EXCLUSIVE: An FBI supervisory particular agent informed congressional investigators that the Biden transition staff and Secret Service headquarters had been tipped off in December 2020 a few deliberate interview of Hunter Biden—a tip-off that resulted within the interview of then-President-elect Joe Biden’s son not happening in any respect, even whereas he was labeled the goal of the yearslong federal investigation.
The agent, who labored for the FBI for greater than 20 years and retired from the bureau final yr, participated in a transcribed interview underneath oath behind closed doorways on the Home Oversight Committee final month.
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Fox Information Digital solely obtained the transcript of the FBI supervisory particular agent’s interview, which came about on July 17.
His testimony got here amid whistleblower allegations that prosecutorial choices made all through the Hunter Biden investigation, led by U.S. legal professional David Weiss, had been influenced by politics. IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley testified that the Biden transition staff and the Secret Service had been “tipped off” concerning the deliberate interview of Hunter Biden. The agent corroborates Shapley’s testimony.
Lawyer Basic Merrick Garland final week sought to clear the cloud of alleged politicization from the investigation into the president’s son, who pleaded not responsible to 2 misdemeanor tax costs and a felony gun cost after an orchestrated plea cope with the Justice Division fell aside in federal court docket on grounds of unconstitutionality.
Garland on Friday appointed Weiss as particular counsel within the investigation into Hunter Biden and some other issues that arose or could come up from that probe.
That appointment has left Republicans and critics of Garland outraged and with questions as to how the identical prosecutor who has been main the investigation for greater than 4 years—and accused of permitting politics to affect choices—may now lead the probe with a newfound notion of independence from the Biden Justice Division.
“Tipping off the transition staff and never with the ability to interview Hunter Biden as deliberate are simply a few examples that reveal the Justice Division’s misconduct within the Biden felony investigation that occurred underneath U.S. Lawyer Weiss’ watch,” Home Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., informed Fox Information Digital.
“The Oversight Committee has no confidence in U.S. Lawyer Weiss as Particular Counsel given his lack of ability to forestall the Biden transition staff from being contacted, and federal brokers weren’t permitted to interview Hunter Biden as deliberate,” Comer continued. “Below the Weiss-led investigation, investigators had been prevented from taking steps that would have led to Joe Biden, the statute of limitations was allowed to run with respect to sure felonies, and the U.S. Lawyer’s workplace sought to present Hunter Biden an unprecedented sweetheart plea deal.”
The FBI supervisory particular agent’s testimony highlighted a few of the choices made all through the probe — together with steps to interview Hunter Biden, the goal of the investigation — and the way they differed from some other investigations the agent had been concerned in for 20 years serving on the FBI.
In accordance with the transcript obtained by Fox Information Digital, the FBI agent testified that years into the investigation, which started in November 2018, it was time to interview Hunter Biden.
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The “preliminary plan” was to “make approaches of a number of witnesses, to incorporate topic Hunter Biden, on December eighth” 2020—weeks after the presidential election.
“The preliminary plan was to have the native discipline workplace of the Secret Service be notified the morning of to decrease alternatives for anyone else to be notified. I used to be working with my administration on that, in addition to headquarters—our FBI headquarters,” the agent testified.
The evening earlier than, on Dec. 7, 2020, the agent stated he was “knowledgeable that FBI headquarters had contacted Secret Service headquarters and had made a notification at the moment, or someplace round that point on the night of the seventh.”
The agent stated the notification was of investigators’ “intent.”
“That we sought to interview Hunter Biden.”
The agent stated he believes the Biden transition staff was notified of the intent to interview Hunter Biden as effectively, and stated he was “upset” when he discovered of that communication.
“I felt it was those who didn’t have to learn about our intent,” he stated. “I consider that the Secret Service needed to be notified for our security, for lack of confusion, for deconfliction, which we’d do in so many different instances, however I didn’t perceive why the preliminary notification.”
The agent defined that by the “transition staff,” he was referring to “when one get together, or, you recognize, President-elect, you recognize, is in that President-elect section, their staff of advisors or appointees or whomever are thought of the transition staff.”
“How massive and strong that’s, I don’t—I don’t have any particular person title or roles,” he stated.
DELAWARE, UNITED STATES – JULY 26: United States President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, exits in J. Caleb Boggs Federal Constructing in Delaware, United States on July 26, 2023. (Photograph by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Company by way of Getty Photos)
The subsequent day, the morning of the proposed interview with Hunter Biden, the agent testified that he was notified by his assistant particular agent in cost that “we’d not even be allowed to method the home; that the plan, as informed to us, was that my info could be given to the Secret Service, to whom I don’t know precisely, and, you recognize, my title, my contact, you recognize, my cellular phone, for instance, with the notification that we want to speak to Hunter Biden; and that I used to be to not go close to the home and to face by.”
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When pressed by majority counsel if in his 20 years working on the FBI he had “ever been informed” he needed to “wait exterior of a goal’s house till they contacted you?”
“Not that I recall,” the agent stated. “I imply, there have been occasions the place we waited for possibly one thing else operationally to occur, however, no, not from the perspective of the goal, the topic of the investigation.”
The agent stated he and his assistant “weren’t allowed to go to the home” and needed to wait “a block or two away.”
“We waited a time period. You realize, I’ll add, it was irritating, and I do know supervisor quantity two was very annoyed, and I understood that frustration,” he stated, including that they did have one other interview to conduct.
David Weiss (L), Hunter Biden (C), and Joe Biden (R). (Fox Information)
“After a sure time period, and I don’t precisely recall how lengthy, we transitioned to make an try to interview one other—or a witness as a part of the investigation,” he stated.
When requested if he was ever in a position to interview Hunter Biden, the agent replied: “I used to be not—no.”
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In the course of the interview, minority counsel questioned the agent on whether or not he believed the change of plans with regard to the Dec. 8, 2020 interview “was pushed by political concerns.”
“I couldn’t reply that,” the agent stated. “I don’t know why the change or why we had been instructed of the adjustments.”
When requested if that was ever his “view,” the agent stated that he “understood the rationale why—doubtlessly why Secret Service headquarters was notified, as a result of FBI headquarters, you recognize, has a relationship with Secret Service headquarters, so I may perceive that—you recognize, so to foster an ongoing good working relationship that one was not blindsided by the opposite.
“So far as the opposite, I don’t know,” the agent stated, referring to the Biden transition staff. “I don’t know why that will have occurred.”
When pressed once more on whether or not he had any “data that it occurred for political causes,” the agent testified: “I don’t—would not have any data of that.”
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When requested if the agent had “ever recognized U.S. Lawyer David Weiss to make prosecutorial choices based mostly upon political affect.”
“No,” he stated.
The agent did testify, nonetheless, that he disagreed with investigative steps within the probe—particularly associated to the interview of Hunter Biden—however informed investigators that “the choice was made, and I moved on.”
In the meantime, Comer informed Fox Information Digital that the Home Oversight, Judiciary and Methods & Means Committees “will proceed our investigation into the Justice Division’s two-tiered system of justice and maintain dangerous actors accountable.”
