21 candidates qualify to run in Congressional District 2
Alabama’s Second Congressional District race was already crowded, but by the time major party qualifying ended on Friday at 5:00 p.m., a total of 21 candidates had qualified with the Alabama Democratic Party and the Alabama Republican Party. The Congressional District 2 (CD2) seat is an open seat because the court-appointed special master redrew Alabama’s congressional districts in such a way that two incumbents, Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) and Jerry Carl (R-Enterprise), now live in the same district – Alabama’s First Congressional District. While Moore and Carl battle over which one gets to remain in Congress, CD2 is open with no incumbent. Since the rules for Congressional Districts do not require you to live in the district you are running, politicians from all over Alabama are running for this seat. Thirteen candidates qualified to run in CD2 with the Alabama Democratic Party. Retired Marine and 2020 congressional candidate James Averhart from Mobile qualified. So did State Representative Napoleon Bracy Jr. Bracy represents Prichard. He works for Austal. State Senator Merika Coleman from Jefferson County qualified. Coleman represents Birmingham, Bessemer, and Pleasant Grove. State Representative Anthony Daniels from Huntsville is running for the seat. Daniels is the House Minority Leader. Shomari Figures works in Washington, D.C., for Attorney General Merrick Garland but is originally from Mobile. His parents are State Senator Vivian Figures and the late State Senator Michael Figures (both of Mobile). He has worked for President Barack Obama. Brian Gary is a general surgeon at Jackson Hospital. State Representative Juandalynn Givan represents Birmingham and Forestdale in Jefferson County. Givan is a Jefferson County attorney. State Representative Jeremy Gray represents Lee and Russell Counties in the Legislature. He is the House Minority Whip. Phyllis Harvey-Hall was the Democratic nominee for CD2 in 2022 and 2020. She lost both times to Barry Moore. Willie J. Lenard is a resident of Opelika. Vimal Patel is a successful hotelier, commercial real estate investor, and realtor. He was a candidate in the Democratic primary in 2022 but lost to Harvey-Hall. Larry Darnell Simpson is a musician. Darryl “Sink” Sinkfield is an ASU alum and supporter. Eight Republicans have qualified. State Senator Greg Albritton of Atmore is an attorney. The retired naval officer is currently the House Finance & Taxation General Fund Committee chairman. Dick Brewbaker is a former Montgomery area automobile dealer. The Pike Road resident is a former state senator who served two terms from 2010 to 2018. Caroleene Dobson is a real estate attorney and a former rodeo standout. She serves on the Alabama Forestry Commission and Southeast Livestock Exposition. Karla M. DuPriest is a former candidate for U.S. Senate. She is a longtime congressional staffer who currently runs a popular barbecue restaurant in Mobile. Wallace Gilberry is a former University of Alabama football player who has played for multiple NFL teams. Hampton S. Harris has also qualified for the post. Stacey T. Shepperson qualified on Friday afternoon, right before the close of GOP qualifying. Belinda Thomas serves on the Newton City Council in Dale County. Both major party primaries are on March 5. If necessary, the primary runoff elections will be held on April 16. The eventual Republican and Democratic nominees will then face each other a year from now in the 2024 general election on November 5. The new district lines mean that Congressional District 2 has shifted from being a safe Republican seat to a likely Democratic seat. Given the razor-thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives, this district flipping to the Democrats could help swing control of Congress to the Democrats. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Justice Department goes after China-based companies in fentanyl fight
By Brett Rowland | The Center Square The Justice Department unsealed eight indictments in Florida on Tuesday charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes related to fentanyl and methamphetamine production, distribution of synthetic opioids, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals. Tuesday’s indictments come after similar prosecutions announced in June. The indictments charge China-based chemical manufacturing companies and nationals of the People’s Republic of China for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States. “We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice.” U.S. officials reported 107,735 overdose deaths between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 66% of those deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration-led investigations used the agency’s authority to specially schedule protonitazene and metonitazene as Schedule I controlled substances. Swiss chemical company CIBA Aktiengesellschaft developed protonitazene, metonitazene, and other synthetic substances of the benzimidazole structural class in the 1950s. They have since emerged as drugs of abuse, according to the DEA. Protonitazene and metonitazene are synthetic opioids that were listed as Schedule I controlled substances in April 2022. Traffickers typically mix protonitazene and metonitazene with other opioids, such as fentanyl, to create powerful cocktails of opioids, according to the DEA. A study this summer found that nitazenes were being detected in overdose cases. Why nitazenes are showing up in the illicit drug supply is unclear, but researchers said it may be the result of changing regulations. “The exact motivation to produce nitazenes and brorphine are unclear,” according to the study. “The increased regulation of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues throughout the last decade may have led to a change in the chemical precursors required for clandestine laboratory production that were not yet regulated. This change in chemical precursors may have led to these newer and more potent opioids.” Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 1,000 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals, and the United States Postal Inspection Service also traced packages containing the precursor chemicals mailed through the U.S. mail and analyzed their contents after seizure. Five indictments were unsealed in the Middle District of Florida. They charged five Chinese corporations and eight Chinese nationals with the illegal importation of fentanyl and fentanyl-related chemicals into the United States. The defendants openly advertised their ability to thwart U.S. customs and deliver the chemicals used to make fentanyl. The defendants used fake shipping labels and special delivery procedures to ensure the chemicals went undetected, according to the indictments. “We will continue to pursue cases against Chinese chemical companies who are knowingly manufacturing and exporting fentanyl precursors to profit on the pain and suffering of people in the United States,” U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida said in a statement. Prosecutors charged Hebei Shenghao Import and Export Company, based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, with fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, along with Chinese nationals Qingshun Li, 29, who allegedly negotiates the sale of precursor chemicals and maintains a bank account for the receipt of payments; Qingsong Li, 32; and Chunhui Chen, 33, both of whom allegedly maintain cryptocurrency wallets for the remittance of payments of precursor chemicals; Chunzhou Chen, 30, who allegedly received Western Union payments on behalf of Hebei Shenghao. Prosecutors charged Lihe Pharmaceutical Technology Company, based in Wuhan, Hebei Province, China, with fentanyl trafficking conspiracy and international money laundering, along with Chinese nationals Mingming Wang, 34, who is the alleged holder for three bitcoin accounts shared by sales agents for Lihe Pharmaceutical, and Xinqiang Lu, 40, the alleged recipient of funds via Western Union on the company’s behalf. Prosecutors charged Henan Ruijiu Biotechnology Company, based in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering, along with Chinese national Yongle Gao, 30, who is the alleged registered owner of the bitcoin wallet associated with Henan Ruijiu. Prosecutors charged Xiamen Wonderful Biotechnology Company, based in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering, along with Chinese national Guo Liang, 34, the alleged registered owner of the bitcoin wallet associated with Xiamen Wonderful. Prosecutors charged Anhui Ruihan Technology Company, based in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, with attempted importation of fentanyl precursor and attempted international money laundering. Three indictments were unsealed in the Southern District of Florida, charging three Chinese companies and four officers and employees with fentanyl trafficking, synthetic opioid trafficking, precursor chemical importation, defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, and making and using counterfeit postage. Hanhong Medicine Technology Company, a pharmaceutical company located in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, was charged in a four-count indictment, along with Chinese nationals Changgen Du, 30, and Xuebi Gan, 28. According to the indictment, Hanhong exported large quantities of fentanyl precursors and non-opioid additives, such as xylazine, to the United States and Mexico, including to a drug trafficker in Pennsylvania and to a drug trafficker in the Sinaloa cartel for the manufacture of fentanyl in Mexico for eventual distribution in the United States. Xylazine is a non-opioid tranquilizer approved for animal use. Xylazine is not approved for use in people. But it has made its way into the unregulated supply of illicit drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, and other drugs. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states. The agency’s laboratory system reported that about 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA in 2022 contained xylazine. Xylazine can be mixed with other drugs either to enhance drug effects or increase street value by increasing the weight of the product. The Du Transnational Criminal Organization is listed on the United States Attorney General’s Consolidated Priority Organization Target list. The CPOT list identifies the most significant transnational criminal organizations
AG Merrick Garland takes fire from Republicans
House Republicans peppered Attorney General Merrick Garland with questions during a hearing Wednesday about the probe into Hunter Biden, the president’s son. As The Center Square previously reported, two IRS whistleblowers testified before Congress that the DOJ abused its power and interfered in their inquiry into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes. Notably, they testified that the investigation was slowed so that the statute of limitations could run out on some charges. Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler, both IRS employees with a combined 27 experience years at the agency, testified before Congress that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf helped block investigators’ plan for an interview of the president and a search warrant of the Biden residence in Delaware. “Everyone knows why they did it,” House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said at the hearing. “Those tax years, that… involved the president. It’s one thing to have a gun charge in Delaware. That doesn’t involve the president of the United States. But Burisma? That goes right to the White House.” Garland seemed to preempt some of these criticisms in his opening statement, saying he was not obligated to do the bidding of the president or Congress. He declined to give specific answers to many of the Republicans’ questions, including around the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump. “Our job is to pursue justice, without fear or favor,” Garland said in his opening statement. “Our job is not to do what is politically convenient. Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate. As the President himself has said, and I reaffirm today: I am not the president’s lawyer. I will also add I am not Congress’s prosecutor.” That reference to Congress’s prosecutor is an apparent reference to Republicans’ frustrations with the DOJ for not prosecuting Hunter Biden more aggressively. House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has released a steady stream of evidence in recent months alleging that Hunter Biden was involved in an overseas “bribery scheme” and that his father knew about it. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who kicked off an impeachment inquiry on the same issue, pointed to about 150 U.S. Treasury Department suspicious activities reports filed by the agency around Hunter Biden’s dealings as well as bank records and the testimony from IRS whistleblowers who said the Biden family and associates received around $20 million from entities in adversarial nations. Special counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden earlier this month over a gun purchase he made in 2018 after his plea deal unexpectedly fell through. Hunter Biden, who is also expected to face tax charges, was ordered by a federal magistrate judge on Wednesday to appear in court at his Oct. 3 hearing. Garland has taken fire over a string of incidents where critics say the agency has wrongly weaponized its power and targeted Americans, including working with social media groups to censor American posts and allegedly being more aggressive in prosecuting conservatives and right-leaning groups. “As someone who grew up in the Soviet Union, I’m disturbed by the fact that so many hardworking Americans—including my constituents—are afraid of political persecution by our own government,” said Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind. “Unfortunately, it does not seem like AG Garland is.” House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., recently sent a letter to the National Archives and Records Administration requesting travel records for Air Force Two after allegations that Hunter Biden may have used the vice president’s plane for his overseas deals when his father held that position in the Obama administration. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
U.S. Department of Justice has seized $1.4B in pandemic relief funds
A federal campaign to combat COVID-19 fraud resulted in 718 enforcement actions, including criminal charges against 371 defendants, for crimes related to more than $836 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the results of the campaign on Wednesday. “The Justice Department has now seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that criminals had stolen and charged over 3,000 defendants with crimes in federal districts across the country,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco made the announcement at a roundtable meeting of senior Justice Department officials, law enforcement partners and Office of Inspector General executives. Monaco also announced the launch of two additional COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Forces: one at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, and one at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Those two strike forces are in addition to the three strike forces launched in September 2022 in the Eastern and Central Districts of California, the Southern District of Florida, and the District of Maryland. “The two new Strike Forces launched today will increase our reach as we continue to pursue fraudsters and recover taxpayer funds, no matter how long it takes,” Monaco said in a statement. The 718 law enforcement actions include criminal charges, civil charges, forfeitures, guilty pleas, and sentencings, with a combined total actual loss of more than $836 million, according to the Justice Department. Criminal charges were filed against 371 defendants, and 119 defendants have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial during the sweep. More than $57 million in court-ordered restitution was imposed. Prosecutors worked with law enforcement to secure forfeiture of more than $231.4 million. Michael Horowitz, chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, said early mistakes cost taxpayers. “Agency decisions in the early months of the pandemic that prioritized speed over accuracy in delivery of relief funds led to brazen fraud and outright theft of millions of dollars,” he said in a statement. Horowitz testified in February that federal agencies failed to use some of the tools at their disposal to prevent fraud, including the Do Not Pay list. The U.S. Department of the Treasury had set up the list of suspicious payees who should trigger additional screening. He said advance screening with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Do Not Pay list could have saved taxpayer money. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Republicans investigate alleged political interference in Hunter Biden case
