormous financial contributions to President Biden, and outsized role you are taking in defending against both congressional and criminal investigations raise serious concerns about whether you are providing in-kind contributions to President Biden’s re-election efforts.”
The Republican lawmaker noted that Mr. Morris funded a documentary about Mr. Biden’s life, which the lawmaker said serves to “deflect oversight of Hunter Biden’s numerous foreign business dealings” and “shield President Biden from becoming implicated in them.”
In addition, Mr. Comer said that Mr. Morris “convened a team of 30 lawyers and investigators” to discredit the allegations against Mr. Biden and thereby protect the president.
Mr. Comer, and other Republicans, have accused the president’s son of leveraging his family name for profit, peddling influence, and effectively selling access to his father while he was vice president.
Mr. Biden denies this, insisting his extraordinary professional breaks were based on merit rather than a famous last name. However, he recently testified that he made “mistakes” and squandered opportunities and privileges that were afforded him thanks to his family ties.
From The Epoch Times
