The U.S. Attorney involved in the investigation of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter says that his office did not have enough resources to aid in his potential prosecution. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada’s statement came after IrS whistleblowers said that the efforts by U.S. Attorney David Weiss to prosecute the First Son on tax charges were rebuffed by Estrada’s office.
Estrada testified before Congress that his office was too “resource-strapped” to carry out the request.
The Biden appointee said that he was asked by Weiss to aid in the potential prosecution, but said that he believed that Weiss’ office could have prosecuted the younger Biden without the aid of his Southern California office.
Despite this, Estrada could not name any member of Weiss’ team who would have been empowered for such prosecution, stating that there would have been “more than one.”
My goal was to be as polite and helpful to Mr. Weiss as possible,” he said.
Martin Estrada — U.S. attorney who refused to help prosecute Hunter Biden in California — blamed limited resources for decision https://t.co/wokFaibX3G pic.twitter.com/dG8N3GT89T
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 27, 2023
“I was down 40 AUSAs at the time, so we were very resource-strapped. We were trying to hire as much as possible and had very limited resources. And every attorney you assign to a case means you can’t do another case,” Estrada told Congress.
Estrada further said that he told Weiss that his office would not be joining the prosecution but that Weiss “did express appreciation when I offered administrative support.”
Following the IRS whistleblower testimony, Attorney General Merrick Garland named Weiss special counsel in the case. Weiss has since filed federal felony charges against Hunter Biden.
Estrada further said that he told Weiss that his office would not be joining the prosecution but that Weiss “did express appreciation when I offered administrative support.”
Garland had earlier stated that Weiss was empowered to prosecute Hunter Biden, but this appeared to be contradicted by the testimony of the whistleblowers. Garland stated this in both public events and under oath before Congress.
During the summer, Weiss offered a potential plea deal to Hunter Biden on both tax and gun charges. The president’s son would have likely avoided jail time as a result of the deal. However, this plea deal fell apart amidst significant criticism.
