U.S. Attorney David Weiss confirmed last week that his ability to charge Hunter Biden outside of Delaware was restricted by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The revelation came after an IRS whistleblower accused two other DOJ officials of interfering with the investigation into the president’s son.
Weiss addressed a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) of the House Judiciary Committee related to the Hunter Biden probe. Overall, the prosecutor said that much of the information related to the whistleblower’s claims was still relevant to the prosecution of the president’s son.
“At this juncture, I am required to protect confidential law enforcement information and deliberative communications related to the case,” he wrote. “Thus, I will not provide specific information related to the Hunter Biden investigation at this time.”
U.S. Attorney Weiss’s letter confirms exactly what Gary Shapley told Congress: Weiss did not have “full authority” to bring charges, but had to “partner” with relevant U.S. Attorney. Says he’s “been assured” he could get Special Attorney status in future—but hasn’t had it yet. pic.twitter.com/TeYoJd6ylX
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) July 1, 2023
However, the law enforcement official said, he could provide “some general insight on two issues.”
Weiss cited his letter of June 7 in which the prosecutor said that he had “been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges.”
However, the federal official said that he was “geographically limited” to his home district of Delaware.
“If venue for a case lies elsewhere, common Departmental practice is to contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the district in question and determine whether it wants to partner on the case,” he wrote.
Should the particular office not decide to pursue charges, Weiss wrote that he could “request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General.”
He said that “if necessary after the above process,” he would be granted such authority “in the District of Columbia, the Central District of California or any other district where charges could be brought in this matter.”
IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that Weiss was restricted by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Washington D.C. Matthew Graves and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Southern California Martin Estrada.
Weiss said that he would welcome “the opportunity to discuss these topics” with the Judiciary Committee at the “appropriate time,” including answering the allegations from two IRS whistleblowers.
