(ConservativeSense.com) – Judicial Watch (JW), headed by Tom Fitton, serves as a public interest group concerned with potential government corruption. As a watchdog, the organization often dives deep into government records and data to ferret out information otherwise obscured by the massive size of the US Government. Recently, JW reported it caught the Secret Service in a puzzling inconsistency regarding Hunter Biden.
According to the group, it’s using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to determine “whether and how” the Secret Service became involved on behalf of Hunter Biden in a situation involving his handgun. On October 23, 2018, agents allegedly visited StarQuest Shooters & Survival Supply to ask for Hunter Biden’s form 4473, an ATF Firearms Transaction Record, in connection with the loss of the .38 caliber revolver Biden had purchased there on October 12, as reported by POLITICO. Owner Ron Palmieri refused to give them the form because the ATF requires him to maintain the record for 20 years or risk losing his Federal Firearms License (FFL).
Secret Service CAUGHT Changing Story About Hunter Biden Documents! READ: https://t.co/89DQ74H5HP pic.twitter.com/QlkrFLfzgt
— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) December 7, 2022
According to the watchdog organization, the Secret Service has been less than forthcoming. The timeline of events shows:
- On March 25, 2021, JW filed a FOIA request with the agency asking for all records regarding the purchase, possession, and disposal of a firearm owned by Hunter Biden and found in a Delaware dumpster during October 2018.
- On April 2, 2021, the agency replied it had found the requested records, was processing them according to FOIA standards and would mail them after processing. JW did not receive any further communication on the matter until after filing suit more than 17 months later.
- On September 19, 2022, JW filed a FOIA lawsuit to compel the release of information.
- On October 13, 2022, JW reported the Secret Service contacted the watchdog organization regarding the FOIA request. The government agency stated it sent the April 2021 communication in error. The agency told Judicial Watch “it did not have any records responsive to the FOIA request.”
Yet, on November 10, after running supplemental searches, the Secret Service informed the District of Columbia District Court it had located over 100 records comprising more than 400 pages which could potentially satisfy the Judicial Watch FOIA request. In response, Fitton said, “The Secret Service’s changing story on records raises additional questions about its role in the Hunter Biden gun incident.”
The government agency told the court it would complete initial FOIA processing by January 9, 2023. What might Judicial Watch find once they finally get the requested records?
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