Heritage Foundation tries again to hurry Hunter Biden probe records

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://nypost.com/2023/07/20/conservative-group-appeals-doj-request-in-
hunter-biden-probe/

A conservative legal group has reiterated its request for Department of
Justice records related to the Hunter Biden investigation after a federal
judge denied an initial bid to compel the disclosures before the first
son’s July 26 plea hearing.

Lawyers for the Heritage Foundation asked the US Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Wednesday to reconsider Judge Dabney Friedrich’s
order to hold back thousands of records, court filings show.

The ruling withheld more than 2,500 pages of documents the group had
requested under the Freedom of Information Act for internal communications
about the five-year probe into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax and financial
crimes.

In a separate filing on Thursday, Heritage also asked for an injunction
from the judge’s order and demanded “a narrow subset of the records” not
exempt from FOIA about any request for special counsel status by Delaware
US Attorney David Weiss, who led the Hunter investigation.

IRS agents who testified before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday
said Weiss admitted in a meeting last year with investigators that his
request for special counsel authority was denied — and that he was blocked
from charging the first son outside of Delaware twice by US attorneys that
President Biden appointed.

Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland have denied the IRS
whistleblowers’ account and maintained the Delaware office had “full
authority” to charge the president’s son.

The contradictory statements between DOJ and the IRS agents makes it all
the more critical that the record be set straight for the federal judge
presiding over Hunter’s plea hearing, Heritage lawyers argued on Thursday.

“They are the most critical of the important records … They are the
starting point in untangling the Gordian knot that is the conflict between
the Attorney General, US Attorney Weiss, and the IRS Whistleblowers on the
critical questions at issue here,” wrote attorneys Samuel Dewey, Eric
Cornett, Daniel Mauler and Roman Jankowski.

“These records should exist if the Attorney General has told the truth and
followed Department procedure,” they added. “Moreover, these records are
almost certainly non-exempt; there is nothing deliberative or tending to
interfere with law enforcement in a written decision on the allocation of
authority within the Department.”

Hunter Biden, 53, entered into a probation-only plea deal on June 20 with
the Justice Department, for which he is expected to accept guilt for two
misdemeanor charges of willful failure to pay taxes and enter a diversion
program for lying about his drug use on a gun purchase form while addicted
to crack cocaine.

The IRS whistleblowers have said prosecutors initially sought felony
charges for the first son over $2.2 million in missed tax payments, and
that federal authorities stymied further attempts to investigate serious
financial crimes.

Justice Department lawyers said they oppose Heritage’s motion after having
argued against releasing the records before conducting a full review with
the relevant offices and handling earlier FOIA requests on cases involving
former President Donald Trump.

Friedrich sided with the federal attorneys in her Wednesday opinion,
saying Heritage’s FOIA “extra-expedited” requests were “jumping the line
ahead of other requests deemed similarly time sensitive.”

The judge also disagreed that production of the records was necessary
before Hunter Biden’s plea hearing.

“The public debate inside and outside of Congress over Hunter Biden’s
actions, his criminal prosecution, and any involvement therein by the
President of the United States will not end on July 26, 2023,” Friedrich
wrote. “Indeed, the issue may become even more salient over time as
relevant investigations continue.”

But Heritage’s lawyers said the records could potentially influence Judge
Maryellen Noreika’s decision whether or not to accept the plea, comparing
Biden’s alleged interference in the case to the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal
under former President Warren Harding, during which Interior Secretary
Albert Fall was convicted of having taken bribes from oil companies to
lease petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California.

An FBI informant file released Thursday shows Joe and Hunter Biden were
implicated in a $10 million bribery scheme involving the Ukrainian natural
gas company Burisma Holdings.

Charles Buffalo
1 hour ago

This is nowhere near the America I grew up in. I find it more like Lenin
running things, especially in regards tot he present criminal
administration. FBI, DOJ quite a few others are deeply encrouched within
the DEM party, which seems intent on destroying the country. Sadly we
cannot bring the greatest generation back from their graves as only they
seem to be able to restore America to its former greatness.

jerseyfresh
1 hour ago

Forget for a moment, if you can, the lies and deception and bribery
surrounding Biden and his Administration and his compromise of at least
three vital Federal agencies. Here is a guy who has created a major
crisis at our southern border (almost overnight), wrecked our energy
independence and our economy, perpetrated a disgraceful withdrawl from
Afghanistan and worked diligently to stifle free speech and opposition.
Who has ZERO international respect among our friends and enemies... A guy
who, with the full complicity of major media companies, smoothed over the
fact that he has spent 40 some years in DC, and his only other
accomplishment was riding Obama's coattails. Who campaigned for President
from his basement. And still he "won" the election because....Trump
was.... so much worse??? I think that America is getting a severe reality
check about what they bought when he "won" the election, and it is hurting
all of us, more so every day.


--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.