A lawyer for the FBI told a former supervisory special agent with the bureau not to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee about its Hunter Biden investigation, according to a letter obtained Tuesday.
The letter, dated July 16, was allegedly delivered to the former agent the night before his interview with the House committee, where he had confirmed certain key portions of testimony from two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers.
WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO LABEL CYBERSECURITY RISKS OF SMART DEVICES
“The Department expects that you will decline to respond to questions seeking non-public information likely covered by one or more components of executive privilege or other significant confidentiality interests, in particular information about deliberations or ongoing investigative activity in law enforcement matters,” FBI general counsel Jason Jones wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Jones claimed that the investigation into Biden is still ongoing, which could limit what information is released by the bureau. The lawyer instead instructed the agent, who has not been identified, to refer the questions to the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs so the bureau could consider how to answer the questions while protecting confidential information.
The former supervisory special agent confirmed on Monday that the FBI and Secret Service were tipped off about an interview with the younger Biden on the day before the interview was scheduled to occur.
According to the testimony, IRS and FBI criminal investigators were instructed to stand down outside of Biden's house on the day of the interview and told not to approach Biden until he called them.
House Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) stated that as a result of the tipoff in December 2020, Biden was never interviewed as part of the investigation.
"The NIGHT BEFORE our team interviewed the former FBI supervisory special agent who confirmed key portions of the IRS whistleblowers’ testimony, the agent received a letter from the FBI directing him to “DECLINE TO RESPOND” to our committee’s questions regarding our ongoing Biden Family investigation," Comer said in a statement on Tuesday. "This is just another account of the Biden Administration attempting to intimidate critical witnesses in this investigation. Regardless of their tactics, there will be accountability."
The former FBI agent testified that he had never been told to wait outside to be contacted by the subject of an investigation before the interview with Biden. But the agent also acknowledged that it is routine for FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors to disagree about investigative steps and charging decisions, according to a source familiar with the transcribed interview.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Two whistleblowers, IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and an anonymous whistleblower referred to as “Whistleblower X,” have also alleged that the Justice Department interfered in Biden’s criminal investigation by blocking David Weiss, the lead U.S. attorney on the case, from bringing charges in the jurisdiction of his choice and denied his request for special counsel status. But the Justice Department and Weiss have denied that Weiss was blocked, claiming he had complete authority in the investigation.
Both whistleblowers are expected to testify on Wednesday in front of the Oversight Committee, where the identity of Whistleblower X will be unveiled.