IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS: THERE’S BIG PROTECTION FOR THE BIG GUY… Joe Biden Leads Were ‘Off The Table’ During Hunter Biden Investigation, IRS Whistleblowers Testify
Any potential investigative leads pointing towards Joe Biden were “off the table” during the Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, new testimony from two IRS agents shows.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified Dec. 5 before the House Ways and Means Committee and described how they “weren’t allowed” to look into leads potentially implicating Joe Biden, according to testimony excerpts released Thursday by the committee.
“Well, that’s the complex part about this is at the end of the day, any questions that might have led to former Vice President, they were kind of off the table,” Ziegler testified in response to questioning from Republican Georgia Rep. Drew Ferguson.
Ziegler also told Ferguson, “Questions that I wanted to ask weren’t asked, and if those questions led to the former Vice President, they weren’t asked” in defiance of normal investigative processes.
Shapley told lawmakers the same story and specifically mentioned the infamous “10 held by H for the big guy” remark by James Gilliar, one of Hunter Biden’s business associates, in a May 2017 email chain contained on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop archive.
“We were interested in following leads that went to Joe Biden — President Biden — not because he was Vice President, but because in any normal investigation, if you see financial transactions between son and father, and email correspondence going back and forth, text messages, and WhatsApp messages, in every investigation we have ever worked, we would follow those leads to the father,” Shapley explained to Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
“When you see ’10 held by H for the big guy,’ and we have other correspondence where they are saying, don’t call dad — you know, call dad something else, call him — because we are trying to confuse or conceal who it is, that is issue for concern. And was there 10 percent that went to the big guy? We will never know because we weren’t allowed to investigate that,” Shapley added after a follow-up question from Fitzpatrick.
FEDS DON’T SEE ANY EVIDENCE HUNTER PROVIDED LEGAL SERVICES TO CHINESE BUSINESSMAN… Chinese Business Associate Paid Hunter Biden $1,000,000 For Non-Existent Legal Services, Docs Show
Hunter Biden’s former Chinese business associate Patrick Ho paid him $1 million for apparent legal services that were never performed, newly released documents show.
Ho and Hunter Biden signed an attorney engagement letter in September 2017 where Ho agreed to pay Hunter Biden $1 million as a retainer for future legal services, according to a copy of the engagement letter, released Dec. 5 by the House Ways and Means Committee.
A former executive at defunct Chinese infrastructure firm CEFC, federal authorities arrested Ho in November 2017 on bribery charges related to his work for CEFC. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prosecuted Ho, and Hunter Biden was not included as an attorney on the case record, IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler said in an affidavit disclosed by the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Hunter Biden is not included as an attorney on record for the Patrick Ho case in the Southern District of New York. This engagement letter related to the $1 million allegedly paid for the legal representation of Patrick Ho,” Ziegler stated.
“The $1 million payment was paid to Hunter Biden and his entity Owasco LLC on or about March 22, 2018, 9 days prior to Hunter Biden leaving for California for his self-proclaimed exile,” Ziegler added. […]
Hunter Biden’s failed guilty plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware shows Ho sent him $1 million in March 2018 through his Owasco LLC legal account. The plea agreement says Hunter Biden provided Ho legal services, a statement Ziegler believes misrepresents the nature of the payment.
“Based on the evidence obtained as a part of the investigation, it is believed that the $1 million payment was not for legal fees and was misrepresented in the failed plea agreement,” Ziegler testified on Dec. 5 to the Ways and Means Committee.
BIDEN ‘IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY’ VOTE EXPECTED TODAY… ‘I Believe It Will Pass’: Mike Johnson Says He’s Confident House Will Vote To Greenlight Biden Impeachment Inquiry
House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence that the House of Representatives would vote to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden Wednesday.
Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota released the text of the resolution Thursday, with the House Rules Committee marking it up at a Tuesday hearing. The resolution, H. Res. 918, formally authorizes the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means committees to conduct an impeachment inquiry.
“Tomorrow we’ll be voting on the inquiry,” Johnson told “Special Report” host Bret Baier. “Why are we doing that? Because it’s the next necessary step. The White House has stonewalled this investigation. It’s gone methodically, carefully, as the Constitution requires of us. It’s a very serious matter.”
“But right now, they are not turning over documents and they’re not turning over key witnesses and we will have to defend our subpoenas in court. So, to do that, you need an impeachment inquiry vote from the full House,” Johnson continued. “We will have that tomorrow, I believe it will pass and we will be in the best position to continue to do our constitutional responsibility.”
ISN’T THERE ALREADY AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY? WHY, YES, THERE IS… BUT IT NEVER GOT A FLOOR VOTE… FLASHBACK… SEP… AXIOS: McCarthy opens impeachment inquiry into Biden without House vote
“Today, I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” McCarthy said in a brief statement at the Capitol on Tuesday.
McCarthy said the inquiry is the “logical next step” that will “give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public.”
The speaker said the effort will be spearheaded by Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.).
