The Secret Service doubled down Tuesday, again denying that its agents had tried to retrieve documents from the gun store where Hunter Biden purchased the infamous Colt Cobra revolver, which he said was given to him by his sister-in-law and her lover. The turned hunter later threw it in the trash.
However, the authorities’ latest denial is Federal court filings Reports on Monday revealed that the FBI interviewed the owner of StarQuest Shooters, a gun store in Wilmington, Delaware, who said that Delaware State Police and Secret Service agents visited the store the day after the .38-caliber revolver went missing.
When asked about the recent filings by special counsel David Weiss, Anthony Guglielmi, public affairs director for the U.S. Secret Service, told The Post that “our statement remains unchanged.”
Guglielmi was referring to the Secret Service’s 2021 denials, in which the agency claimed on record that its agents were “not involved” in the incident.
“While we were aware of the allegations at the time, we were unable to find any information to independently substantiate them,” Guglielmi said in a statement regarding StarQuest Shooter owner Ron Palimere’s complaint to the FBI.
“At that time, the Biden family was not under Secret Service protection,” he added.
Parimere was questioned by the FBI last week, and the federal investigation said he walked into his gun store on the evening of October 12, 2018, and an employee recognized Biden as a “celebrity-like customer.” told the official.
Parimare acknowledged that his father, Joe Biden, is not “pro-gun,” and said he “wants to complete the sale and get his guns.” [Hunter] Concerned that Hunter Biden’s appearance at his establishment would negatively impact business, Biden quickly left the store.
Twelve days later, Delaware State Police and the U.S. Secret Service visited StarQuest separately and questioned Hunter about the paperwork he had filled out during the gun transaction, Palimere said. Mr. Palimere told the FBI that he researched the dates and events based on text messages exchanged with Mr. Hunter. An employee of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“They stated that a firearm was involved in an incident and they wanted to expedite the investigation and access Form 4473,” an FBI document summarizing Palimere’s interview said. “Both agencies asked the same questions, but apparently were unaware of each other’s investigations.”
To Palimere, the Secret Service’s request “didn’t seem right,” but Palimere told the FBI that he asked ATF Special Agent Jason Reisch for advice on how to proceed.
“Reich advised Palimere not to give the original Form 4473 to anyone and to provide copies only if Palimere deemed it necessary to do so,” the FBI document states.
A Secret Service spokesperson told the Post that Palimere could not “corroborate” what he told the FBI last week.
“To be clear, these allegations were not made by federal employees,” Guglielmi said. “They were created and documented by gun store staff.”
He reiterated that “members of the Biden family were not under Secret Service protection at the time, and we found no information to support the presence of Secret Service agents at the scene.”
Palimere eventually turned over the gun purchase documents to the ATF.
Hunter Biden detailed the gun-buying debacle in lengthy text messages found on his discarded laptop, discovered by the Post, in which he told Harry Biden, his brother with whom he had an extramarital affair. The Secret Service responded after the suspect (Baugh’s widow) fled with a revolver. .
“She stole the gun from the lockbox in my trunk and dumped it in a Janssens trash can.” [sic]. Then I said it was a problem I needed to deal with,” Hunter wrote, referring to an upscale grocery store in Wilmington.
“Later, when the police, FBI, and Secret Service came to the scene, she told me she was afraid I would self-harm because of my drug and alcohol problems and our unstable relationship, and that the children “I said they took it from me because I was worried about them,” he added.
Hunter was indicted by Weiss last September on three counts related to lying about being addicted to crack cocaine when purchasing a gun.
The eldest son is scheduled to go on trial on the charges on June 3, but has maintained his innocence.
Hunter’s ex-spouse Kathleen Buhl, ex-girlfriend Zoe Kestan and Harry Biden are all expected to take the witness stand in the case.
