Raskin Slams House Hearing With IRS Whistleblowers As ‘Theater of the Absurd’ and An ‘Embarrassment’

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) tore into his Republican colleagues on Wednesday during a House Oversight Hearing in which the GOP called two IRS whistleblowers to testify about their roles in investigating Hunter Biden for tax-related crimes.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon to the witnesses. I thought we might be here today on the matter that the chairman declared his top priority, the crusade to find evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden,” Raskin began, adding:

But now the majority’s long-promised star witness turns out to be a fugitive from American justice, an arms trafficker indicted on eight federal criminal felony counts, and an unregistered foreign agent for China who tried to trade Chinese arms for Iranian oil.

So, I guess he’s not going to be a witness for the majority any time soon. Well, after the failed SARs reports, bank records form 1023, we can conclude that this Inspector Clouseau-style quest for something that doesn’t exist has turned our committee into a theater of the absurd, an exercise in futility and embarrassment.

Raskin pulled no punches in lambasting Rep. James Comer (R-KY) who has long promised to show evidence that President Joe Biden and his family were involved in an elaborate and highly lucrative scheme in which they sold access to America’s foreign adversaries.

One of the key components of those allegations was a long-touted whistleblower, later revealed as an Israeli-American named Gal Luft – who allegedly acted as a kind of international fixer for countries like China, Iran, and Libya. Luft has since been indicted by the federal government and his evading authorities outside of the country.

Raskin continued his ten-plus minute opening statement by detailing a recent letter from former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, sent to the committee earlier in the week. Parnas was tasked by Giuliani to find dirt on the Bidens in Ukraine and has since said he would be willing to testify before the House that no such dirt exists – as he knows it.

Raskin ran through the various Trump-linked official and political allies who have faced federal investigations for financial crimes. Raskin detailed MAGA-world rhetoric denouncing investigations against people like Paul Manafort and Roger Stone – who faced similar allegations to Hunter Biden and was not charged.

“Today, we get to witness MAGA Republicans take the side of IRS, IRS agents from the deep state against a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney and a rich guy exercising his Second Amendment rights,” Raskin continued in jest – highlighting the contrast in rhetoric between the Hunter Biden case and those of Manafort and Stone.

Raskin concluded his statement, by characterizing the witnesses and their testimony:

We are about to hear testimony from two IRS criminal investigators. They will describe their frustrations and disagreements with their supervisors, as well as with Mr. Weiss and his team of prosecutors, who they considered junior varsity and not up to snuff during the Trump administration generally. We will also hear about their confusion and profound misunderstandings about Mr. Weiss and how he reviewed the evidence and made the ultimate decision about charging Hunter Biden.

A lot of the controversy here relates to the agent’s failure to distinguish between special counsels and special lawyers. But we will clear that up today. The key point, Mr. Chairman, that America needs to understand is that the only political interference at play here is coming from Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues. Well, listen carefully to the testimony. And I thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.