IRS Whistleblower: Hunter Pocketed $8.3M from China, Ukraine; Biden DOJ Obstructed Investigation

(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) The price for foreign nationals and corporate entities with deep ties to bad actors in Ukraine and China to gain access to the White House and U.S. policy decisions was at least $8.3 million in funds pocketed by Hunter Biden, according to a former IRS supervisory agent turned whistleblower.

On top of testimony and evidence provided to House lawmakers that linked President Joe Biden to his son Hunter’s allegedly corrupt overseas businesses, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley told Fox News that Hunter Biden received about $8.3 million from China, Ukraine and Romania through businesses, most of which were formed after Biden became vice president during the Obama administration.

Shapley, who as supervisory agent oversaw parts of the Hunter Biden investigation, also claimed that there was “no way to recoup” Biden-owed taxes on at least $400,000 of unreported income derived from his shady Burisma business and its dealings.

Those figures could likely be higher, but the investigation was thwarted before all available avenues and evidence were explored. That included directives to avoid asking any questions that involved Joe Biden.

“We weren’t allowed to ask questions about dad, we weren’t allowed to ask about the Big Guy, we weren’t allowed to include certain names in document requests and search warrants,” Shapley said. “So, we were precluded from following that line of questioning.”

Asked directly if the actions “were an effort to protect President Biden and his family”, Shapley replied, “I mean, we were conducting an investigation of Hunter Biden and we were trying to follow the normal process. We were trying to get to the bottom of it.”

Investigators never got that chance, Shapley said.

“Ultimately, you know, if it was going to lead to another individual, you know, we should follow that to determine what was actually happening,” Shapley said.

“But, you know, there were definitely hinderances that I’ve never seen before in my 14 years concerning this investigation that didn’t allow us to follow through on an investigation of any other individual to include President Biden.”

What they were able to discover unearthed a treasure trove of funding funneled to the president’s son.

“Concerning Hunter Biden, I feel like we have a very good grasp on the income flows. It was around $8.3 million from 2014 to 2019,” Shapley confirmed.

When Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked, “From who?”, Shapley’s answer drew a direct line to CEFC, an energy company linked to the Chinese Communist Party, and other businesses in Ukraine and Romania.

“China, from CEFC, came from Ukraine, and from Romania,” Shapley said of the flow of money into Biden coffers, which included at least $400,00 of unreported income from Burisma.

“Hunter Biden was told by his partner, Eric Schwerin, that he needed to amend his returns and he never did,” Shapley told Fox News.

“So, the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office declining those charges, David Weiss requesting special counsel authority and being denied, and then the statute of limitations then expires in November or December of 2022, so, those years are gone. And there’s no way to recoup the money from that Burisma income.”

Hunter Biden negotiated a sweetheart deal with the DOJ earlier this month that would allow him to escape any serious consequence, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. A felony charge of lying on a form to buy a firearm was relegated to a pre-trial diversion program.

In addition to the slack plea deal, Shapley said that “the most substantive felony charges were left off the table.”

Contrary to repeated statements from Attorney General Merrick Garland that his Justice Department never interfered or sought to influence the Hunter Biden investigation, Shapley said he “witnessed” the opposite.

“Not only do I remember it crystal clear but I documented it,” Shapley said of U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was leading the investigation, explaining to investigators that he was “not the deciding person on whether or not charges are filed or not.”

Weiss had “requested special counsel authority and was denied,” Shapley said, when efforts last March to charge Hunter Biden were sidelined by the U.S. Attorney for Washington D.C. Matthew Graves.

Shapley said that Weiss and the investigation were “constantly hamstrung, limited and marginalized” by Biden DOJ officials.

“The prosecutors at the time stated that probable cause had been achieved,” Shapley said of efforts to obtain and execute search warrants of Biden-linked locations.

“But as we moved closer to the election, it just seemed like they kept putting it on the back burner and they eventually didn’t allow us to do that search warrant, even though the legal requirements to execute that search warrant were met.” 

JP Morgan Executive Dead in Car Crash Following Settlement over Enabling Epstein

(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) James Crown, a JP Morgan executive, former intelligence officer and former member of Obama’s inner circle, was killed in a car crash on his 70th birthday immediately after JP Morgan settled a lawsuit accusing the international bank of enabling notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Crown’s death was speedily pronounced an accident, and the case was promptly closed, according to Leading Report.