Two key House Committees issued subpoenas for Biden administration officials as part of an investigation into allegations of political interference on behalf of Hunter Biden, who faces an array of legal issues. Republican leadership on the House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on the Judiciary issued the subpoenas for IRS employees and two FBI agents. Whistleblower testimony about U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss, who is now special counsel in the Hunter Biden case, is what sparked the lawmakers’ inquiry. In particular, whistleblowers say Weiss told personnel from the IRS and DOJ that he had tried to bring charges against Hunter Biden multiple times and in multiple jurisdictions but was denied. House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a joint statement that the whistleblower allegations point to “political interference in the investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign influence peddling and tax evasion.” “Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has consistently stonewalled Congress,” the lawmakers said. “Our duty is to follow the facts wherever they may lead, and our subpoenas compelling testimony from Biden Administration officials are crucial to understanding how the President’s son received special treatment from federal prosecutors and who was the ultimate decision maker in the case.” The whistleblower testimony contradicts both Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who recently led Congress to believe that Weiss was the final decision-maker in the case. Hunter Biden is currently expected to face trial after his plea deal over tax and gun-related charges fell apart over questions of whether he would be immune to future prosecution for other alleged crimes. The subpoenas come after two IRS whistleblowers testified before the House Oversight Committee in July, saying that the DOJ acted improperly in the Hunter Biden investigation. As The Center Square previously reported, the testimony came from Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler, both IRS employees with a total 27 years of experience at the agency. They said that Hunter Biden’s preferential treatment was unlike than other cases in their decades of experience. Notably, they testified that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf helped prevent investigators from conducting an interview with President Joe Biden along with a search warrant of the Biden residence in Delaware. The pair also testified that they tried to report the alleged abuse of power using the standard channels but ultimately felt compelled to blow the whistle. Ziegler said in his testimony that there was abuse of authority, ethical violations and “gross mismanagement” in the Hunter Biden case and called for a special counsel to investigate. Shapley testified that in the Hunter Biden case, evidence was kept hidden from investigators and that decisions were repeatedly made that benefited Hunter Biden and the president. Shapley called it an “undeniable pattern of preferential treatment and obstruction of the normal investigative process.” Smith and Jordan said they tried normal interview requests with the IRS and FBI employees but were denied. How the federal employees will respond to the subpoenas remains to be seen. In the past, Trump administration officials ignored Congressional subpoenas. “Americans deserve to know the truth, especially now that Attorney General Garland has appointed as special counsel the same U.S. Attorney who oversaw Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal and botched the investigation into his alleged tax crimes,” Smith and Jordan said. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
DOJ sues Texas over Rio Grande barriers; Greg Abbott says feds ‘left me no other choice’
On the same day the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against Texas over a floating barrier of buoys strung together in the Rio Grande River, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to President Joe Biden saying that Texas has a right to defend its border. The Department of Justice said the floating barrier was constructed without federal authorization as required under the Rivers and Harbors Act and creates a humanitarian threat. The complaint seeks to stop construction of the barrier and to require Texas to remove it. But Abbott is having none of it. The Texas governor’s formal letter sent Monday is a follow-up to the notice he gave on Friday in response to the DOJ saying its civil action was coming. DOJ’s lawsuit also was filed Monday. Abbott’s two-page letter copies Attorney General Merrick Garland and three Texas officials: the provisional attorney general and heads of the Texas Military Department and Department of Public Safety. He also includes copies of two letters he previously sent to the president, the first of which was sent last November explaining Texas’ constitutional right to secure its border. The second he hand-delivered on January 8, 2023, outlining solutions the president could take immediately to secure the border. Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, wrote, “In accordance with Article I, § 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, I have asserted Texas’s “sovereign interest in protecting [her] borders,” citing Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. “I have done so in my role as the commander-in-chief of our State’s militia under Article IV, § 7 of the Texas Constitution,” citing a ruling in the 2023 case, Abbott v. Biden, when the federal judge in this case held that “the Constitution forbids President Biden from bypassing the States [and] stepping into Governor Abbott’s shoes.” Abbott also states that the president’s “ongoing violation of Article IV, § 4 of the U.S. Constitution has left me no other choice” than to secure the Texas border and block illegal entry. He also points to arguments he made in the letters he previously sent and reiterates what he told the president in El Paso, Texas, on January 8: “All of this is happening because you have violated your constitutional obligation to defend the States against invasion through faithful execution of federal laws.” In response to DOJ attorneys claiming Texas’s floating marine barriers violate Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, Abbott says their analysis “misses the mark. In that statute, Congress decreed that ‘it shall not be lawful to build . . . any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, or other structures in any . . . water of the United States.’ “To state the obvious, that statute does not describe any action by the State of Texas.” Texas began the Rio Grande initiative to prevent illegal entry on state land between ports of entry. Abbott also places the blame on Biden for any humanitarian crisis at the border. Responding to DOJ attorney accusations, he writes, “Mr. President, your finger points in the wrong direction. Neither of us wants to see another death in the Rio Grande River. Yet your open-border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water instead of safely and legally at a port of entry. Nobody drowns on a bridge. “If you truly care about human life, you must begin enforcing federal immigration laws,” he continued. “By doing so, you can help me stop migrants from wagering their lives in the waters of the Rio Grande River. You can also help me save Texans, and indeed all Americans, from deadly drugs like fentanyl, cartel violence, and the horrors of human trafficking.” The letter came as over 175,000 foreign nationals were reported illegally entering the southern border alone in June, including at least 70,200 in Texas, and as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas continues to claim the border is secure. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville asks for DOJ, SEC investigation into crypto firm with ties to China
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) is asking for an investigation of a Chinese-linked crypto-currency exchange company firm Prometheum, Inc. Senator Tuberville recently discussed Prometheum’s alleged China ties on Fox Business Channel’s Larry Kudlow. “Crypto is here to stay,” Tuberville told Kudlow. “We have got to have regulations, but the thing that we are running into now is we have got what we call crypto exchanges that are coming around all over the country. They have to be approved by the SEC and FINRA, the two regulators.” Tuberville continued, “We all know that they (China) are our number one adversary – the Republicans, the Democrats, people across the country, but somebody needs to tell our financial regulators because what has happened recently. There is a company, Promethium, that has been given the rights to a crypto exchange. Their biggest investor is Wanxiang which is a Communist China Party company. It is their biggest investor. What’s going on with our regulators? There was several dozen companies and people who applied for this, but they went with the Chinese Communist Party company.” Tuberville and five congressional colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler requesting a review of inconsistencies in congressional testimony given by digital asset firm Prometheum, Inc.’s Co-CEO Aaron Kaplan and the company’s SEC filings. Senator Tuberville announced the letter in an op-ed published by 1819 News. “Lying to Congress is a crime. Providing misleading information to investors in SEC filings constitutes securities fraud,” said Sen. Tuberville. “…If Prometheum ended its tech buildout with its China-based partners in December 2019 as Mr. Kaplan led Congress to believe, that development should have been reflected in the company’s SEC filings. Instead, Prometheum continued to tout its China-tainted tech partnership to regulators and potential investors for nearly two more years.” Prometheum’s largest outside investor is a China-based company – Shanghai Wanxiang Blockchain, Inc. (Wanxiang) and its subsidiary HashKey Digital Asset Group, Ltd. (HashKey)- with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that were documented in a Wall Street Journal op-ed written by Senator Tuberville last month. HashKey holds a seat on Prometheum’s board, and until October 2021, Prometheum benefitted from a formal technology development agreement with its Chinese partners. In written testimony submitted to Congress for a June 13 House Financial Services Committee hearing on the future of digital assets, Mr. Kaplan indicated Prometheum began developing its technology platform without influence from Wanxiang or HashKey in December 2019. Tuberville claims that SEC filings submitted by Prometheum throughout 2020 and for most of 2021 indicate the technology development partnership was still in force until October 2021. The letter sent to the Attorney General and the SEC Chair by Sen. Tuberville and his congressional colleagues requests a review of these inconsistencies. Last month, Senator Tuberville sent an oversight letter to the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), objecting to those agencies’ approval of Prometheum Ember Capital, LLC – a subsidiary of Prometheum, Inc. – as a special purpose broker-dealer to custody digital asset securities. Tuberville has requested an investigation. Tuberville said that he and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation last week that will keep companies partly owned by the Chinese Communist Party from being able to invest in financial exchanges. “That will keep out Chinese Communist Party investors out of crypto, out of our exchanges, but these regulators are asleep at the wheel,” Tuberville said. “It is just another thing that the Biden Administration has let the Chinese do and get by with, and we need to put a stop to it.” Tuberville was elected to the Senate in 2020. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
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.
