Staff Reports
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer has issued subpoenas to six Biden administration officials over allegations that the Secret Service provided a tip-off to the Biden transition team about a planned interview with Hunter Biden regarding a tax probe. The subpoenas, which were sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, accuse DHS employees of blocking the Secret Service from sharing information with Congress about alleged misconduct in the Hunter Biden investigation. Comer called the alleged tip-off one of “many examples of misconduct and politicization” during the Justice Department’s probe into the president’s son. He demanded that Mayorkas provide all documents and communications related to the tip-off and Congress’ request for information about alleged DOJ misconduct.
The tip-off in question occurred in December 2020 when an FBI whistleblower notified the House Oversight Committee that the Biden transition team had been informed in advance about the FBI’s plan to interview Hunter Biden. The whistleblower explained that the Secret Service was notified about the interview to avoid confusion since Hunter Biden was already under their protection. However, on the day of the planned interview, FBI and IRS agents were told to stand down and not approach Hunter Biden’s house. The agents never managed to interview him, and the whistleblower claims he never learned who made the decision to tip off the Secret Service.
In June, Comer requested that Secret Service employees who received the tip-off be made available for transcribed interviews. However, Comer has accused DHS of obstructing the committee’s investigation by preventing the Secret Service from providing substantive responses to Congress. In response to the subpoenas, a DHS spokesperson denied that they obstructed or withheld a response, stating that they were following standard procedures to protect sensitive information. Comer has also issued subpoenas to other DHS and Secret Service officials involved in the response to the congressional committees.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden faces charges of failure to pay taxes and illegal gun possession. Initially, he agreed to plead guilty to the tax crimes, but the plea deal fell through, and he pleaded not guilty instead.
