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Christopher Wray, FBI Director said that whistleblower allegations alleging FBI agents falsely labeled Hunter Biden’s derogatory information disinformation are “deeply concerning.” But Republicans are calling for him to admit that there is more “politicization” within the bureau.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Wray was asked by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about allegations “highly credible whistleblowers” at the Justice Department and FBI shared with Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office last week.
In a letter addressed to Wray by Senator from Iowa, Grassley detailed the allegations. Garland also stated that whistleblowers had claimed that there was a scheme among FBI officials to subvert derogatory information about Hunter Biden.
Whistleblowers also claimed a “pattern active public partisanship” at the agencies in relation to investigations into Trump’s campaign and suppression information about the Hunter Biden probe.
GRASSLEY PRESSES FBI FOR TRANSPARENCY OF ‘PARTISAN AGENCIES’ POLITICIZATION, HUNTER BIDEN PRESSES
“When I read the letter that describes the kinds of things that you’re talking about, I found it deeply troubling,” Wray testified Thursday.
Whistleblowers claimed that Assistant Special Agent In Charge Timothy Thibault, and others, had a “pattern active public partisanship”.
Wray, Garland were warned by Grassley in a last week letter that Thibault “partisanship likely affected investigations briefed, and approved, by, senior Justice Department officials and FBI officers.”
According to Grassley whistleblowers claim that FBI and DOJ employees must adhere to strict substantial factual predications in order to open an inquiry. Thibault didn’t follow these policies.
Wray, during hearing, stated that whistleblowers will be protected.
Thibault was also dismissed by Wray from his supervisory position.
However, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), is calling for additional action to address partisanship within FBI.
“It’s about time Director Wray acknowledges that the politicization of the FBI is ‘deeply troubling,’” Johnson told Fox News on Friday. “Unfortunately, this has been obvious during his entire tenure as director, and he’s done nothing about it.”
Johnson was referring to politicization related to the FBI’s investigation into whether President Trump’s first campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Johnson stated, “I think it’s better to be late than never.” “But I’m not holding my breath.”
Johnson demanded last Wednesday that the Justice Department open a probe or appoint an independent special counsel in light of new whistleblower allegations. He also claimed that the FBI had been “weaponized” against Senate members.
Both Johnson and Grassley recounted events between July 2020 and October 2020, during which the FBI, including Thibault, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten and Democratic senators gave Republicans investigating the Hunter allegations the runaround on information, falsely alleging that the GOP was advancing “foreign disinformation” regarding President Biden’s son.
GOP senators assert that an Aug. 6, 2020 meeting following whistleblower corroboration was specifically intended to “undermine” their investigation into Hunter Biden.
“If these recent whistleblower revelations are true, it would strongly suggest that the FBI’s August 6, 2020, briefing was indeed a targeted effort to intentionally undermine a Congressional investigation,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Biden administration officials last week.
“The FBI using two U.S. Senate chairmen with constitutional oversight responsibilities as a weapon against them would be one the most egregious episodes of Executive Branch corruption in American History.”
Johnson stated that Johnson has been trying to obtain information from the FBI (and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, (ODNI), for almost two years about the purpose of the briefing and who it was ordered by.
FLASHBACK – GOP-LED COMMITTEES RELEASE INTERM REPORT ON HUNTER BIDEN & BURISMA PROBE
Sources familiar with the meeting claim that the Aug. 6, 2020 briefing was not solicited. It was delivered by the FBI on behalf of the intelligence community and was “not specific” and “not connected” to Johnson and Grassley’s ongoing work.
Johnson and Grassley were working at the time on a joint investigation into Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings and his “extensive and complex financial transactions.”
At the time of the release of their investigation’s interim report in September 2020, Grassley and Johnson said their probe “faced many obstacles” from Democrats and executive agencies that “failed to comply with document requests.”
The 87-page report stated that Obama administration officials “knew” that Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma was “problematic” and that it interfered “in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.”
Hunter Biden joined Burisma as a board member in April 2014. He was reportedly involved in connecting the company with Blue Star Strategies, a consulting firm, to aid the natural gas company in fighting corruption charges in Ukraine. Joe Biden, vice president and managing U.S.-Ukraine relations for the Obama administration, was Hunter Biden’s board member.
Grassley and Johnson’s report also revealed that they obtained records from the U.S. Treasury Department that “show potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals.”
HUNTER BIDEN UNDER FEDERAL INVEIGATION FOR TAX AFFAIRS; LINKS to CHINA FUNDS EMERGE. SOURCES SAY
Johnson and Grassley claimed they were provided records showing that Hunter Biden had “sent thousands of dollar” to people who “either participated in transactions consistent with human trafficking; an affiliation with the adult entertainment sector; or potential association avec prostitution.”
The report says that some recipients of the funds were Ukrainian or Russian citizens. It also states that Hunter Biden sent funds to nonresident alien women living in the United States, who are citizens of Russia or Ukraine. They then wired the funds that Hunter Biden had received to people in Russia and Ukraine.
“The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what ‘appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring,’” the report stated.
Meanwhile, the report states that Senate investigators found millions of dollars in “questionable financial transactions” between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow as well as individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
According to the report, Rosemont Seneca Thornton, an investment company co-founded with Hunter Biden, received $3.5 million via wire transfer from Elena Baturina (the wife of the former mayor)
The report went even further and alleged that not just Hunter Biden but other members of the Biden family “were involved in a vast financial network that connected them to foreign nationals and foreign governments across the globe.”
Hunter Biden, the 2020 presidential candidate, revealed that he was being investigated by federal authorities for “tax affairs.”
Hunter Biden has been listed below federal investigationFox News was informed by a source familiar about the matter in 2018 that Fox News had been told by them.
Fox News has learned that the investigation has now reached a “critical stage,” as officials are looking into whether to charge President Biden’s son with various tax violations, possible foreign lobbying violations and more.
A separate source told Fox News that the federal grand jury looking into Hunter Biden’s business dealings wrapped up its latest term late last month but said no charges have been filed.
The investigation is currently being carried out by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss,A former President Donald Trump appointed a prosecution.
HUNTER BIDEN REQUESTED KEYS FOR NEW ‘OFFICE MATES’ JOE BIDEN, CHINESE ‘EMISSARY’ TO CEFC CHAIRMAN, EMAILS SHOW
Fox News received a report Wednesday from a source saying that Weiss and Justice Department officials were investigating whether Hunter Biden could be charged with tax violations and, even more serious, foreign lobbying offences. According to the source, Hunter Biden could be charged with false statements.
According to a government source, Fox News reported Hunter Biden as a subject/target in the grand jury investigation in December 2020. According to the source, a “target” means that there is a “high probability that person committed a crime,” while a “subject” is someone you “don’t know for sure” has committed a crime.”
Partly, the federal investigation into Hunter Biden was based on suspicious activity reports (SARs), which were based on suspicious foreign transactions.
Fox News reported in December 2020 from another source familiar with the investigation that the SARs were related to funds from China and other foreign countries.
A Treasury Department official, who did not comment on the investigation, spoke broadly about SARs, telling Fox News that SARs are filed by financial institutions “if there is something out of the ordinary about a particular transaction.”
Fox News reported that simply filing a SAR doesn’t mean there was any criminal activity or violation of regulations. It’s simply a signal that the transaction is unusual for the customer. The official noted, though, that an SAR could be part of a money laundering or tax investigation.
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Hunter Biden stated in December 2020, “I take this matter seriously. But I am confident that a professional, objective review of these issues will show that I managed my affairs legally and properly, including with the assistance of professional tax advisors.”
Source: Fox News