Ted Cruz calls for special counsel to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is calling for a special counsel to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland over perjury and obstructing justice claims. Cruz did so as U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, said the House would begin an impeachment inquiry into Garland after IRS whistleblowers came forward to members of Congress alleging Garland blocked an investigation into Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, and lied about it under oath. McCarthy tweeted, “We need to get to the facts, and that includes reconciling these clear disparities. U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee. If the whistleblowers’ allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland’s weaponization of the DOJ.” IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified before Congress that the U.S. Attorney in charge of an investigation into Hunter Biden, David Weiss, said he wanted to bring charges but was prevented from doing so by Garland. McCarthy also told Fox News the inquiries would start by July 6. In his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” on Monday, Cruz said, “The evidence is mounting and mounting and mounting … it is getting so bad even the corrupt corporate media cannot ignore this anymore.” Cruz played a clip of Garland saying at a news conference, “I certainly understand that some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department … by claiming that we do not treat like cases alike,” referring to what senators have argued when comparing how President Biden and former President Donald Trump have been treated by the department. “Nothing could be further from the truth. We make our cases based on the facts and the law,” Garland said. Cruz said Garland is “the one who has politicized this process and is burning down the integrity of the Department of Justice to the ground. The people accusing him work for him … they are his own … employees, and they’re … mad.” Cruz said Garland’s response was self-righteous and compared him to a despot. He also said what Garland said was “objectively false: ‘We use the same standards for everyone.’ Well, OK, you’re name is Biden you can have classified documents everywhere … but if you’re Trump, we’re sending in the stormtroopers.” “It’s time the Department of Justice needs to appoint a special counsel to investigate Merrick Garland for obstruction of justice and perjury,” he said. Cruz cited Shapley’s testimony, which indicated that Garland committed perjury and lied under oath to Congress. Garland then removed him from the case, which Cruz said is illegal and needs to be investigated. Cruz called for an investigation after he previously called out the deputy director of the FBI over bribery allegations related to both the president and his son, and is still demanding answers. Cruz also welcomed the House impeachment inquiry, saying, “There is serious evidence that Merrick Garland lied to me, under oath, when I questioned him about his role in obstructing the Hunter Biden probe.” When asked by Newsmax’s James Rosen about the accusations, White House spokesman John Kirby walked out of the room and wouldn’t answer questions. At another press briefing, when similar questions were asked, another White House spokesperson said she didn’t know what the reporters were referring to and didn’t have a comment. When asked if the White House believed Garland committed perjury, she smirked and made several facial expressions, shaking her head, and said, “I don’t have any comment on this.” Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Hunter Biden will plead guilty in a deal that likely averts time behind bars in a tax and gun case
President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid full prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars. Hunter Biden, 53, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement made public Tuesday. The agreement will also avert prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions agreed to in court. The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into the taxes and foreign business dealings of President Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden. It also averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks of distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously sought to keep its distance from the Justice Department. The president, when asked about the development at a meeting on another subject in California, said simply, “I’m very proud of my son.” The White House counsel’s office said in a statement that the president and first lady Jill Biden “love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life.” While the agreement requires the younger Biden to admit guilt, the deal is narrowly focused on tax and weapons violations rather than anything broader or tied to the Democratic president. Nonetheless, former President Donald Trump and other Republicans continued to try to use the case to shine an unflattering spotlight on Joe Biden and to raise questions about the independence of the Biden Justice Department. Trump, challenging President Biden in the 2024 presidential race, likened the agreement to a “mere traffic ticket,” adding, “Our system is BROKEN!” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy compared the outcome to the Trump documents case now heading toward federal court and said, “If you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another presidential challenger, used the same term. Two people familiar with the investigation said the Justice Department would recommend 24 months of probation for the tax charges, meaning Hunter Biden will not face time in prison. But the decision to go along with any deal is up to the judge. The people were not authorized to speak publicly by name and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. He is to plead guilty to failing to pay more than $100,000 in taxes on over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, charges that carry a maximum possible penalty of a year in prison. The back taxes have since been paid, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The gun charge states that Hunter Biden possessed a handgun, a Colt Cobra .38 Special, for 11 days in October 2018 despite knowing he was a drug user. The rarely filed count carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but the Justice Department said Hunter Biden had reached a pretrial agreement. This likely means as