By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives is threatening to launch an impeachment inquiry into Attorney General Merrick Garland over the Justice Department’s criminal probe of the president’s son Joe Biden, Hunter.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted on Sunday that U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the federal prosecutor appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump and overseeing the investigation, is to answer questions about the whistleblower allegations according to which the Justice Department allegedly intervened in the case to protect Biden’s son.
“If the whistleblowers’ allegations are true, it will be an important part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland’s weaponization of the DOJ,” McCarthy said, using the Justice Department acronym.
Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges for willfully failing to pay income taxes and enter into a deal that could avoid a conviction on a gun-related charge, according to reports. court documents filed last week.
Garland denied testimony from an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower alleging that Weiss had been blocked by the Justice Department from pursuing a more aggressive investigation into the president’s son.
House Republicans, some out for revenge on Trump who was impeached twice when Democrats controlled the House, have launched multiple investigations into Biden’s family and administration for evidence of wrongdoing.
Trump, who faces multiple investigations and a federal indictment, is running for re-election in 2024.
Last week, two Trump allies introduced resolutions in the House to overturn the former president’s 2019 impeachment for allegedly pressuring the Ukrainian government to help him win re-election, and his 2021 impeachment over the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
McCarthy, who supports efforts to clear Trump’s record, also issued an impeachment threat to fellow Biden cabinet member, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, over the administration’s immigration policies. .
Hard-line Republican conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert tried to force the House to vote to impeach Biden on immigration and border security last week.
Hardliner Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is also pushing for the removal of Biden, Garland, Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray and a U.S. attorney who is prosecuting participants in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Mark Heinrich)