Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is not known for backing down. He’s the current president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and he’s also a former Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Grassley has presided over many important Senate hearings, politely but candidly asking pointed questions of those before him. Grassley is also known for his plain-spoken speeches on the floor of the Senate.
Most wouldn’t describe Grassley as aggressive; he’s rather persistent. His interest in getting to the bottom of the Hunter Biden laptop is no different.
Grassley is still a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he continues to press the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Department of Justice on Hunter Biden. Grassley’s chief question has to do with why the Justice Department has failed to pursue charges on the president’s son.
In particular, Grassley wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on the subject. He also sent a similar missive to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The letter questioned the motives of the Department of Justice and the FBI in regards to politics.
Grassley’s letter asked why the DOJ has “pursued politically charged investigations related to the Trump campaign” while much of the discourse surrounding the Hunter Biden laptop called the story “disinformation.”
Grassley’s letter asked Garland and Wray about “a pattern of active public partisanship” at the nation’s highest law enforcement agencies, particularly at the hands of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault. Grassley’s letter points out allegations that Thibault may have “improperly influenced the investigation into Hunter Biden.”
Grassley sent a second letter imploring specifically about Thibault. Last week, it was announced that the federal government was at a “critical stage” in deciding whether or not to file charges on Hunter Biden. While Hunter has paid the tax bill owed (with the help of an attorney in California), there are accusations regarding Hunter’s apparent failure to register as a foreign agent when overseas on business.
In late May, Grassley had filed a request for an Inspector General to investigate Thibault. Grassley did so on the basis of what could allegedly be viewed as partisan posts on social media. Chiefly, Thibault retweeted posts by the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project. (Thibault is alleged to have posted other content that may be construed as attacking Republicans.) Senator Grassley’s Monday letter to Wray and Garland mention that Thibault has since changed his viewership regarding social media to private.
Grassley says that his office has been in receipt of multiple phone calls from whistleblowers regarding the situation, which has prompted him to pursue the information from the Justice Department even more doggedly. Grassley describes these individuals as “highly credible,” and he adds that the information provided by the Whistleblowers “confirms” the information Grassley already has regarding Thibault’s activities and alleged partisanship.
Grassley told Fox News that the information he received shows that Thibault’s “political partisanship went much deeper than inappropriate social media posts.” Grassley alleges that Thibault’s actions in “official decision making” on “sensitive public corruption investigations” was influenced by Thibault’s political leanings.
Grassley added that the whistleblowers have told him that Thibault did not follow “strict substantial factual predication” when planning to begin an investigation.
Grassley said this type of behavior is a “double standard.” He also added that it appears that many FBI or DOJ investigations have been established “to benefit the political aims and objectives of a select few Justice Department and FBI officials.”
Grassley added that the whistleblowers shared that Thibault as well as Richard Pilger, who works in the election crimes branch of the FBI, are at the center of an investigation of the Trump campaign and 2020 electors. Grassley alleges that many of these investigations are presented to officials over Thibault and Pilger, and that the investigations are getting the thumbs-up based on intel gathered from a “liberal” government watchdog group called American Oversight.
So far, Grassley is only demanding an investigation. Considering Grassley’s history, he will not rest until he gets questions answered.
