Leaving no stone unturned

When the American people entrusted Republicans with the responsibility of running the House of Representatives, we promised to use every tool at our disposal to hold this administration accountable to the American people. Unsurprisingly, the Biden administration has stonewalled our efforts to get Americans the answers they deserve about the numerous scandals and crises that have come out of this White House. And that's especially true when it comes to our investigation into the Biden family's shady business dealings. Thankfully, Congress has a powerful tool to cut through the administration's stonewalling: subpoenas.

After weeks of refusing to voluntarily comply, on Aug. 21, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (Ohio) and I subpoenaed officials at key agencies who have been denied the opportunity to come before Congress by their agency leadership. We want to hear from these individuals about an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting where, according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers, U.S. Attorney David Weiss said he was prevented from bringing charges against Hunter Biden for tax crimes. This revelation directly contradicted Attorney General Merrick Garland's insistence during a March 2023 Senate hearing that Weiss had "full authority" over the case.

It's important to remember that the story of the whistleblowers who came before my House Ways and Means Committee has not changed. They alleged in great detail how senior officials at the Department of Justice gave Hunter Biden and his attorneys special treatment, tipped Hunter Biden's team off during steps of the investigation, and even prevented IRS investigators from following leads and evidence that could have led them to President Joe Biden. And who hasn't stood by their story? The administration -- and in particular -- the president himself.

Americans deserve to know the truth about what occurred at that Oct. 7 meeting. But instead of working with our committee to make agency personnel available to testify, the Attorney General appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss -- the person who oversaw Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea deal -- as special counsel to run the administration's investigation into the president's son, an effort that could very well be used to try and continue to slow walk answering questions Congress and the American people have.

In recent weeks, the liberal media has finally started to wake up and give the Biden family the scrutiny it deserves. The Washington Post uncovered that Weiss had previously worked closely with then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. We also saw an alarming New York Times article that found -- among many other things -- that Weiss wasn't planning to prosecute Hunter Biden at all until the IRS whistleblowers came forward. Clearly, Weiss isn't the right person for the job.

The American people are sick and tired of this administration's repeated attempts to stonewall our investigation into the Biden family's business dealings. Fortunately, House Republicans have powerful tools at our disposal to keep our investigation moving forward. No matter how hard this administration tries to get in the way, we will fight tooth and nail to get Americans the answers they deserve.

Jason Smith (R-MO) represents the eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.