Sen. Ron Johnson on Sunday accused the FBI of gross bias over whistleblower claims that the FBI suppressed negative information about Hunter Biden.
The Wisconsin Republican told Fox & Friends that he had “no faith” in FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Donald Trump to oversee everything related to President Joe Biden’s son.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is currently conducting an independent tax investigation into Hunter Biden’s overseas operations.
Earlier this week, Johnson wrote a letter to Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other Justice Department officials on Tuesday, claiming that he had received whistleblower allegations that the office had made every effort to contain “negative Hunter Biden- inappropriately discrediting information as disinformation”. drop the investigation into the President’s son.
“First of all I thank God for these whistleblowers. We need a lot more of them in the FBI, the Justice Department and our federal health agencies,” Johnson said Sunday.
“I’m not shocked, but it’s outrageous that the FBI is so upsetting the scales of justice.”
He continued, “I have no confidence in Christopher Wray to conduct this investigation, but it is important that the American public understand that in December 2019 the FBI had Hunter Biden’s laptop. You’ve certainly seen the evidence of what I believe to be criminal activity on this laptop.’
Johnson accused the FBI of “doing nothing” with the alleged evidence.
“Here we are in late July, early August 2022. What did they do with it?” The senator posed.
Republican senators are asking the FBI and Justice Department to answer whistleblower claims they downplayed negative information about Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 election
“No, you can’t trust this Department of Justice, the FBI, to get to the bottom of this.”
Johnson’s concerns are particularly centered on an August 2020 FBI briefing he received when he and fellow Republican Senator Chuck Grassley were investigating Hunter Biden at the time.
“For nearly two years I have attempted to obtain information from the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as to the purpose and sponsor of this briefing. On May 3, 2021, Senator Grassley and I reiterated these requests in a letter to Directors Wray and Haines.[4] Neither have provided full answers,” Johnson wrote.
“Attorney General Garland, you have failed to provide Senator Grassley and myself with assurances that any Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden’s potential criminal activities will be free of conflicts of interest. The American people should no longer have to tolerate your silence.’
Following is a Monday letter from Grassley urging agencies to respond to similar claims about Hunter Biden ahead of the 2020 election.
Grassley claimed Monday that “highly credible” whistleblowers have come forward, alleging a widespread effort within the FBI to discredit negative information about President Joe Biden’s son.
“The information provided to my office raises concerns regarding the FBI’s receipt and use of derogatory information regarding Hunter Biden and the FBI’s misrepresentation of acquired evidence as disinformation,” Grassley wrote to Wray and Garland.
“The scale and consistency of these allegations reinforces their credibility and warrants this letter,” he noted.
Grassley, the senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees the agencies, says the whistleblower claims it was a “scheme” by some FBI officials to “undermine derogatory information related to Hunter” by falsely labeling it as disinformation mark.
And he claims it all happened in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray (left) and Attorney General Merrick Garland (right) demanding answers
In October 2020, a month before the election, “an avenue of disparaging reporting on Hunter Biden was shut down,” Grassley claims, by a senior FBI agent at the FBI’s Washington field office.
‘[T]The allegations presented to my office appear to indicate that certain FBI officials had a plan to undermine derogatory information related to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation,” Grassley wrote.
His letter came after it was announced last week that the federal investigation into Hunter Biden has reached a “critical juncture” and investigators are weighing whether to indict the president’s son.
The Delaware Department of Justice’s investigation has intensified in recent weeks over whether to seek charges of tax violations or making false statements about the purchase of a gun, sources told CNN.
Hunter would have been barred from buying a gun at the time because of his well-documented struggles with drug addiction.
He announced after the 2020 election that he was under investigation on tax issues, but denied any wrongdoing.
Donald Trump attempted to make Hunter Biden’s dealings an issue in the 2020 election – an accusation that delighted his supporters at campaign events but did not stop Biden from winning the presidency.
President Biden has denied any knowledge of his son’s dealings, and the White House has said it will stay out of a Justice Department investigation involving Hunter.
Republicans are expected to scrutinize Hunter’s deals when they regain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
David Weiss, the US Attorney in Delaware, is leading the federal investigation, which dates back to 2018. President Biden retained Weiss after Trump left office to continue the investigation.
Hunter has not been charged with a crime and has denied criminal wrongdoing.
The FBI and the IRS’s Criminal Division are among the agencies involved in moving the investigation, and there has also been debate over whether his past drug abuse might weaken their case, CNN reported.
Hunter could argue that he was unaware of his actions because he was high on drugs.
The investigation is a political hot potato for Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The Justice Department has an unwritten rule to avoid bringing politically sensitive cases within 60 days of an election, officials have found.
But Garland would be charged with Democratic favoritism if he restrains Hunter, with some officials arguing the rule doesn’t apply because Joe Biden’s name isn’t on the midterm election that determines which party controls Congress.
Investigators were reportedly looking into allegations that Hunter (left) used his father, President Joe Biden (right), to secure business deals and lobby abroad
The intensive four-year investigation revealed many alarming details about the President’s son
Among them was Hunter’s drug use. Pictured: Hunter with a crack pipe in his mouth
Earlier this summer, revealed a 2018 voicemail recording of young Biden’s hard drive showing the president knew about the deals.
Joe Biden called Hunter on December 12, 2018 and said he wanted to speak to him after reading a New York Times story about Hunter’s dealings with Chinese oil giant CEFC.
During a July 5 White House news briefing, Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, declined to comment on the voicemail to reporters.
“I will not be discussing alleged materials from the laptop from this podium,” Jean-Pierre repeatedly retaliated when asked.
Pressing further on the content of the voicemail and whether the administration is being open with the American people, she said, “I cannot comment on any materials from the laptop.”
Files on Hunter’s abandoned laptop, previously disclosed and verified by , show he struck a multi-million dollar deal with the Chinese company after touting his family connections.
The 2018 Times story pointed out that CEFC chairman Ye Jianming had been arrested in China and its top lieutenant Patrick Ho convicted in the US for bribing African officials to help Iran pass oil sanctions evade.
It revealed Ye had met with Hunter at a Miami hotel in 2017 to discuss “a partnership to invest in American infrastructure and energy deals.”
The Times reported that when Ho was arrested, he called Joe’s brother, Jim Biden – who told the newspaper he believed the call was meant for Hunter.
The Gray Lady said it was “unclear if Hunter Biden had any dealings with CEFC” as he was unaware at the time of the depth of his ties to his Chinese business partners.
After seeing the story online, Joe Hunter called and left a voicemail.
“Hey buddy, it’s dad. It’s Wednesday evening at 8:15 p.m. Just give me a call when you get a chance. Nothing urgent. I just wanted to talk to you,’ he said.
“I liked the article published online, which will be printed in the Times tomorrow. i think you are clear And anyway, if you have the opportunity, call me, I love you.”