GOP releases transcript from FBI agent involved in Hunter Biden investigation
by Emily Brooks - 08/14/23 3:13 PM ET
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability released a transcript Monday from a former FBI agent that Republicans say validates a key claim from an IRS whistleblower about management of the tax crimes investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son.
But Democrats argue that the interview actually discredits GOP claims of improper political influence in the investigation.
The closed-door interview with the now-retired FBI special supervisory agent, who oversaw the investigation into Hunter Biden conducted in conjunction with the IRS, was conducted in July and has prompted sparring between the two parties in the weeks since. The agent’s name is redacted in the transcript.
Republican interest in the FBI agent’s testimony centers on how they say it substantiates a piece of testimony from one of the IRS whistleblowers who raised alarm about how the tax crimes investigation into Hunter Biden was conducted, specifically about how a planned attempt to interview Hunter Biden at his home in California Dec. 8, 2020, unfolded.
That whistleblower, IRS Supervisory Agent Gary Shapley, and the FBI agent said their plan was to show up at Hunter Biden’s home for a possible interview and “hail mary” consent search. They planned to notify the local Secret Service office in Los Angeles at 8 a.m. the day of their planned attempt, since Hunter Biden was a Secret Service protectee.
“The initial plan was to have the local field office of the Secret Service be notified the morning of to diminish opportunities for anybody else to be notified,” the FBI agent said in the interview.
But the FBI agent said he was notified the evening before, Dec. 7, 2020, that FBI headquarters had contacted the Secret Service headquarters — which upset both the FBI agent and Shapley from the IRS.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4152046-gop-releases-transcript-from-fbi-agent-involved-in-hunter-biden-investigation/
