NEW: Comer Issues Subpoenas Connected To FBI’s Tip-Off Of Hunter Biden

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has issued a series of subpoenas to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service. These subpoenas are part of an ongoing investigation into allegations that DHS employees obstructed the Secret Service from providing information to Congress regarding alleged misconduct in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation.

Comer’s subpoenas compel DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to provide all documents and communications related to the Biden transition team being informed about a planned interview with Hunter Biden in December 2020. The subpoenas also demand all documents and communications related to Congress’s request and depositions with DHS and Secret Service employees involved in providing the response to Congress.

“The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family cover-up, and now DHS under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas is complicit in it,” said Comer. He further stated that investigators were unable to interview Hunter Biden because both the Secret Service headquarters and the Biden transition team were tipped off about the planned interview.

“This is just one of many examples of the misconduct and politicization during the Department of Justice’s investigation,” Comer added.

According to IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley’s sworn testimony, FBI and IRS investigators planned to interview Hunter Biden on December 8, 2020. However, on December 7, 2020, FBI headquarters tipped off Secret Service headquarters and the Biden transition team about the planned actions for the following day. This account was confirmed during a transcribed interview with a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent.

“The American people deserve transparency, not obstruction. House Republicans will hold the Biden Administration accountable for running interference for the Biden family’s corruption and criminal activity,” concluded Comer.

In July, the former FBI supervisory special agent assigned to the FBI’s Wilmington office confirmed that both the Secret Service and the Biden transition team were tipped off the night before a planned interview with Hunter Biden. This interview was part of a broader criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.

On the day of the interview, federal agents were instructed not to approach Hunter Biden but to wait for his call. This unusual directive prevented IRS and FBI criminal investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden.

The agent was surprised at the directive, stating that he had never been told to wait outside for the subject of an investigation to contact him.

The planned interview was originally scheduled for December 8, 2020, and was not supposed to be disclosed to the Secret Service or the Biden transition team, according to the career agents involved. This unexpected disclosure frustrated their investigative efforts.

Comer had criticized the DOJ for trying to “cover up for the Bidens,” describing it as a manifestation of a “two-tiered system of justice.” He pledged that various committees would continue to seek answers, transparency, and accountability.

In June 2023, Comer, along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), wrote to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle requesting interviews with all Secret Service employees who may have received or passed along the tip-off information. However, DHS blocked the Secret Service from providing a more substantive response to the congressional committees.

The subpoenas have been issued to Secretary Mayorkas; K. Shiek Pal, Director of Oversight, Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security; Stephen Jonas, Senior Advisor to the General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security; and Zephranie Buetow, Assistant Secretary, Office of Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security.

The Biden administration has been criticized for its handling of various domestic and international issues. With the 2024 election around the corner, the committee will likely increase its efforts.