Politics
Congress investigates: did President Biden obstruct justice for son’s sake?
By Jake Beardslee · November 24, 2023
In brief…
- House Republicans subpoenaed federal prosecutor Lesley Wolf to testify about alleged interference in Hunter Biden probe
- Wolf works closely with U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation into Biden's son
- Whistleblowers claim prosecutors showed "preferential treatment" due to Hunter's ties
- Justice Department denies political interference, but Republicans remain skeptical
- Subpoena part of broader GOP probe into Biden family finances and business
House Republicans on Tuesday issued a subpoena to federal prosecutor Lesley Wolf, demanding she appear before the Judiciary Committee by December 7th to answer questions about alleged Justice Department interference into the Hunter Biden investigation. Wolf is the assistant U.S. attorney for Delaware and has worked closely with David Weiss, the Delaware U.S. attorney overseeing the probe into the president’s son.
Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) claimed “it is clear that you possess specialized and unique information that is unavailable to the committee through other sources.” Republicans have accused the Justice Department of slow-walking the case due to Hunter Biden’s connection to President Biden.
Whistleblowers have claimed prosecutors showed “preferential treatment,” with IRS agent Gary Shapley testifying that in a 2020 meeting, Wolf refused to discuss an email between Hunter Biden associates mentioning the “big guy.” Shapley said Wolf did not want to ask about “‘dad’,” referring to the president.
The Justice Department has denied political interference, with Weiss telling the committee last month that “political considerations played no part in our decision-making.” But Republicans remain skeptical.
Jordan wrote to Wolf that she is “uniquely situated to shed light on whether President Biden played any role in the department’s investigation and whether he attempted, in any way, to directly or indirectly obstruct either that investigation or our investigation.”
The subpoena comes amid a broader Republican investigation into the Biden family’s finances and business dealings, with subpoenas issued last week to Hunter Biden and James Biden.