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Washington DC
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told a senior agent to "decline to respond" to questions about the Hunter Biden investigation posed by the US Congress' House Oversight Committee, reported The New York Post. In his letter to the agent, FBI's general counsel Jason Jones described the Hunter Biden case as "ongoing". The letter was reportedly sent on Sunday. The New York Post reported, citing sources, that the FBI knew that a deposition was scheduled on Monday.
“[T]he Department expects that you will decline to respond to questions seeking non-public information likely covered by one or more components of executive privilege or other significant confidentiality interests, in particular information about deliberations or ongoing investigative activity in law enforcement matters,” Jones wrote as quoted by The New York Post.
“You should instead refer such questions to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs,” the FBI lawyer added
“Consistent with longstanding practice, this will afford the Department the full opportunity to consider particular questions and possible accommodations that may fulfil the Committee’s legitimate need for information while protecting Executive Branch confidentiality interests.”
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Concerns among Republicans
There is concern amid Republican Party circles that the repeated designation of the investigation as "ongoing" would hinder their insistence for record and testimony.
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On the part of Hunter Biden, his legal team says that they believe their client's legal exposure was over, especially after reaching a probation-only plea last month. This was on two misdemeanour tax fraud charges and a felony connected to gun possession. This would be expunged after probation.
“According to information provided to you by the Committee, the Committee is seeking information about an individual ongoing criminal investigation and prosecution,” wrote Jones in his letter as quoted by The New York Post.
"Specifically, the Committee has stated an interest in what the Committee has described to you as certain events that took place in December 2020 as part of this investigation. As the Department recently emphasized when affirming that U.S. Attorney David Weiss will appear before the House Committee on the Judiciary ‘at an appropriate time, consistent with the law and Department policy,’ the Department’s longstanding policy is to seek ‘wherever possible to provide information about closed, rather than open, matters',” he further said.
“Department officials, including those who have left the Department, are obligated to protect non-public information they learned in the course of their work. Such information could be subject to various privileges, including law enforcement, deliberative process, attorney work product, and attorney-client privileges, and privacy interests. Current and former Department officials also must protect classified information, sources and methods, and grand jury information protected by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e),” he added.
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