According to a transcript seen by Fox News Digital, the former assistant U.S. attorney who allegedly attempted to “limit” inquiries concerning Joe Biden refuted claims that politics was involved in the Hunter Biden probe during her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
But Lesley Wolf, a former assistant US attorney, stated in court that she would “not be permitted to answer most of the questions you have for me” because the federal criminal investigation into the first son is still ongoing.
The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Wolf to appear for a deposition; Wolf recently departed the Justice Department, a move that “long predated” allegations made against her.
After the Justice Department negotiated agreements with the panel, Wolf gave a voluntary, transcribed appearance before the House Judiciary Committee last week.
A transcript of her interview from Thursday night was examined by Fox News Digital. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, stated following Wolf’s interview that she “refused to answer most of our questions.”
“She refused to answer based on instructions she was given from the Justice Department,” Jordan claimed. Political influence was allegedly involved in prosecution choices during the Hunter Biden investigation, which started in 2018. The IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley, who oversaw the IRS’s share of the investigation, and Joseph Ziegler, a special agent in the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, made these allegations.
Shapley claimed that Wolf attempted to prevent inquiries about President Biden from being made by investigators during the FBI probe of his son, Hunter Biden, which lasted for years. On the other hand, Wolf stated in her testimony that “politics at no point played a role in or in any way impact my work as a federal prosecutor.”
Wolf added that judgments made by prosecutors were “never made in a vacuum and were always guided by principles of justice and fairness.”
Wolf said that “in light of the ongoing nature of the investigation,” she’s “legally obligated at this time to largely remain silent as to those allegations, beyond stating the truth, which is, at all times while serving as an AUSA, I acted consistently with the Justice Manual, DOJ policy directives, and my statutory legal and ethical obligations.”
However, Wolf repeatedly claimed she was “not authorized” to discuss the matter and that she could not answer or speak to “particulars or details about anything” relating to the ongoing Hunter Biden probe, which is being led by now-Special Counsel David Weiss when investigators pressed her for answers.
Shapley claimed earlier this year that Wolf attempted to “limit” inquiries about President Biden and any hints that Biden was referred to as “dad” or “the big guy.”
In October 2020, according to Shapley and Ziegler, Wolf examined an affidavit for a search warrant at Hunter Biden’s home and “agreed that probable cause had been achieved.” Shapley did note that Wolf finally refused to permit the president’s son to be the subject of a physical search order.
Wolf found “enough probable cause for the physical search warrant there,” according to Shapley, but the question remained: was the juice worth the squeeze?
Shapley said that Wolf acknowledged that “a lot of evidence in our investigation would be found in the guest house of former Vice President Biden, but said there is no way we will get that approved,” and that “optics were a driving factor in the decision on whether to execute a search warrant.”
Additionally, Wolf is said to have informed Hunter Biden’s legal team before his storage unit was about to be searched.
Though Wolf did concede during the interview that “Political Figure 1″—a term that appeared in multiple correspondences between the Hunter Biden investigators—was, in fact, a reference to Vice President Joe Biden at the time.
The question centered on an email discussion between Wolf and FBI Special Agent Joshua Wilson, during which the former said, “There should be nothing about political figure 1 in here.”
Although Wolf identified “Political Figure 1” as “described as former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., now President Biden,” she did not go into detail as to why she made that recommendation.
Wolf testified as a part of the House’s formal investigation into President Biden’s impeachment last week. As the House gathers information and decides whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden, the investigation is being led by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo; Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.
The committees are looking into claims that Hunter Biden’s federal investigation was politicized. The president may have been directly profited or involved in the Biden family’s overseas commercial activities, as they are also looking into.
President Biden has consistently refuted any role in his son’s commercial activities. A subpoena was issued for Hunter Biden as part of the investigation as well, but he disobeyed it by showing up for a deposition before the House Oversight Committee last week. He instead addressed the public on Capitol Hill, denouncing the Republican impeachment investigation and asserting that his father was “not financially involved” in his business activities.
Hunter Biden faces possible contempt of Congress charges after threats from Comer and Jordan. Hunter Biden made his first public remarks on Wednesday, a few days after he was charged as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’s probe.
Weiss claimed that from January 2017 until October 2020, when the president’s son filed fake tax returns, Hunter Biden was involved in a “four-year scheme” in which he failed to pay his federal income taxes. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California received the charges from Weiss.
Hunter Biden was also indicted by Weiss on federal firearms charges in Delaware. In his plea of not guilty, the president’s son’s lawyers are attempting to get the accusations completely dropped.