The success of investigations into Hunter Biden and of Republican oversight of the FBI could hinge on Tuesday’s midterm elections, in particular the outcome of reelection bids by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Johnson (R-WI).
Grassley and Johnson, who often team up, released a report on the Biden family’s finances in September 2020, and the duo has spent two years continuing to press the Justice Department on shortcomings in the Hunter Biden investigation, including raising whistleblower concerns. If Republicans win a Senate majority back from Democrats, Grassley is expected to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Johnson will likely chair the subcommittee on investigations within the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Last month, the two Republicans shared more than 200 pages of investigative materials with the prosecutor running the criminal investigation into Biden. The evidence detailed a host of details related to his overseas business dealings in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere.
“I always follow the facts where they lead, follow the money where it leads, regardless of who is in power,” Grassley told the Washington Examiner about his investigation of Biden and his planned oversight of the FBI during the next Congress. “It’s about making sure the government works for the people, not the other way around. Sometimes folks cooperate; sometimes they don’t. But we’re going to get answers one way or another. I won’t stop until we do.”
Whistleblower allegations emerged this summer that FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten opened an assessment in August 2020 that was used by FBI headquarters to mislabel accurate information about Biden as disinformation. These disclosures were made public by Grassley. Whistleblowers also said Timothy Thibault, the now-former FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office, shut down a line of inquiry into Biden in October 2020 despite the fact that some of the details were known to be true.
“I’ve heard from a number of patriotic whistleblowers at the department who are concerned that failures, political bias, and misconduct, particularly in the FBI, are tarnishing its reputation and public trust,” Grassley told the Washington Examiner. “Oversight is about improving the way these agencies function so that they work better for the American people, and their leadership ought to welcome accountability rather than run from it.”
GRASSLEY AND JOHNSON SEND PROSECUTOR EVIDENCE ON HUNTER BIDEN
Mike Davis, the former chief counsel for nominations to Grassley, told the Washington Examiner that Grassley’s oversight will be “very sobering” for the president’s son.
“It turns out selling access to foreign enemies catches up to you,” Davis said.
Davis also warned Attorney General Merrick Garland to cooperate with Grassley otherwise, his tenure “may end as badly as his dreams for the Supreme Court.”
Grassley was leading his Democratic opponent, retired Navy Vice Adm. Mike Franken, 46% to 43% in an October poll by the Des Moines Register and 49% to 38% that month in an Emerson poll. RealClearPolitics ranks the race as “likely GOP” and projects it as a “GOP hold.”
“If I’m reelected, I’m not going to give up on trying to get political bias out of the FBI, and I’m not going to give up on my investigation of Hunter Biden,” Grassley declared at a rally with former President Donald Trump on Thursday.
In Wisconsin, Johnson holds a 49.4% to 46.2% polling average lead over Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, according to RealClearPolitics, with the race ranking a “toss-up” but the projection a “GOP hold.”
“I would first attempt to get agencies and confirmed department heads to honor their commitment to comply with congressional oversight,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner of his plans for next Congress. “If they do not cooperate, I would not hesitate to issue subpoenas to compel their cooperation.”
Johnson added, “Regarding Hunter and Biden family corruption, we will closely monitor the activity, or lack thereof, of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation of their potential illegal activities. I will do everything I can to make sure the American public gets the full truth.”
U.S. Attorney David Weiss is the Delaware prosecutor overseeing the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden case, and it is up to Weiss to decide whether to indict Biden.
The FBI agents who have been investigating Biden believe they have unearthed enough evidence to charge him with crimes related to tax fraud and lying during his purchase of a handgun, according to numerous reports.
The president’s son worked to set up deals with a Chinese government-linked company called CEFC China Energy, whose energy tycoon leader, Ye Jianming, was linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.
Ye has since disappeared in China after Chinese state media linked him to a corruption case in 2018, which led CEFC to go bankrupt.
Patrick Ho, Ye’s top lieutenant, was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2019 for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The case against Ho revealed that some evidence had been obtained through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Grassley and Johnson have accused the Justice Department of giving them the run-around in response to their requests for all intelligence records tied to Ye, Ho, and others.
The first call Ho made after his arrest in 2017 was to James Biden, who is Hunter Biden’s uncle and Joe Biden’s brother. James Biden has said he thought Ho’s call was intended for Hunter Biden. CEFC paid Hunter Biden a $1 million retainer to represent Ho.
The president’s son referred to Ho as the “f***ing spy chief of China” and to Ye as “my partner” in a 47-minute recording dated May 11, 2018.
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Hunter Biden controversially held a lucrative position on the board of Ukrainian energy giant Burisma while his father was vice president. He also pursued business deals in China and elsewhere during and after his father’s tenure, raking in millions thanks to these associations.
