A former business associate of Hunter and James Biden, who was involved in a Chinese energy deal in 2017, was never called to testify before a Delaware grand jury investigating Hunter Biden. The information was revealed by sources to CBS News investigative reporter Catherine Herridge.
The former partner, Tony Bobulinski, expressed a willingness to testify, but his attorney’s attempts to contact Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss went unanswered, according to the report. This decision not to implicate Bobulinski suggests that prosecutors deliberately avoided investigating certain allegations about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
“I’ve heard Joe Biden say that he’s never discussed business with Hunter. That’s false. I have first-hand knowledge of this because I dealt directly with the Biden family, including Joe Biden,” Bobulinski said at the press conference .
Bobulinski gained attention in October 2020 when he released business records related to his dealings with Hunter and James Biden, leading to an invitation from the Trump campaign to attend a presidential debate. Prior to the debate, Bobulinski held a press conference where he claimed to have personally met with Joe Biden in May 2017 about a potential trade deal with a Chinese energy company, CEFC. Bobulinski confirmed his earlier statements when contacted by CBS News.
Bobulinski’s claims have generated renewed interest among Republican congressional investigators following closed-door testimony from IRS whistleblowers to the House Ways and Means Committee. The whistleblowers alleged that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment that hindered federal investigators. A whistleblower, Gary Shapley, testified that no leads implicating Joe Biden were pursued in the latter part of 2020. At the time, Donald Trump was president and Bill Barr served as attorney general.
Shapley revealed that in August 2020, an iCloud search warrant uncovered a WhatsApp message from Hunter Biden to Chinese businessman Henry Zhao in July 2017, referring to an outstanding payment. Shapley claimed efforts to investigate that message were obstructed by prosecutors.
The White House responded to Shapley’s testimony by reiterating that the president was not involved in business with his son and emphasizing the Justice Department’s independence in its criminal investigations. Hunter Biden’s legal team had no comment on the matter.
Shapley also presented what he claimed were transcripts of an FBI interview with Robert Walker, another former business associate of Hunter Biden. According to Shapley, Walker stated in the interview that Joe Biden attended at least one meeting related to the Chinese energy deal. Shapley testified that the FBI agent asked Walker if he believed Hunter Biden orchestrated his father’s appearance at the meeting to bolster his chances of getting the deal, to which Walker responded affirmatively
Efforts to reach Walker for comment were unsuccessful. Shapley further alleged that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who worked with Weiss, prevented investigators from pursuing leads related to Joe Biden. In a strategy session in December 2020, Wolf discouraged questions about then-President-elect Joe Biden, claiming there was no specific criminality in that line of inquiry.
The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on behalf of Weiss and Wolf about Shapley’s claims. House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer criticized prosecutors, accusing them of obstructing the verification of evidence that could implicate President Biden. Comer pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into the Justice Department’s alleged misconduct.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Weiss had full authority to make independent decisions about the investigation as U.S. attorney in Delaware, even though he was assigned the case during the previous administration. Garland emphasized that Weiss could continue to prosecute as he saw fit.
In a separate development, Hunter Biden recently agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges related to his failure to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income. As part of the deal with Weiss, Hunter Biden will avoid full prosecution on a separate gun possession charge. The settlement is subject to approval by a Delaware judge at a hearing scheduled for July 26.
According to the New York Times, the Department of Justice (DOJ) blocked US Attorney David Weiss from bringing tougher charges against Hunter Biden in both Washington, DC and California. This information corroborates the claims of IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said the Justice Department intervened twice to prevent Weiss from bringing more serious charges against Hunter Biden.
“*” Indicates mandatory fields
OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.
English 
Español de Venezuela