The lawsuit, which was granted preliminary approval on Monday, was settled for $290 million, according to Reuters. It accused JP Morgan of enabling Epstein’s crimes by ignoring his sex-trafficking of young girls.

The lawsuit is just the latest example of JP Morgan’s alleged criminal activity, including a significant connection to Epstein:

  • A similar lawsuit was filed against JP Morgan in the Virgin Islands, the location of the infamous Epstein Island.
  • One legal complaint alleged that “Epstein’s behavior was so widely known at JPMorgan that senior executives joked about Epstein’s interest in young girls.”
  • Jes Staley, another JP Morgan executive who was connected to Biden, has been accused in court of “aggressively” raping girls on Epstein’s island.
  • One of the lawsuits uncovered deep relationships between JP Morgan executives and Epstein.
  • In May, 19 state attorneys general accused JP Morgan of ‘debankng‘ religious conservatives.
  • JP Morgan owned a ship that was caught trafficking $1.3 billion of cocaine, according to CBS News.

JP Morgan was also connected to the alleged Biden crime family.

  • The Virgin Island lawsuit subpoenaed Joe Biden, and the attorney general who filed the suit was fired a few days after Biden appeared on the island, according to Leading Report.
  • The Justice Department subpoenaed JP Morgan to produce Hunter Biden‘s transactions with a Chinese bank, according to the Daily Mail.

Crown’s suspicious death follows the arrest and disappearance of Dr. Gal Luft, who threatened to give Congress information he had on Hunter Biden. Luft was associates with former CIA Director James Woolsey and former national security adviser Robert McFarlane, through a Washington, D.C. think tank.

Luft reportedly had information obtained from Chinese businessman Ye Jianming that Hunter Biden had an informant in the FBI.

Jianming was also referenced in a Hunter Biden text message made public this week that linked Joe Biden directly to his son’s suspect CCP-connected businesses, which funneled millions of dollars into Biden coffers.

McCarthy Vows Loyalty to Trump after Infamous Interview, MAGA Fury

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., finds himself embroiled in a storm of controversy and damage control following his remarks about former President Donald Trump.

McCarthy took the initiative to call Trump directly and offer his apologies in the face of mounting pressure from Trump supporters calling for his removal as House speaker, according to a CNN report on Wednesday.

The controversy erupted during McCarthy’s appearance on CNBC, where he expressed doubts about Trump’s strength as the Republican nominee for the upcoming presidential race in 2024. His comments, suggesting the existence of stronger candidates within the GOP, immediately drew criticism.

During his appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, McCarthy claimed, “Can he [Trump] win that election? Yeah, he can. The question is, is he the strongest to win the election? I don’t know the answer. But can anybody beat Biden? Yeah, anybody can beat Biden. Can Biden beat other people? Yes, Biden can beat them. It’s on any given day.”

Facing backlash, McCarthy later walked back his comments, informing Trump that he misspoke. He also conveyed to Trump that the mainstream media deliberately distorted his words, as reported by CNN.

To further clarify his stance and reinforce his support for Trump, McCarthy also spoke with Breitbart, where he said, “Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016.”

He accused the media of conspiring to create a division within the GOP, saying,  “As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s DOJ accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice,” he told Breitbart.

The House Speaker also named Trump as Biden’s biggest threat. “The only reason Biden is using his weaponized federal government to go after President Trump is because he is Biden’s strongest political opponent, as polling continues to show.”

Despite his efforts to apologize and reaffirm his loyalty, McCarthy refrained from endorsing Trump’s 2024 bid, as he received advice to maintain neutrality in the race.

CNN reported that Trump’s advisors cautioned the former president, suggesting that a McCarthy endorsement could alienate his conservative voter base.

Taxpayer-Funded Plot to Bar Christian Conservatives from Libraries Ignites Outrage

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The taxpayer-funded American Library Association has found itself at the center of a contentious controversy after bombshell evidence surfaced, suggesting that it is involved in a plot to block Christian and conservative parents from accessing public libraries.

Brave Books, a renowned conservative publisher known for hosting events focused on Christian literature, obtained exclusive evidence that includes a video featuring Deborah Caldwell-Stone, an executive at ALA. In the video, Caldwell-Stone directed individuals to weaponize loopholes with the aim of preventing groups like Brave Books from hosting Christian events.

During the “Library 2023 Worldwide Virtual Conference,” Caldwell-Stone reportedly urged viewers to reserve public library spaces on Aug. 5 to block an event by Christian author Kirk Cameron, who had recently released his book, As You Grow.

