Republicans expand their Hunter Biden investigation by seeking an interview with the lead prosecutor
House Republicans on Thursday requested voluntary testimony from nearly a dozen Justice Department officials involved in the investigation of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden as GOP lawmakers widen their scrutiny into what they claim is improper interference by the agency. Leaders of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees asked in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland for nine officials from the Justice Department and two from the FBI to appear for the interviews to address recent allegations made by two IRS employees who worked on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings. “Recent startling testimony from Internal Revenue Services whistleblowers raises serious questions about the Department’s commitment to evenhanded justice and the veracity of assertions made to the Committee on the Judiciary,” Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky, and Jason Smith of Missouri wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. The individuals named in the letter include David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware in charge of the investigation, as well Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf of Delaware and the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves. Garland said last week that the Justice Department will not object to Weiss testifying to Congress. A department spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter but declined further comment. The request comes about a week after Biden, 53, reached an agreement with the government to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses. The plea deal would also avert prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as Biden adheres to conditions agreed to in court. Days later, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Smith, voted to publicly disclose congressional testimony from the IRS employees. The testimony from Greg Shapley and an unidentified agent detailed what they called a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 election won by Joe Biden. It is unclear whether the conflict they describe amounts to internal disagreement about how to pursue the investigation or a pattern of interference and preferential treatment. Department policy has long warned prosecutors to take care in charging cases with potential political overtones around the time of an election, to avoid influencing the outcome. The Justice Department has denied the claims and said Weiss, appointed to his job when Donald Trump was president, had full authority over the case. The letter provided a deadline of July 13 for the department to begin scheduling the individuals for transcribed interviews. It said that if the deadline is not met, the committee chairmen will resort to using a congressional subpoena to force cooperation. Beyond Hunter Biden, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee led by Comer has undertaken a broader review of the Biden family’s finances and foreign dealings, issuing dozens of subpoenas to business associates and financial institutions. Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The unsubstantiated claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. Democrats said in a letter Thursday to Comer that the Justice Department investigated the claim when Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company. “Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
First trial in Capitol riot ends in conviction on all counts
A Texas man was convicted on Tuesday of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, a milestone victory for federal prosecutors in the first trial among hundreds of cases arising from last year’s riot. A jury also convicted Guy Wesley Reffitt of obstructing Congress’ joint session to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021, of interfering with police officers who were guarding the Capitol and of threatening his two teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement after the attack. Jurors deliberated about three hours and convicted him on all counts. The verdict could be a bellwether for many other Capitol riot cases. It could give Justice Department prosecutors more leverage in plea negotiations and discourage other defendants from gambling on trials of their own. Gregg Sofer, a former federal prosecutor who served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas from October 2020 to February 2021, said before Reffitt’s trial started that it would be “the canary in the coal mine.” “If you’re a defendant awaiting trial at this point, the canary just died,” said Sofer, now a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell. “I do think it is likely to affect people’s perceptions about the likelihood of their success.” Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, didn’t testify at his trial, which started last Wednesday. He showed little visible reaction to the verdict, but his face was covered by a mask. Outside court, his wife Nicole said the verdict was “against all American people. If you’re going to be convicted on your First Amendment rights, all Americans should be wary. This fight has just begun.” She said her husband was being used as an example by the government. “You are all in danger,” she said. In a statement after the verdict, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves in Washington thanked the jury “for upholding the rule of law and for its diligent service in this case.” During the trial’s closing arguments on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower told jurors that Reffitt drove to Washington, D.C., intending to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Reffitt proudly “lit the fire” that allowed others in a mob to overwhelm Capitol police officers near the Senate doors, the prosecutor said. Reffitt was not accused of entering the Capitol building. Defense attorney William Welch said there is no evidence that Reffitt damaged property, used force, or physically harmed anybody. He will be sentenced on June 8. He could receive 20 years in prison on the top charge alone, but he’s likely to face far less time behind bars. Other rioters have pleaded guilty; the longest sentence so far is five years and three months for Robert Palmer, a Florida man who pleaded guilty to attacking police officers at the Capitol. The riot resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. More than 100 officers were injured. Rioters caused over $1 million in damage to the Capitol. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich presided over Reffitt’s trial. Donald Trump nominated her in 2017. Welch has said Reffitt worked as a rig manager and as a consultant in the petroleum industry before COVID-19 restrictions effectively shut down his business. Jurors saw videos that captured the confrontation between a few Capitol police officers and a mob of people, including Reffitt, who approached them on the west side of the Capitol. Reffitt was armed with a Smith & Wesson pistol in a holster on his waist, carrying zip-tie handcuffs and wearing body armor and a helmet equipped with a video camera when he advanced on police, according to prosecutors. He retreated after an officer pepper sprayed him in the face, but he waved on other rioters who ultimately breached the building, prosecutors said. Before the crowd advanced, Reffitt used a megaphone to shout at police to step aside and to urge the mob to push forward and overtake officers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said Reffitt played a leadership role that day. During last Friday’s testimony, prosecutors zoomed in on a video image of Reffitt at the Capitol. FBI Special Agent Laird Hightower said the image shows “a silvery metallic linear object” in a holster protruding from under Reffitt’s jacket as he leaned forward. Shauni Kerkhoff, who was one of the Capitol police officers who tried to repel Reffitt, said she launched pepper balls that didn’t stop him from advancing. She testified that Reffitt appeared to be leading the crowd upstairs toward police. Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, testified last Thursday that his father threatened him and his sister, then 16, after he drove home from Washington. Reffitt told his children they would be traitors if they reported him to authorities and said, “traitors get shot,” Jackson Reffitt recalled. He said the threat terrified him. His younger sister, Peyton, was listed as a possible government witness but didn’t testify. She said that she would talk more later on her own time, but: “Kids should never be used against the parents.” Jackson Reffitt used a cellphone app to secretly record his father boasting about his role in the riot. Jurors heard excerpts of that family conversation. Jackson Reffitt initially contacted the FBI on Christmas Eve, less than two weeks before the riot, to report concerns about his father’s behavior and increasingly worrisome rhetoric. But the FBI didn’t respond until January 6, after the riot erupted. Another key witness, Rocky Hardie, said he and Reffitt were members of the “Texas Three Percenters” militia group. The Three Percenters militia movement refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British. Hardie drove from Texas to Washington with Reffitt. He testified that both of them were armed with holstered handguns when they attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the riot erupted. Reffitt also took an AR-15 rifle to Washington but left it locked up in his car, Hardie said. Hardie said Reffitt talked about dragging lawmakers out of the Capitol and replacing them with people who
