CIA says whistleblower allegation touted by GOP in Joe Biden impeachment probe is 'false'
WASHINGTON – In a blow to House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president, the CIA refuted a whistleblower’s allegations that the agency sought to block a federal investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, on Thursday.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to the CIA in March saying a whistleblower informed them the CIA blocked the Department of Justice and IRS investigators from interviewing a benefactor of Hunter Biden.
The CIA called the allegation “false” in a letter obtained by USA TODAY and sent to the chairs on Thursday.
“Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations for communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview. The allegation is false,” CIA director of congressional affairs James Catella wrote.
CNN first reported the letter on Friday.
A troubled investigation
The CIA’s response is another setback for House Republicans’ sprawling impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden as the probe faces questions over its credibility. A confidential FBI source the GOP repeatedly touted during the investigation was charged in February for lying to the FBI about an alleged corruption scheme involving Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. The source, Alexander Smirnov, also said he had “extensive foreign ties” according to prosecutors.
House Republicans are standing by the whistleblower's allegations. Russell Dye, a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee said in a statement “the allegation is not false.” A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said the same.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent a letter to Comer on Friday morning pressing him to allow Democrats to review the new whistleblower’s allegations.
Comer’s refusal to allow Democrats to vet the whistleblower, Raskin said in the letter, “creates the unavoidable implication that this information ... cannot withstand even the most cursory scrutiny by the committee’s Democratic members.”
Raskin also noted that the witness, Kevin Morris, who the whistleblower alleged the DOJ and IRS blocked from being interviewed, already testified in January that he cooperated with law enforcement. An IRS agent also told investigators he was allowed to interview Morris.
House Republicans have been conducting an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden over allegations he personally benefited from his family’s foreign business affairs. Investigators have yet to turn up evidence directly implicating the president.
As the probe sees setback after setback, GOP lawmakers have expressed doubts as to whether House Republicans would move to impeach the president without substantial evidence.
As a result, Comer has been searching for exit strategies when the inquiry concludes and has suggested he will make criminal referrals to the DOJ for a possible future Donald Trump administration to follow up on.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CIA says whistleblower claim in Biden impeachment probe is 'false'
