U.S. Attorney David Weiss claimed in a letter Monday that he never sought additional legal authority to charge Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., and California, where Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys allegedly refused to charge the younger Biden.
Weiss sent the letter to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in response to Graham’s request for information related to allegations made by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley about Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden.
Statement IRS WB Gary Shapley via @EMPOWR_us https://t.co/6xP5t0iSF9
— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) July 10, 2023
“To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation pursuant to 28 CFR § 600 et seq. Rather, I had discussions with Departmental officials regarding potential appointment under 28 U.S.C. § 515, which would have allowed me to file charges in a district outside my own without the partnership of the local U.S. Attorney,” Weiss wrote in the letter, CBS News reported. The 28 CFR part 600 is the statute for appointing a Special Counsel and 28 U.S.C. part 515 allows the Attorney General to appoint special attorneys to perform litigation services. (RELATED: IRS Whistleblower’s Attorney Slams Washington Post For Not Correcting Hunter Biden Story)
“In this case, I’ve followed the process outlined in my June 30 letter and have never been denied the authority to bring charges in any jurisdiction,” Weiss added.
Shapley alleged in his testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee that Weiss was prevented from bringing charges against Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
“That process meant no charges would ever be brought in the District of Columbia, where the statute of limitations on the 2014 and ’15 charges would eventually expire,” Shapley said.
Shapley also said Weiss was blocked from charging Biden in the Central District of California by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada. The New York Times independently confirmed Estrada denied Weiss’ request to bring charges. (RELATED: Meet The U.S. Attorney Who Allegedly Covered For Hunter Biden)
“Prosecutors stated that they presented the case to the Central District of California in mid-September. That happened to correspond with the confirmation of the President Biden appointee to the United States Attorney, Martin Estrada. The case agent and I asked to participate in that presentation, but it was denied,” Shapley testified.
When Graves was in the private sector, he donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign on multiple occasions. Estrada donated once to Vice President Harris’ Democratic Senate campaign in California when he was in the private sector, the Daily Caller first reported.
Shapley said in his testimony that Attorney General Merrick Garland prevented Weiss from obtaining Special Counsel authority after Graves and Estrada allegedly prevented him from charging Hunter Biden. Shapley’s testimony contradicted Garland’s congressional testimony where he assured lawmakers the Biden investigation would not have any political interference. Garland has denied Shapley’s allegations of political interference into the Biden probe.
Statement from IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley’s legal team on U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s letter today to the Senate Judiciary Committee: “U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s story continues to change. As a practical matter, it makes no difference whether Weiss requested… pic.twitter.com/pucFanTgcx
— Empower Oversight (@EMPOWR_us) July 10, 2023
“U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s story continues to change. As a practical matter, it makes no difference whether Weiss requested special counsel or special attorney authority. Under no circumstances should ‘the process’ have included the political appointees of the subject’s father, because Congress and the public had been assured it would not—but it did,” Shapley’s attorneys said in a public statement.
Breaking:
David Weiss letter to Rep. Jim Jordan regarding Hunter Biden probe pic.twitter.com/BXrghajmH3
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) July 1, 2023
Weiss wrote in his June 30 letter to Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan about how his charging authority was limited to his home district in Delaware. He said it is common practice to ask whether the U.S. Attorneys office in the district would like to partner on the case when the venue lies outside of the prosecutor’s district.
“As the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, my charging authority is geographically limited to my home district. 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.”
Weiss rejected Jordan and Graham’s requests for information about the Hunter Biden investigation under the guise of protecting confidential information and deliberative communications related to an ongoing criminal case.
Hunter Biden was charged in June with two tax-related misdemeanors and a felony gun charge. He is expected to plead guilty to the charges and avoid jail time.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect recent developments surrounding Hunter Biden’s plea deal.