long as he adheres to the conditions, the case will be wiped from his record. Christopher Clark, a lawyer for Hunter Biden, said in a statement that it was his understanding that the five-year investigation had now been resolved. “I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life,” Clark said. “He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.” The agreement comes as the Justice Department pursues perhaps the most consequential case in its history against Trump, the first former president to face federal criminal charges. The resolution of Hunter Biden’s case comes just days after a 37-count indictment against Trump in relation to accusations of mishandling classified documents on his Florida estate. It was filed by a special counsel, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to avoid any potential conflict of interest in the Justice Department. That indictment has nevertheless brought an onslaught of Republican criticism of “politicization” of the Justice Department. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans continue to pursue their own investigations into nearly every facet of Hunter Biden’s business dealings, including foreign payments. Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the younger Biden is “getting away with a slap on the wrist,” despite investigations in Congress that GOP lawmakers say show — but have not yet provided evidence of — a pattern of corruption involving the family’s financial ties. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, on the other hand, said the case was thoroughly investigated over five years by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Delaware prosecutor appointed by Trump. Resolution of the case, Coons said, “brings to a close a five-year investigation, despite the elaborate conspiracy theories spun by many who believed there would be much more to this.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was scheduled to campaign with the president Tuesday evening, reaffirmed his support for Biden’s reelection. “Hunter changes nothing,” Newsom told the AP on Tuesday. Misdemeanor tax cases aren’t common, and most that are filed end with a sentence that doesn’t include time behind bars, said Caroline Ciraolo, an attorney who served as head of the Justice Department’s tax division from 2015 to 2017. An expected federal conviction “is not a slap on the wrist,” she said. Gun possession charges that aren’t associated with another firearm crime are also uncommon, said Keith Rosen, a past head of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware. For people without a significant criminal history, the total number of multiple types of illegal possession cases filed every year in Delaware amounts to a handful, he said. The Justice Department’s investigation into the president’s son burst into public view in December 2020, one month after the 2020 election, when Hunter Biden revealed that he had received a subpoena as part of the department’s scrutiny of his taxes. The subpoena sought information on the younger Biden’s business dealings with a number of entities, including
Democrats may change Senate rules over Tommy Tuberville’s hold on promotions
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reported on Tuesday that Senate Democrats may look at rules changes to break through the blockade U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has put in place against more than 200 military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Democrats accuse Tuberville of abusing the Senate rules by keeping his hold on Joe Biden’s military promotions in place since February. “We need to talk about changing rules that Republicans have learned to exploit. We can’t continue in a world where one senator puts our entire national defense at risk because he doesn’t like one policy followed by the Department of Defense,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Warren says that she has repeatedly asked for unanimous consent to advance Biden’s nonpolitical military promotions only to be blocked by Tuberville. “Sen. Tuberville’s hold is just another indication of the madness that seems to have seized extremists in the Republican Party,” she said. “I don’t think one person should be able to hold up the promotions and lives of everybody in the military or any other part of government,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), the chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. “The Senator from Alabama’s actions are not just the usual back and forth in Washington. His holds pose a grave threat to our national security and our military readiness,” Warren said in a floor speech on June 1. “They actively hurt our ability to respond quickly to threats worldwide. That is not my conclusion. That is the conclusion of the Secretary of Defense.” President Joe Biden brought up Sen. Tuberville’s hold on military promotions without mentioning the Senator by name in comments at an event on Monday. “Because the military said if you’re in the military and you’re having a troubled pregnancy, and you’re in a state where you’re not allowed to see the doctor performing any remedial operation on you, then you can get paid – you can have leave to go to where you can do that,” Biden said. “I know I don’t look like I’ve been around, but I’ve been around a long time. There’s so many things of consequence that we can solve. And the vast majority of people, all the data shows, support the positions we’re generically taken.” On Thursday, Tuberville said that he is not backing down. “This is the ninth time that Democrats have come to the floor to try to break my hold on the Department of Defense’s nominees,” said Tuberville. “This is the ninth time that I’ve come to the floor to keep my word. Since the last time we did this, nothing has changed. And so, my hold will remain in place.” Tuberville continued, “Yesterday, the White House Press Secretary was asked why they haven’t reached out to me at all. She said, “I do not know when the last time is they talked to the senator.” I’ll tell you when the last time was — never. The White House has not reached out once in four months. No one has contacted me. There has not been one conversation, no path forward. I have spoken to Secretary (Lloyd) Austin, outside of Armed Services hearings, exactly once in the last two years. That was a 10-minute phone call — three months ago. He made absolutely no effort to find a compromise in our situation.” “Many of the claims made about me have been completely false. Many of them,” said Tuberville. “This is no way to negotiate with a colleague — especially in this body, the United States Senate. Frankly, this kind of behavior from the Democrats just steels my resolve. The more false claims the Democrats make about me, the more inclined I am to keep the holds in place.” “But I would note that just yesterday, a news story reported correctly that these military positions are being fulfilled by acting officials,” stated Tuberville. “These jobs are being done right now. They’re not empty. Four months into this situation that is obvious that people are doing the job. It is not affecting readiness. