FBI told Hunter Biden agent to duck House committee questions

WASHINGTON — The FBI warned a supervisory agent who investigated Hunter Biden that he was expected to “decline to respond” to House Oversight Committee questions about the “ongoing” case involving the first son, a bombshell letter obtained by The Post shows.

FBI general counsel Jason Jones sent the letter Sunday afternoon, just hours before the agent was set to testify — even though a source tells The Post that the FBI knew of a scheduled Monday deposition for several days.

“[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.

“You should instead refer such questions to the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs,” the FBI lawyer went on.

“Consistent with longstanding practice, this will afford the Department the full opportunity to consider particular questions and possible accommodations that may fulfill the Committee’s legitimate need for information while protecting Executive Branch confidentiality interests.”

The FBI agent proceeded to confirm key details of the probe that were previously shared by two IRS agents — including that Hunter’s legal team was tipped off about a planned approach to interview him in December 2020 about his failure to pay millions in taxes on foreign income, spoiling the opportunity.

Jones referred to the Hunter Biden case as “ongoing” in his letter, using similar wording to Delaware US Attorney David Weiss — which congressional Republicans fear is intended to hinder their demands for records and testimony.

Hunter Biden’s legal team say that they believe their client’s legal exposure is over after he reached a probation-only plea deal last month on two misdemeanor tax fraud charges and a gun possession felony that will be expunged following probation.

“According to information provided to you by the Committee, the Committee is seeking information about an individual ongoing criminal investigation and prosecution,” Jones wrote.

“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.’”

Jones added: “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).”

An FBI spokesperson told The Post that there was nothing out of the ordinary about the letter, saying it was “standard practice” to offer such guidance when an employee is poised to give testimony.

“These are called authorization letters and are standard practice,” the FBI spokesperson said.

A different source, however, characterized the letter as “more uncommon” and emphasized the last-minute timing and expansive wording used.

The FBI agent’s name was redacted from a copy of the letter that was shared with The Post and the Oversight Committee withheld it from public statements about his testimony.

Republican-led House committees are investigating the claims of the two IRS whistleblowers who say Weiss was blocked by President Biden’s appointed US attorneys from bringing charges in Southern California and Washington, DC — which would contradict under-oath testimony by Attorney General Merrick Garland that Weiss had unilateral authority to bring charges.

Weiss has issued written statements that give the impression he denies the IRS agents’ testimony, though subtle differences in terminology mean the question is still open.

The tax agents, both of whom have more than a decade of experience at the IRS, are expected to testify publicly Wednesday afternoon before the Oversight Committee.

They said in prior closed-door testimony that Hunter was allowed to run out the clock on more serious tax charges and that various investigative steps were slow-walked or blocked.

Supervisory IRS agent Gary Shapley, who oversaw the case for more than three years, said a federal prosecutor sought to steer investigators away from looking at President Biden’s possible role in his son’s overseas consulting work, even though communications indicated he was involved.

An IRS case agent, who has not yet been publicly identified, is expected to out himself Wednesday and vouch for Shapley’s account at the congressional hearing.

He had worked on the Hunter Biden case since it opened in 2018.

The president’s son avoided both potential money laundering charges and counts for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act in his plea deal — despite FARA charges being leveled this month against another US citizen, Gal Luft, who earned less money than the first son while representing the same Chinese energy company.

It’s unclear what, if anything, Weiss is still investigating, though the description of his work as “ongoing” has been applied to an FBI informant’s tipoff that a Ukrainian businessman claimed he paid $10 million in bribes to Joe and Hunter Biden during the Obama administration.