Heritage Foundation seeks evidence of Hunter Biden sex trafficking violations

The Heritage Foundation on Friday asked a federal judge to order the Justice Department to hand over any evidence it had related to allegations that President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, transported prostitutes across state lines. The Mann Act of 1910 prohibits the use of interstate infrastructure to conduct sex trafficking activities.

Why is this happening? The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project in December filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department alleging that it failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, request. That request asked the Justice Department to produce records related to any alleged interstate sex trafficking activity in which Hunter Biden may have engaged. The Justice Department responded by denying it was bound by any requirement to provide the records and seeking summary judgment.

Why exactly does the Heritage Foundation want this information? Oversight Project Executive Director Mike Howell, in a statement on the matter, pointed out that the Justice Department had not criminally prosecuted Hunter Biden for these potential Mann Act violations. The Heritage Foundation wanted to make the Justice Department admit that they were aware of Biden’s alleged offenses and that they had decided not to prosecute him, Howell said.

What sort of evidence exists that Hunter Biden may have violated the Mann Act? The House Ways and Means Committee last year published transcripts of conversations with IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley and another unidentified IRS whistleblower. The unnamed whistleblower alleged that the Justice Department was mishandling its investigation of Hunter Biden. During those interviews, one of the IRS agents alleged that the Justice Department was compiling a list of Mann Act violations Hunter Biden committed.

The House Oversight Committee last summer accused the Justice Department of charging Hunter Biden with only two misdemeanor tax violations when evidence of much more serious criminal activity abounded. It referenced the IRS whistleblower’s remarks in its argument that the Justice Department was showing improper leniency to Hunter Biden and that it was abridging the rights of his victims—the prostitutes whom he allegedly harmed.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew examining Hunter Biden’s conviction on three gun-related charges.