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.” “I will keep my hold until the Pentagon follows the law [or] Congress changes the law,” vowed Tuberville. “That’s the way we do it here in the Senate. A ‘show vote’ in committee is not good enough. We can do that all we want. It’s not going to make any difference. An amendment that gets stripped out on the floor by Senator [Chuck] Schumer is not good enough. What I have said from the beginning: either follow the law or change it. Follow the law that we have made in this body, or change the law.” It is far from certain that Democrats have the votes to change the Senate rules, as any proposed rule change on this would dramatically decrease the power of every individual senator – of both parties. This slowdown of routine Senate business could be getting worse. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is following Tuberville’s example when he declared last week that he will put a hold on all nominees to the Justice Department over the prosecution of former President Donald Trump. “Donald Trump is merely the latest victim of a Department of Justice that cares more about politics than law enforcement,” Vance said in a statement. “Merrick Garland’s department harasses Christians for pro-life advocacy but allows hardened criminals to walk our streets unpunished. This must stop, and I will do everything in my ability to ensure it does. Starting today, I will hold all Department of Justice nominations. If Merrick Garland wants to use these officials to harass Joe Biden’s political opponents, we will grind his department to a halt.” To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
House passes resolution to overturn new federal gun regulation; Joe Biden vows veto
House Republicans passed a resolution that would repeal a Biden administration rule tightening federal regulations on stabilizing braces for firearms, an accessory that has been used in several mass shootings in the U.S. over the last decade. The resolution passed 219-210 nearly on party lines and after a contentious floor debate where Republicans accused the administration of “executive overreach,” and Democrats condemned a bill they said would “help kill people.” Two Democrats voted in support, and two Republicans voted against it. The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., will now go to the Senate, which could take up the measure as soon as this week. Should it pass, President Joe Biden has promised a veto. Overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate. The new rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in January treats guns with the accessories like short-barreled rifles, a weapon that is like a sawed-off shotgun and has been heavily regulated since the 1930s. The regulation, which went into effect June 1, was one of several steps Biden announced in 2021 after a man using a stabilizing brace killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. A stabilizing brace was also used in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, that left nine people dead in 2019 and most recently in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. Stabilizing braces transform a pistol into a weapon that’s powerful and easy to conceal, Attorney General Merrick Garland said when he announced the rule. Originally developed for disabled veterans, gun-control groups have said the accessories have became a loophole exploited by gunmakers to make weapons more deadly. Since taking effect earlier this month, the rule requires anyone who has a gun with an arm-stabilizing brace to register the weapon with the federal government and pay a fee or remove the brace from their weapons. Republicans employed the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to undo recently enacted executive branch regulations, to try and nullify the new rule that they claim has turned millions of gun owners into felons. “This rule doesn’t just infringe upon Americans’ Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the administration,” Clyde said during debate Tuesday. “Congress maintains sole legislative authority, not government agencies, not the executive branch.” Several lawsuits have been filed against the regulations by gun owners and state attorneys general. They say it violates Second Amendment protections by requiring millions of people to alter or register their weapons. In some cases, judges have recently agreed to temporarily block enforcement of the rule for the plaintiffs in a setback for the Biden administration. House Democrats defended the rule on Tuesday, saying it could save lives. “How many more mass shootings need to happen? How many more kids need to die before my Republican colleagues pull their heads out of the sand and realize that the NRA money is not worth the damage that’s been done to our country,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. The main sponsor for the measure, Clyde, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the owner of a gun store in his district in Georgia. His proposal to overturn the ATF rule first came to the House Judiciary Committee in late March for markup. But House Republicans postponed debate of the measure after a gunman used a weapon with a stabilizing brace to fatally shoot three children and three adults at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn. Last week, Clyde claimed GOP leadership had blocked his resolution from reaching the floor as retribution for his no vote on a bipartisan agreement to lift the debt ceiling, which leaders denied. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he and Rep. Tom Emmer, the GOP’s chief vote-counter, had been working intensely to ensure enough support to pass the legislation in the narrowly divided House. “We’ve been moving people every week on this bill,” Scalise said. “It has not been easy.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