In her presentation, Caldwell-Stone referenced the ability to close meeting rooms and display cases to public use, stating that libraries have no obligation to provide such spaces for public events.

Brave Books took to Twitter, posting a thread that went viral, detailing Kirk Cameron’s experience of facing multiple rejections from more than 50 public libraries when attempting to host events for Christian families. Cameron directly accused the libraries of denying his requests because of his conservative and religious beliefs. At the same time, libraries were launching a widespread campaign embracing drag queen story hours and pushing a radical LGBT agenda.

“Kirk wrote to some of the public libraries expressing concern they were violating his free speech rights and threatened legal action. The libraries conceded, and the ‘BRAVE Books Story Hour’ tour began,” Brave Books stated.

According to Brave Books, the ALA, a self-proclaimed non-partisan 501(C)(3) non-profit, received a substantial $211 million payout from the federal government in 2022. However, Brave Books criticized the non-profit, alleging that it openly endorsed radical gender ideology from the Democrat Party while maliciously working to obstruct events for Christian families, particularly children.

Brave Books also shared an email obtained separately, in which former librarian Kelly Jenson allegedly called on taxpayer-funded public libraries to bar conservative events. “If you’re a public library worker, now is the time to prepare for what could either be an onslaught or big nothing burger,” Jenson claimed in the article, according to a screenshot shared by Brave Books.

Brave Books ended its Twitter thread by acknowledging “that not all libraries are violating your free speech rights. Some have been professional and fair,” but coupled with guidance for sidelining any taxpayer-funded library from censoring free speech.

“If you have a suspicion your library is intentionally blocking you from hosting a “See You at the Library” event on August 5th, please contact us at [email protected]. We have guidance on what to do next.”

GOP Reps. Gaetz, MTG Plot to Defund ATF Director

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., sent a letter on Monday that unveiled their plan to use the Holman Rule to defund the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the next available appropriations period.

Additionally, the two GOP lawmakers explained why they intend to use the Holman Rule to defund the ATF director, according to a copy of the letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, that was exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller.

Amendments to appropriations legislation that would cut the salary of or fire certain federal employees are permitted by the Holman Rule. The rule also allows the elimination of specific programs.

“The ATF has shown itself incapable of operating within the confines of its statutory authority, and we must force a change,” the letter stated. “Hence, I write to inform you that I intend to use the Holman Rule to defund the Office of the Director of the ATF in the next available appropriations period.”

This isn’t the first time when both Gaetz and Greene wanted to abolish the ATF. In June 2021, Greene introduced legislation — the Brian A. Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act — that would abolish the ATF if signed into law.

In January 2023, Gaetz also introduced legislation to abolish the ATF after the organization enacted a rule that would make pistol-stabilizing braces illegal for anyone without a certain license.

The Abolish the ATF Act aimed to get rid of the ATF immediately after being enacted. Gaetz introduced the bill after the ATF said that it would try to take away the 2nd Amendment rights of gun owners by making them face the possibility of being charged with a felony if they do not register their firearms with the stabilizing braces.

On Monday, Gaetz hosted a Congressional Field Hearing at the Okaloosa County Administrative Complex in Shalimar, Fla., regarding the ATF’s targeting of Federal Firearms Licenses.

Senate Report: Jan. 6 Damage Cost More Than Entire Summer 2020 Riots

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) According to Senate Democrats, damage from the Jan. 6, 2021, violence on Capitol Hill cost more than all the summer 2020 riots combined.

Indeed, the Senate Homeland Security Committee released a report this week that estimated a whopping $2.7 billion in damages from J6.

“Over 2,000 individuals participated in the seven-hour attack, assaulting at least 174 police officers and causing more than $2.7 billion in damage,” the report stated.

By contrast, insurers have reportedly estimated the total damage from the riots of summer 2020 to be around $2 billion. Not only does the Senate’s estimate exceed that; it also marks a 99,900% increase over the Justice Department’s $2.7 million figure.

The Senate committee report cited an earlier Government Accountability Office report as basis for its $2.7 billion estimate. The GAO, in turn, cited the DOJ—even though prosecutors have been using their lower $2.7 million estimate to determine the restitution J6 defendants should pay.

Headline USA reached out to the GAO to see if its $2.7 billion figure was accurate—or if perhaps someone accidentally wrote “billion” instead of “million” in their report.

