House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has issued subpoenas to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and several officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service.
The subpoenas are part of an investigation into allegations that the Secret Service tipped off the Biden transition team about a planned interview of Hunter Biden in connection with a tax probe in 2020, Fox News reported.
In total, six subpoenas were sent out, including one to Mayorkas for documents and five for depositions.
Two of these depositions were directed toward Secret Service officials, and the remaining three were aimed at DHS officials, according to the report.
The Oversight Committee accused the Department of Justice of initiating a cover-up related to the Biden family and suggested that DHS, under Mayorkas’ leadership, is complicit in this cover-up.
“The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family coverup, and now DHS, under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas, is complicit in it,” the committee said in the post.
“IRS whistleblowers provided testimony regarding alleged misconduct during the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, including FBI HQ tipping off Secret Service HQ and the Biden transition team about the planned Hunter Biden interview.”
? SIX SUBPOENAS ?
The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family coverup, and now DHS, under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas, is complicit in it.
IRS whistleblowers provided testimony regarding misconduct during the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, including… pic.twitter.com/mM6enNSwXP
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) September 5, 2023
These allegations stem from IRS whistleblowers who provided testimony regarding misconduct during the Hunter Biden criminal investigation, specifically concerning the one involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its potential bias.
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“The Department of Homeland Security is obstructing our investigation by muzzling the Secret Service from providing a response to Congress,” Comer asserted in a news release. “The American people deserve transparency, not obstruction.”
Comer’s subpoenas also targeted specific individuals. These include K. Shiek Pal, the director of oversight for DHS’ Office of Legislative Affairs; Zephranie Buetow, assistant secretary to OLA; Stephen Jonas, DHS senior adviser to the general counsel; Vincent Tutoni, assistant director of the Secret Services’ Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs office; and David McKeown, the acting special agent in charge of the congressional affairs program for the Secret Service.
A DHS official responded to these allegations, denying that the agency had obstructed the committee’s investigation and saying that they were working to respond to the committee’s inquiries before the subpoenas were issued, according to Fox News.
In a letter addressed to Mayorkas, Comer said, “This is only one example of a systemic problem throughout the investigation that allowed Hunter Biden to avoid accountability and answering difficult questions about the source of his income, the legality of his actions, and the people who worked with and benefitted from his worldwide efforts to peddle access to his father.”
Comer emphasized that the Oversight Committee, along with the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees, is seeking interviews with key witnesses, including Secret Service employees.
The subpoenas follow whistleblower testimonies earlier this year, which alleged that political considerations influenced prosecutorial decisions in the Hunter Biden investigation.
Multiple whistleblowers, according to Comer, testified that the Secret Service had been tipped off in December 2020 about the planned interview of Hunter Biden, resulting in the Biden transition team being notified and the interview not taking place.
In June, the Oversight Committee, along with other committees, requested interviews with relevant agency employees. However, there was “uncharacteristic delay and opacity” in the Secret Service’s response, Comer said in the letter to Mayorkas.
Comer accused the DHS Office of Legislative Affairs of instructing the Secret Service to “withhold” their response, which he considered obstruction of a congressional investigation.
Comer detailed the ongoing communication between the committee and the Secret Service, highlighting that responsive documents and testimony were not provided as requested.
He raised concerns about discrepancies in the Secret Service’s responses and called for further information regarding the efforts of DHS to block a response from the Secret Service.
?BREAKING: James Comer subpoenas Mayorkas, Secret Service over tip-off of 2020 Hunter Biden tax probe interview pic.twitter.com/iCDnx3kWvr
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 5, 2023
“DHS OLA’s decision to instruct the Secret Service not to provide this response appears to constitute obstruction of a Congressional investigation, and the attached subpoenas require the immediate and full cooperation of DHS,” Comer wrote in his letter.
The DHS official countered Comer’s claims, saying the agency had followed standard procedures for responding to congressional inquiries, while ensuring the protection of law enforcement sensitivities, ongoing investigations, privacy, privilege issues and response consistency, Fox News reported.
The official emphasized that these procedures had been used across multiple Congresses and were necessary for accurate and uniform responses.
“These reviews are a normal and necessary step in the process to ensure protection of law enforcement sensitivities, matters relating to ongoing investigations, privacy and privilege issues, consistency in our responses, and more,” the official said.
The Secret Service, for its part, responded to the committee, saying that it could not identify any current employees with “first-hand knowledge” of the reported advance notice regarding the attempted contact with Biden in December 2020, The Hill reported.
The House Oversight Committee’s social media post indicated they plan to continue their probe, despite the roadblocks.
“We will continue to fight for transparency and accountability on behalf of the American people,” they wrote.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
