The battle for transparency in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has intensified, with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issuing subpoenas to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and multiple DHS and Secret Service officials.
Comer is seeking documents and testimony related to the Secret Service’s alleged tip-off of the Biden transition team prior to a planned tax probe interview of Hunter Biden in 2020, and claims the agencies have been obstructing a congressional investigation.
The chairman sent a total of six subpoenas on Tuesday, including one directed to Secretary Mayorkas, and five for interviews with various of individuals—two Secret Service officials and three DHS officials.
A DHS official told Fox News Digital that the agency was working to respond to the inquiry prior to the subpoenas being issued, and denies the charge that they were trying to obstruct the probe.
“The Department of Justice initiated the Biden family coverup and now DHS under the leadership of Secretary Mayorkas is complicit in it,” Comer stated. “Investigators were never able to interview Hunter Biden during the criminal investigation because Secret Service headquarters and the Biden transition team were tipped off about the planned interview.”
The subpoenas follows a number of whistleblowers who testified before Congress this year, claiming that the decisions made during the Hunter Biden investigation by Special Counsel David Weiss were politically driven.
It was alleged that federal agents were tipped off by the Secret Service headquarters before exploring a planned IRS and FBI interview of Hunter Biden, resulting in the Biden transition team being notified, thus preventing the interview from taking place.
Comer said the subpoenas are necessary to prevent the Biden Administration from running interference for the Biden family and their alleged corruption and criminal activity.
“The Department of Homeland Security is obstructing our investigation by muzzling the Secret Service from providing a response to Congress,” Comer said. “The American people deserve transparency, not obstruction.”
In response, a DHS official denies the committee’s claims that they “obstructed or withheld a response,” and believes that the subpoenas are “without basis.”
The official claims the agency was following standard procedures for the review and submission of materials to Congress, which it does for all inquiries, and noted that reviews are “a normal and necessary step” to ensure the protection of law enforcement sensitivities, among other things.
It is unclear what outcome will come of this latest attempt by Comer to obtain the requested documents and interviewees from DHS. But until then, the battle over transparency in the Department of Homeland Security continues.