The GAO responded that the office did intend to report the $2.7 billion estimate. However, the GAO said it mistakenly attributed its estimate to the DOJ, when in fact the GAO did its own number-crunching.

“The $2.7 billion figure does not come from DOJ. This amount reflects, among other things, damage to the Capitol building and grounds, certain costs borne by the Capitol Police, the District of Columbia, and other federal agencies, and costs to address security needs,” said GAO’s Managing Director of Public Affairs Chuck Young. “I believe a revised version is planned to correct the issue, but I don’t think it has been issued quite yet.”

Headline USA has filed a request with the GAO for records that explain exactly how it came to its $2.7 billion figure. While the GAO said this number included more than just damages, the Senate report clearly alleged that $2.7 billion in “damage” was done on Jan. 6, 2021.

The $2.7-billion figure in the Senate report isn’t the only dubious number. As noted by conservative commentator Julie Kelly, the report also repeated the false claim that J6 contributed to the deaths of five police officers. In fact, four Capitol Police officers allegedly committed suicide after J6, and one died of a stroke—none of the deaths being directly attributed to the protest.

“All Democrats do is lie,” Kelly said of the Senate report.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Lawmakers: U.S. helped China Research Weather Balloons before Balloon Spying Incident

(By J.J. Brannock, The Center Square) Lawmakers are raising the alarm that ongoing U.S. and Chinese research partnerships are developing technology that could be used against the U.S.

Members of the Select Committee on the CCP sent a letter to Secretary Antony Blinken this week asking the Biden administration to sever the “Agreement Between the United States and the People’s Republic of China on Cooperation in Science and Technology.”

In the letter, committee representatives cited reports that research partnerships between the U.S. and China organized under the Science and Technology Agreement have developed technology that could later be used against Americans.

One of the reported partnerships is between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and China’s Meteorological Administration. Under the STA’s authority, the groups worked to launch technologically advanced weather balloons to study the atmosphere in 2018.

“As you know, a few years later, the PRC used similar balloon technology to surveil U.S. military sites on U.S. territory,” representatives wrote in the letter.

Chairman on the Select Committee Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., sent the letter to Blinken. Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and eight other members of Congress also signed the letter.

Other reports explained the collaboration between the U.S. and China regarding sensitive agricultural technologies, some of which included “clear dual-use applications, such as […] techniques for analyzing satellite and drone imagery for irrigation management.”

In late December 2022, CCP Chairman Xi Jinping called on the PRC to boost self-reliance in agriculture technology, which committee representatives linked to the more than a dozen active agricultural research projects between the two countries.

“It should come as no surprise that the PRC will exploit civilian research partnerships for military purposes to the greatest extent possible,” the letter said. “The PRC openly acknowledges its practice of military-civil fusion.”

The Science and Technology Agreement is set to expire on Aug. 27 if it is not renewed by the Biden administration.

Teachers Unions under Fire for Influence on School COVID Closures

(By Casey Harper, The Center Square) The U.S. House Committee tasked with reviewing the federal pandemic response is ramping up its investigation into what influence teachers unions had over federal rules that kept schools closed.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, sent a letter to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky demanding all records and communications between her and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

Critics note that teachers unions are significant political donors and raise concerns that those funds could have earned undue access to health policy at the expense of students.

As The Center Square previously reported, federal election filings reveal that the American Federation of Teachers and its local affiliates doled out $19,903,532 in political donations in the 2020 election cycle, with almost all of those funds directed to Democrats and liberal groups.

AFT donations in 2020 included at least $5,251,400 for the Democrats Senate Majority PAC and $4,600,000 for the Democratic House Majority PAC, according to filings and data compiled by The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets database.

A GOP report released in March last year confirmed these findings and reported that teachers unions had “unprecedented access” to the federal officials in charge of recommendations for school reopenings and COVID policy.

“Teachers’ unions, including AFT, donated more than $43 million to liberal groups and candidates during the 2020 election cycle,” the GOP report said. “The two largest unions – which both endorsed then-candidate Biden for President – have approximately 4.7 million members. [CDC scientist] Dr. [Henry] Walke’s testimony to the Select Subcommittee shows the Biden Administration rewarded their support with unprecedented access to the policymaking process for guidance on re-opening schools.”

Weingarten pushed back on these claims during a Congressional in April with Wenstrup’s subcommittee. AFT argues they were not in favor of keeping schools closed, but for the reopening of schools safely.