ZELENSKY ON CAPITOL HILL… SPEAKER JOHNSON: WE NEED US BORDER SECURITY & UKRAINE TRANSPARENCY… Speaker Johnson Says No Ukraine Aid Without Border Funding After Meeting Zelenskyy (VIDEO)
“[W]e needed clarity on what we’re doing in Ukraine, and how we’ll have proper oversight of the spending of precious taxpayer dollars of the American citizens,” Johnson wrote in his statement, adding that “we needed a transformative change at the border.”
“The House passed HR 2 more than six months ago. It’s been sitting and collecting dust on Chuck Schumer’s desk.” Johnson refers to House Resolution 2, known as the “Secure the Border Act,” a bill that passed the House on May 2 that would, among other things, require resuming construction of a wall along the southern border and bar asylum seekers from making claims if they enter the U.S. illegally.
Johnson reiterated the House Republican demand that any aid to Ukraine be accompanied by more funding for security along the United States’ southern border with Mexico, saying “I have also made very clear from day one, that our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package is about our own national security first.”
He also indicated that the House’s demand for a special inspector general to monitor the disbursement of funds to Ukraine must be met, with both issues being unaddressed by the Senate.
“We need a clear articulation of the strategy to allow Ukraine to win, and thus far their responses have been insufficient and have not provided us the clarity and the detail that we requested over and over since literally 24 hours after I was handed the gavel as Speaker of the House,” Johnson wrote, with reference to President Joe Biden’s request for $61 billion in new aid to Ukraine. “What the Biden Administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.”
BIDEN TRIES TO BROWBEAT CONGRESS INTO SENDING UKRAINE MORE CASH — WHILE CONDEMNING US BORDER FIXES… FOX: Biden slams Congress for not passing Ukraine funding: ‘It’s stunning’
President Joe Biden said Tuesday afternoon “it’s stunning” that Congress has not passed the administration’s supplemental package that was first requested in October, which contains billions in emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
In a press conference alongside Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden urged Congress to pass the measure, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine. He blamed Republicans for “holding Ukraine funding hostage” over their demands for stricter border policies woven in the package.
Nonetheless, Biden indicated officials continue to negotiate with Senate Democrats and Republicans “to try to find a bipartisan compromise both in terms of changes in policy and provide the resources we need to secure the border.”
MEANWHILE, BIDEN SAYS ISRAEL IS ‘STARTING TO LOSE SUPPORT’ … Biden Tells Donors Israel Must Change Its Government To Continue Receiving Global Support
President Joe Biden warned during a Tuesday campaign reception Israel’s global support was waning, adding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must change his government, according to The Associated Press (AP).
After arguing Israel was losing support across the world because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza, Biden went on to criticize Israel’s war cabinet, according to The AP. Biden said Netanyahu seemed to understand the president’s warnings but not his war cabinet.
“Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union. It has Europe. It has most of the world supporting them,” Biden said at the campaign reception.
“They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” the president added.
FROM THE SEA TO THE TUNNELS… ISRAEL FLOODS OUT HAMAS… Israel Begins Flooding Hamas Tunnel Network With Seawater
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun flooding Hamas’ network of tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The IDF is carrying out a sweeping counteroffensive in Gaza to eliminate Hamas terrorists, who killed over 1,200 civilians in Israel on Oct. 7. As part of the next phase of the counteroffensive in southern Gaza, the IDF is currently flooding Hamas’ tunnel network with seawater, which spans roughly 300 miles under Gaza and serves as the nerve center for the terrorist group’s operations, unnamed U.S. officials told the WSJ.
The operation involves multiple pumps siphoning water from the Mediterranean Sea and jetting it into different entrance points in the tunnel system, a process that will likely take weeks, the officials told the WSJ. Some U.S. officials have warned that the operation might not work, but others expressed optimism that it could at least partially clear the tunnels.
‘SUFFER THE WRATH OF ALLAH’ … Video Shows Lawmaker Collapsing In Parliament After Reportedly Saying ‘Israel Will Suffer The Wrath Of Allah’ (VIDEO)
A Turkish lawmaker collapsed Tuesday in Parliament after reportedly delivering an anti-Israel rant.
Video shows Islamist party politician Hasan Bitmez fall to the floor following his intense speech in the General Assembly Hall in Ankara, according to the New York Post.
“We can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history,” Bitmez reportedly said, concluding his remarks before the fall. “Israel will suffer the wrath of Allah.”
Political rival Turhan Çömez, who is a trained doctor, was the first to aid Bitmez, according to The Daily Mail.
MORE PRO SPORTS TEAMS TO FLEE ANOTHER DEM-RUN CITY… NY POST: Wizards, Capitals planning move from Washington DC to Virginia, into new arena
The Capitals and Wizards’ time in the nation’s capital may be coming to an end.
Ted Leonsis, who owns the NHL and NBA teams, is expected to be at an event on Wednesday announcing a plan to move both clubs to the Potomac Yard area, according to 7News.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin will be in attendance at the news conference in Arlington.
The project would include building a sports district that has a new venue that both teams would play in, along with a 3,000-seat music venue, hotels and headquarters for Monumental Sports and Entertainment – the parent company that controls both teams.