Comer, Greene demand to know why the DOJ appears to 'apply unwritten exceptions' to Hunter
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[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
By Fred Lucas
The Daily Signal
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee is trying to find out if the Justice Department failed to protect women who might have been sexually exploited by Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden.
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and committee member Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote to Justice Department officials on Friday renewing an earlier inquiry into the matter.
“Testimony from an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower indicated that DOJ compiled a list of potential victims relating to an investigation of Hunter Biden for Mann Act violations. These women may be victims under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and may also be afforded mandatory restitution pursuant to the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act,” the letter reads.
The lawmakers sent the letter to Justice Department officials Hilary Axam, national human trafficking coordinator, and Kristina Rose, director of the Office of Victims of Crime.
“In light of DOJ’s refusal to communicate in a meaningful way with the committee, we have great skepticism that DOJ has been adequately communicating with crime victims,” the letter continues. “Considering DOJ’s public campaign purporting its commitment to prosecuting human trafficking and other sexual exploitation crimes, DOJ should respond to congressional requests related to this issue in a timely and thorough manner.”
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Two IRS whistleblowers who investigated Hunter Biden’s alleged tax evasion said the Justice Department politicized the case in a July oversight committee hearing. Before that, the IRS whistleblowers provided information to the House Ways and Means Committee in a non-public setting.
The whistleblowers said federal prosecutors compiled a list of potential victims relating to an investigation of Hunter Biden for possible violations of the Mann Act, a federal law that bans the interstate or international transportation of women or girls for prostitution.
Shortly after the oversight hearing, Comer and Greene wrote an initial letter to DOJ officials requesting information about why the department chose to forgo particular charges and pursue crimes that could preclude victims from receiving relief under the law. The July letter says, “Specifically, congressional testimony indicates that Hunter Biden paid prostitutes—victims—and used such payments as tax expenses for one of his companies.”
In the transcript to the House Ways and Means Committee, IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler testified first anonymously to the House Ways and Means Committee but revealed his identity in the Oversight and Accountability hearing.
“There was a lot of different investigative steps that we took, that even going and talking to the prostitutes, we found multiple people that he called his employees that were also prostitutes, and that he would have them clean his hotel room or – there were a lot of these interviews that we ended up going and doing and talking to people that were so worth it, even though someone might – we were always being told by the prosecutors, you guys are wasting your time going and doing that,” the agent told the committee.
The Justice Department didn’t respond to the initial inquiry from the two lawmakers.
“DOJ’s decision to ignore the committee’s request runs afoul of its own policies in the Justice Manual,” the letter Comer and Greene sent Friday reads.
“The agency’s policies clearly state, ‘it is important that the Department provide timely responses to congressional inquiries,’” the letter continues. “Unfortunately, DOJ’s leadership continues to apply unwritten exceptions to its own rules and policies when the Bidens are involved.”
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
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