“If you have educators in your lives, you know that their priority is their students – to create a safe environment for all children and to prepare them for life, career, college and citizenship,” Weingarten testified at the hearing.. “We know that kids learn best in person, so opening schools safely – even as the pandemic surged – guided the AFT‘s every action.”

With conflicting accounts, Wenstrup is now pushing to get those written communications to show what was really said between AFT and federal health officials.

Wenstrup pointed out that during that same hearing, lawmakers learned that Weingarten had a “direct telephone line” to Walensky.

The latest research shows significant learning loss from students who missed class because of the pandemic.

The Department of Education released data last fall showing that national test scores declined the most in decades largely as a result of learning loss from school closures.

“Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020,” the report said. “This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics. This Highlights report compares performance on the NAEP long-term trend reading and mathematics assessments for age 9 students from the winter of 2020 to results of long-term trend assessments in the winter of 2022.”

Wenstrup says the CDC is largely not cooperating with the investigation.

“The Department of Health and Human Services is continuing its pattern of obstructing Congress by apparently only producing documents already made publicly available via the FOIA,” the letter said. “As a reminder, FOIA does not apply to Congress. While negotiating your upcoming testimony, the Department, apparently on your behalf, wrote that the negotiation was ‘counterproductive to the [S]elect [S]ubcommittee’s broader dealings with the Department.’ The Department’s obstruction will not be tolerated.”

Trump Files Countersuit against E. Jean Carroll for Defamation

(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump filed a counterlawsuit against author E. Jean Carroll this week, accusing the writer of defaming him.

The countersuit is aimed at Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against Trump, which claims he defamed her by denying her claims that Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in the 1990s.

In response, Trump’s lawyers argued Carroll defamed him by claiming he sexually assaulted her after a jury in a civil trial found he was not liable for the rape claims.

“Due to [Carroll]’s repeated falsehoods and defamatory statements made against [Trump], [Trump] has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result,” the filing said.

The suit cites a comment Carroll made on CNN a day after the jury’s decision. Carroll was asked how she felt about the jury deciding that Trump was not liable for rape. She said, “Well, I just immediately said in my own head, ‘Oh, yes, he did. Oh yes, he did.’”

Carroll made these statements “with actual malice and ill will with an intent to significantly and spitefully harm and attack” Trump’s reputation, the suit alleges.

Trump is seeking a retraction of Carroll’s statements and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Carroll has tried to milk her case against Trump by suing him for defamation, even after the grand jury released its final decision about her allegations. She is seeking $10 million in cash payment for compensatory damages and additional in punitive damages.

“Trump’s defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite,” an attorney for Carroll wrote in the suit.

NYTimes Confirms Garland Lied about Influencing Hunter Biden Criminal Probe

(Headline USA) The New York Times independently confirmed this week a key part of a whistleblower’s allegations against the Justice Department.

In a report about IRS criminal supervisory agent Gary Shapley’s claims, the Times revealed that Shapley, who was tasked with overseeing the investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances, did in fact alert multiple U.S. attorneys of Hunter’s alleged crimes. 

Shapley testified that he found evidence of wrongdoing in three districts: Delaware, the Central District of California and the District of Columbia. He notified each of the district’s U.S. attorneys, but was rebuffed by California’s and D.C.’s, both of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden. 

The U.S. attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, is currently investigating Hunter Biden. Shapley said that when Weiss reached out to other DOJ prosecutors about his intention to file charges against Hunter, he too was shut down.

The New York Times confirmed this in its report: “[I]n mid-2022, Mr. Weiss reached out to the top federal prosecutor in Washington, Matthew Graves, to ask his office to pursue charges and was rebuffed, according to Mr. Shapley’s testimony,” the Times said.

“A similar request to prosecutors in the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles, was also rejected, Mr. Shapley testified. A second former I.R.S. official, who has not been identified, told House Republicans the same story. That episode was confirmed independently to the New York Times by a person with knowledge of the situation,” the publication reported.

This confirmation directly contradicts what Attorney General Merrick Garland said about the investigation during his congressional testimony. Garland testified that Weiss was the one with sole authority over the investigation and that the Justice Department has not interfered in it.

“The United States Attorney had been advised that he has full authority to make those referrals you’re talking about or to bring cases in other districts if he needs to do that. He has been advised that he should get anything he needs,” Garland told lawmakers.

Garland also specifically denied that Weiss had been barred from bringing charges against Hunter Biden in D.C. and the Central District of California.

“[Weiss is] not restricted in his investigation in any way,” Garland said.