Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson
WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss seeking transparency on steps the Justice Department has taken to prevent interference with the ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax and foreign financial endeavors. The lawmakers raised a number of questions regarding potential recusals due to conflicts of interest, whether Weiss has subpoenaed bank records relating to Hunter Biden, James Biden and their associates, and whether the Justice Department has provided Weiss the resources necessary to credibly complete the investigation free from external pressures or limitations.
“To be clear, we are unaware of any information that would call into question your ability to lead this investigation. Yet, Delaware is the Bidens’ home state and Hunter Biden has acknowledged his connections with state officials in the past,” the senators wrote.
The senators raised specific questions about Nicholas McQuaid’s role in overseeing the investigation – a matter the senators had previously raised with Attorney General Merrick Garland, but have yet to receive a clear answer. Prior to being named as the acting head of the Justice Department’s criminal division on the day President Biden was inaugurated, McQuaid worked with Hunter Biden’s criminal attorney. He is now the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division. The arrangement prompted several inquiries from the senators about McQuaid’s role in the investigation, but the department has repeatedly refused to answer specific questions about whether McQuaid is recused.
“In light of Mr. McQuaid’s clear conflicts in the Hunter Biden investigation, Attorney General Garland’s silence draws serious suspicion and has cast a cloud over the investigation – a cloud that could easily be removed if the Justice Department showed a modicum of transparency,” the senators wrote.
Read more about the letter in the New York Post.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
May 9, 2022
The Honorable David Weiss
United States Attorney
District of Delaware
Dear Mr. Weiss:
On February 3, 2021, March 9, 2021, and November 10, 2021, we wrote letters to Attorney General Garland with respect to Nicholas McQuaid, the then-Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division and current Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, and his conflicts of interest in the Hunter Biden criminal case.[1] In those letters, we specifically raised concerns about the fact that Mr. McQuaid worked with Hunter Biden’s criminal attorney until he was hired by the Biden Administration on January 20, 2021. This association creates a clear conflict of interest yet the Department has failed to provide adequate responses to answer the threshold questions about whether Mr. McQuaid has or had any role in the Hunter Biden criminal case and whether he has been recused from it.[2]
In light of Mr. McQuaid’s clear conflicts in the Hunter Biden investigation, Attorney General Garland’s silence draws serious suspicion and has cast a cloud over the investigation – a cloud that could easily be removed if the Justice Department showed a modicum of transparency.
On March 28, 2022, March 29, 2022, and April 5, 2022, we gave speeches on the Senate floor introducing bank records relating to Hunter Biden’s and James Biden’s financial connections to the communist Chinese regime.[3] Based on reports of the scope of your investigation, these bank records should be relevant to your work. In January 2022, news reports made public an alleged grand jury subpoena from your office to JPMorgan Chase bank that requested records relating to Hunter Biden, James Biden and their business associates as well as related corporate entities.[4] It’s unclear whether you’ve issued a grand jury subpoena for the bank records that we’ve acquired and discussed on the Senate floor.
To be clear, we are unaware of any information that would call into question your ability to lead this investigation. Yet, Delaware is the Bidens’ home state and Hunter Biden has acknowledged his connections with state officials in the past. In March 2018, Hunter Biden told his Chinese business partners, “I will bring suit in the Chancery Court in Delaware — which as you know is my home state and I am privileged to have worked with and know every judge in the chancery court.”[5] This statement raises questions about the Bidens’ possible undue influence over judicial officers in the Delaware Court of Chancery and raises concerns that his asserted influence extends beyond the Court of Chancery.
In light of the extraordinary public interest in the Hunter Biden criminal case and Attorney General Garland’s repeated refusal to provide transparency to Congress and the American people with respect to the aforementioned conflicts of interest, please respond to the following no later than May 23, 2022.
- Is Mr. McQuaid recused from the Hunter Biden criminal case? If so, when was he recused? Provide the recusal memorandum.
- Have any employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware been recused from the Hunter Biden criminal case? If so, who, when, and provide the recusal memoranda.
- Have you or any employee in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware exchanged any communications with Mr. McQuaid? If so, please provide all records.
- Has the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware issued a grand jury subpoena to Wells Fargo, USAA, Bank of America, TD Bank, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of China and First National Bank of Omaha for records relating to Hunter Biden, James Biden, Sara Biden, John R. Walker, Eric Schwerin, Devon Archer and corporate entities linked to them, including but not limited to, Hudson West III and the Lion Hall Group? If not, why not?
- Has the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware received sufficient resources and support from the Justice Department to properly execute the Hunter Biden criminal case?
- Have you discussed the need for a special counsel or independent counsel to properly investigate the Hunter Biden criminal matter?
Thank you for your attention to these important issues.
Sincerely,
###