Republican lawmakers want to hear testimony from the Department of Justice lawyer, David Weiss, who is handling the investigation into Hunter Biden, the Washington Examiner reports.
"U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday. "If the whistleblowers' allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland's weaponization of DOJ."
Weiss, the Delaware U.S. attorney, has come under scrutiny from GOP members of both House and Senate committees looking into the weaponization of the DOJ by the administration of President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden's father.
Two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers recently came forward with allegations that Attorney General Merrick Garland's DOJ hampered attempts to investigate Hunter Biden on tax evasion, the report said.
Garland and Weiss have denied any undue influence in the investigations which resulted in two misdemeanor charges against Hunter Biden on the unreported taxes and a count of lying about drug use on a gun application form, all of which the younger Biden is expected to plead guilty to as part of a deal reached with the DOJ that will result in no jail time, according to the report.
"The U.S. A\attorney in Delaware has been advised that he has full authority … to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it's necessary. And I will assure that if he does, he will be able to do that," Garland testified in March. "I've promised to ensure that he's able to carry out his investigation and that he be able to run it. And if he needs to bring in another jurisdiction, he will have full authority to do that."
The allegations by the whistleblowers, however, contradict Garland's and Weiss' assertions of noninterference in the probe, pushing GOP committee members to demand answers from Weiss under oath.
"This is a clear discrepancy, and one way or the other, we're going to have to clear it up," a senior GOP aide told the news outlet. "If that means Weiss is going to appear in person, then that's what it's going to take."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent Weiss a letter last week asking him to clarify his position in the wake of the whistleblower's testimony.
In the letter, Jordan gives Weiss until July 6 to respond with answers to the committee before being asked to appear in person.