Republican Missouri Rep. Jason Smith said Thursday the timing of Hunter Biden’s plea deal “smells very, very bad” following the release of two whistleblowers’ bombshell allegations about the Department of Justice (DOJ) lying on his behalf.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, alleging Attorney General Merrick Garland and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel lied to Congress about political interference in investigating Hunter Biden’s tax violations. Gary Shapley, one of the whistleblowers, alleged the IRS violated normal investigatory protocols to benefit Biden by denying prosecutions against the first son.
The release of the whistleblowers’ testimony followed Biden’s plea deal with prosecutor David Weiss. In exchange for not serving any jail time, the president’s son pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally purchasing a firearm while using drugs, as well as failing to pay his taxes in 2017 and 2018.
Smith, who is spearheading the bombshell report, suggested to WMAL host and Daily Caller editorial director Vince Coglianese that the timing of Biden’s plea deal is no coincidence. He said an unknown whistleblower likely informed IRS and DOJ agents about the release of the testimony ahead of time the same week, leading them to immediately strike a plea deal with Biden. He further called the deal a “slap on the wrist” to Americans, given most would serve jail time for the same crimes.
“It is absolutely not a coincidence,” Smith told Coglianese. “It smells very, very bad. And I believe that the Justice Department and the IRS knew for some time that we were going to vote to release them this week. They just decided to move forward. It just does not smell right.”
(Handout/DNCC via Getty Images)
He said many whistleblowers have come forth with alleged information about the IRS worthy of investigation.
“We’ve had a lot of whistleblowers come forward, I’ll put it this way,” he said. “I set up that whistleblower hotline in my first week as chairman, and people feel like there’s a lot of stuff that we need to look at at the IRS and in fact, that’s what we’re doing. It’s our jurisdiction over at the Internal Revenue Service.” (RELATED: Whistleblowers Claim IRS Recommended More Charges Against Hunter Biden)
Smith alleged the IRS and DOJ hold a “different standard” for the Biden family compared to other Americans.
“It’s so disturbing,” Smith told Coglianese. “What these two whistleblowers alleged of how the Biden federal government doesn’t treat all Americans equally, it’s quite disturbing. You’re well connected politically to the Biden family, there’s a different standard that you have. These whistleblowers brought forth a lot of important information showing and alleging how the Department of Justice has delayed, they’ve divulged, and denied the investigation and the prosecution into the alleged allegations into Hunter Biden.”
Smith alleged Garland lied to the Senate in a testimony claiming the Biden investigation is an independent case. He said the prosecutors being denied the chance to bring charges against Biden is inconsistent with Garland’s testimony.
Shapley accused Garland of lying that Biden’s alleged crimes would be investigated without political interference. The DOJ also allegedly refused to follow up on incriminating messages between Biden and Chinese businessman Henry Zhao. The first son threatened his Chinese associate by texting, “I am sitting here with my father” to make Zhao “regret not following my direction,” according to Shapley.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf allegedly denied IRS agents’ requests to search Biden’s home, saying the “optics” would look bad, according to Shapley. DOJ attorneys “even wanted to remove Hunter Biden’s name from” legal documents, which violates protocol, according to the testimony.