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Currently, there are multiple inquiries into Hunter Biden and the FBI.

There is a long list of legitimate investigations happening, more so than ever during my tenure in Congress. The House Committees on Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government are all investigating Hunter Biden, the FBI, or both.

This column is not for me to pre-judge the outcome of ongoing investigations whose evidence I may later be required to make significant judgements on. Today, I am explaining the current state of affairs.

It is ultimately Congress’ responsibility to investigate claims of government wrongdoing, and though some Democrats might not want that to happen, we are obliged to do so.

It was announced in 2020 that Delaware U.S. Attorney Weiss was investigating Hunter Biden for tax crimes. The investigation dealt with Hunter Biden’s business dealings with foreign entities.

When Republicans took control of the House in January, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability immediately launched its own investigation into Hunter Biden and whether the Biden family was engaged in influence peddling.

In March, the Committee announced they obtained financial records showing Biden family members receiving money from Chinese Communist Party connected individuals, while Joe Biden was Vice President.

In April, IRS whistleblower Greg Shapley came forward with information about a “failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition” of the criminal investigation into Hunter, stating that Hunter was receiving preferential treatment. A second IRS whistleblower, Joe Ziegler, came forward to validate Shapley’s claims.

The whistleblowers testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that DOJ officials delayed Weiss’ investigation, allowing the clock to run out on charging Hunter Biden with felonies; shared sensitive information about the investigation with Hunter Biden’s attorneys; and denied investigators the ability to follow evidence that implicated President Joe Biden.

At the House Oversight and Accountability hearing on July 19, IRS whistleblower Greg Shapley testified that “prosecutors instructed investigators not to ask about the “Big Guy” or “Dad” when conducting interviews” and that they were “not allowed to follow up on WhatsApp messages from Hunter Biden…where he suggested he was sitting next to [Joe Biden].”

In June, DOJ announced that Hunter Biden would plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses, avoiding jail time. Immediately Chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee, Oversight and Accountability Committee, and Ways and Means Committee opened a joint investigation into how the Justice Department, FBI, Secret Service, and IRS handled the case and whether their investigations were influenced by politics.

On a similar, yet separate note, Republicans have begun probing FBI misconduct in general. Evidence suggests that the FBI and DOJ improperly targeted conservatives after a series of concerning instances.

In a 2021 memo, Attorney General Garland asked the FBI to coordinate with school districts in response to threats related to school boards meetings where conservative parents questioned school policy. The memo likened these parents to domestic terrorists.

Further, an FBI agent out of Richmond connected white nationalist groups to “radical-traditionalist Catholics.” The agent claimed that violent extremists have “sought out and attended traditional Catholic houses of worship” and suggested that the FBI develop informants within the church.

In fairness, FBI Director Wray recently testified before the House Judiciary Committee, stating he was “aghast” when hearing of the memo and had it removed from FBI systems.

Unfortunately, this is not your father’s FBI.

Additionally, a boatload of Biden Administration officials and agencies, including the FBI, have been enjoined from contacting social media companies relating to “the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech posted on social-media platforms.”

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty stated in part, “Plaintiffs have produced evidence that Defendants did not just use public statements to coerce and/or encourage social-media platforms to suppress free speech, but rather used meetings, emails, phone calls, follow-up meetings, and the power of the government to pressure social-media platforms to change their policies and to suppress free speech.”

This comes after evidence, presented by journalists, that the FBI and other agencies had numerous communications with Twitter immediately prior to the breaking of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

Of course, one must not forget the Russia collusion hoax. Special Counsel Durham recently released a report in which he concluded, among other concerning actions, that FBI investigators relied on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,” and repeatedly relied on “confirmation bias,” ignoring or rationalizing away evidence that undercut their premise of a Trump-Russia conspiracy.

More evidence to come. Stay tuned!

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.

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