(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for all agency records relating to the Department of Justice or Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigations of Hunter Biden and all records relating to efforts to interview lawyer Patrick Kevin Morris regarding Hunter Biden (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (No. 1:24-cv-01537)).
Los Angeles-based lawyer Morris is reportedly a friend of Hunter Biden’s, who allegedly loaned the president’s son millions of dollars. Since 2019, Morris has allegedly loaned him approximately $4.9 million for “personal expenses,” including federal taxes.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the CIA failed to respond to two FOIA requests. The first, dated March 22, 2024, asks the agency for:
All documents and communications referring or relating to the Department of Justice or Internal Revenue Service investigation of Rober Hunter Biden, DPOB: February 4, 1970, Wilmington, DE.
All documents and communications referring or relating to Attorney Patrick Kevin Morris, including but not limited to requests or efforts to interview Mr. Morris concerning Robert Hunter Biden.
The second FOIA request, dated March 27, 2024, asks the CIA for:
All records of communications including, but not limited to, emails and text messages between officials of the CIA and officials of the U.S. Justice Department regarding Hunter Biden and/or Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Kevin Morris.
In March 2024, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer revealed that a whistleblower disclosed to the committees that the CIA intervened to stop the IRS from interviewing Morris:
Recently, the Committees received information from a whistleblower alleging that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intervened in the investigation of Hunter Biden to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators from interviewing [Morris]. We therefore write to request relevant material from the CIA.
As part of the impeachment inquiry, the Committees are investigating, among other things, whether President Biden “abuse[d] his power as President to impede, obstruct, or otherwise hinder investigations or the prosecution of Hunter Biden.” As background, for years, the IRS and DOJ had been investigating Hunter Biden for tax crimes. The Committees have documented how the DOJ deviated from its standard processes to afford preferential treatment to Hunter Biden. The Committees learned about the deviations in the spring of 2023 after two brave whistleblowers testified to Congress that DOJ officials deviated “from the normal process that provided preferential treatment, in this case to Hunter Biden . . . .” Among other deviations, DOJ officials restricted what investigative steps the investigators could pursue, tipped off Hunter Biden’s attorneys about investigative steps, and even prevented investigators from conducting witness interviews. The whistleblowers’ testimony about the preferential treatment provided to Hunter Biden has been corroborated by testimony from other witnesses and documents the Committees have received.
Hunter Biden faces two separate criminal trials in June. Biden’s trial on gun charges in Delaware is scheduled to begin on June 3. On June 20, his trial on various tax charges begins in California.
“It is more than interesting that the CIA is stonewalling Judicial Watch’s Hunter Biden-related request,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Judicial Watch has several FOIA lawsuits and information requests focused on Biden family corruption.
Judicial Watch previously sued the FBI for records regarding the gun owned by Hunter Biden that reportedly was thrown in a trash can behind a Delaware grocery store. In a joint status report to the court, the FBI stated it would not produce records about the incident due to an “ongoing criminal investigation.”
In February 2023, from a separate lawsuit, Judicial Watch released records from the United States Secret Service that implicate the FBI in the unusual action to help Hunter Biden.
In response to a February 24, 2021, email inquiry from Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger regarding the Secret Service’s involvement in the investigation of the Hunter Biden gun incident, the Communications Department asks for “more information or documentation.” Schreckinger responds: “Sure thing. Agents visited StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply and asked to take possession of the paperwork Hunter had filled out to purchase a gun there. The FBI also had some involvement in the investigation.”
In October 2020, The Blaze reported that in October 2018, Hunter Biden’s handgun was taken by Hallie Biden, the widow of then-presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son Beau. In 2021, Politico reported:
Hallie took Hunter’s gun and threw it in a trash can behind a grocery store, only to return later to find it gone.
Delaware police began investigating, concerned that the trash can was across from a high school and that the missing gun could be used in a crime, according to law enforcement officials and a copy of the police report obtained by POLITICO.
But a curious thing happened at the time: Secret Service agents approached the owner of the store where Hunter bought the gun and asked to take the paperwork involving the sale, according to two people, one of whom has firsthand knowledge of the episode and the other was briefed by a Secret Service agent after the fact.
In June 2023, Judicial Watch sued the CIA for all communications of the spy agency’s Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) regarding an October 19, 2020, email request to review and “clear” a letter signed by 51 former intelligence community officials characterizing the Hunter Biden laptop story as having “all the earmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign.”
In July 2023, Judicial Watch sued the DOJ for records from the Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Deputy Attorney General regarding the Internal Revenue Service investigation of Hunter Biden.
In June 2023, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice for a copy of the FBI FD-1023 form that describes “an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.” Judicial Watch also asked for communications about the FD-1023.
In May 2023, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the National Archives for Biden family records and communications regarding travel and finance transactions, as well as communications between the Bidens and several known business associates.
On October 14, 2022, Judicial Watch sued DOJ for all records in the possession of FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten regarding an August 6, 2020, briefing provided to members of the U.S. Senate. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) raised concerns that the briefing was intended to undermine the senators’ investigation of Hunter Biden.
Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department on April 20, 2022, for messages sent through the SMART (State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolkit) system that mention Hunter Biden.
In December 2020, State Department records obtained through a Judicial Watch FOIA lawsuit showed that former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch had specifically warned in 2017 about corruption allegations against Burisma Holdings.
In October 2020, Judicial Watch forced the release of State Department records that included a briefing checklist of a February 22, 2019, meeting in Kyiv between then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Sally Painter, co-founder and chief operating officer of Blue Star Strategies, a Democratic lobbying firm which was hired by Burisma Holdings to combat corruption allegations. At the time of the meeting, Hunter Biden was serving on the board of directors for Burisma Holdings.
