Special counsel David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware and lead prosecutor in the Hunter Biden investigation, will testify before the House Judiciary Committee in early November, a source familiar confirmed to the Daily Caller on Thursday.
Weiss will appear for a transcribed interview with the Judiciary Committee behind closed doors on Nov. 7, Punchbowl News first reported. The Department of Justice (DOJ) told the committee in September Weiss would be given permission to testify about the details of the Hunter Biden case. (RELATED: Biden-Appointed Prosecutor Ignored Potential Conflict Of Interest In Hunter Biden Case, Testimony Shows)
News: Special Counsel David Weiss is appearing before the House Judiciary Cmte for a behind-closed-doors transcribed interview on Nov. 7, per a source familiar
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) October 19, 2023
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August and largely deferred to Weiss when he appeared before the Judiciary Committee in September.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have accused the DOJ of giving Hunter Biden special treatment when Weiss oversaw the investigation as Delaware U.S. Attorney. Weiss wrote a letter to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham in July denying Shapley’s accusations that his charging authority was limited.
Shapley testified that Weiss said at an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting his charging authority was limited and he requested special counsel authority after Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves did not cooperate in the Hunter Biden case.
BREAKING: Special counsel David Weiss will testify about the Hunter Biden investigation on November 7th, a source familiar confirmed @DailyCaller
Read my latest with @henryrodgersdc https://t.co/dhfZKFO2AS
— James Lynch (@jameslynch32) October 19, 2023
Graves confirmed his decision not to cooperate when he testified before the Judiciary Committee on Oct. 3, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. Graves also said Weiss needed authorization from the DOJ tax division to bring charges against Hunter Biden. (RELATED: FBI, DOJ Officials Were ‘Openly Mocking’ Congressional Inquiries Into Hunter Biden Investigation, Memo Alleges)
Shapley’s attorneys have released an email and handwritten notes he took documenting his account of the meeting. Weiss previously told House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan in a June letter that his charging authority was geographically limited.
The IRS whistleblower and Weiss had a falling out after the Oct. 7 meeting resulting in Shapley’s removal from the Hunter Biden case, multiple IRS officials testified to the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Everything changed when he put himself in DOJ’s crosshairs on October 7, 2022 and he was subsequently retaliated against for making protected whistleblower disclosures about the handling of the Hunter Biden case,” Tristan Leavitt, an attorney for Shapley, previously told the Caller.
“Despite these challenges, SSA Shapley is proud to have done the right thing, and continues to receive notes of support from fellow IRS employees thanking him for standing up for the equal treatment of taxpayers,” Leavitt added.
In addition, Shapley testified that Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California E. Martin Estrada refused to cooperate with Weiss in the Hunter Biden case. The New York Times and multiple officials on the case have confirmed Shapley’s accusation.
Garland stated during his testimony that U.S. Attorneys “could refuse to partner” with Weiss, while asserting that he would have approved Weiss’ request for additional authority under section 515 in order for him to bring charges outside of his jurisdiction.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three federal gun charges in connection with his October 2018 purchase of a firearm while he was allegedly addicted to illicit drugs. The younger Biden pleaded not guilty to the gun charges at an arraignment in Delaware on Oct. 3.
His attorneys have said they will seek to have the gun charges dismissed based on the pretrial diversion agreement tied to his failed guilty plea deal. They have also indicated Hunter Biden will use the Second Amendment to defend himself, despite his father’s support for strict gun regulations.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in July to two tax misdemeanors after his guilty plea deal fell apart in court when Delaware U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika scrutinized an immunity provision inside Biden’s diversion agreement for a felony gun charge. DOJ special attorney Leo Wise admitted in court the terms of Biden’s diversion agreement had no precedent.
Weiss reportedly was not going to have Biden plead not guilty until Shapley and Ziegler testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and June respectively. Likewise, the plea deal for Hunter Biden was reportedly crafted by Assistant Delaware U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who Shapley and Ziegler have accused of protecting Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden.
The Ways and Means Committee released a trove of documents in September substantiating the IRS whistleblower testimony ahead of the first impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden’s bank records after the hearing concluded. The Biden family and its business associates made more than $24 million from individuals and companies in Ukraine, Russia, China, Romania and Kazakhstan, a House memo released prior to the hearing shows.
The $24 million figure was obtained through suspicious activity reports sent by banks to the Treasury Department, House Oversight Chairman James Comer said during the hearing.
Weiss filed a motion in August to have Hunter Biden’s Delaware tax charges dismissed to potentially charge him elsewhere. Noreika approved Weiss’ motion and the charges were dismissed without prejudice. Noreika also dismissed the previous felony gun charge in October after Biden’s indictment.
Hunter Biden is suing the IRS whistleblowers for alleged illegal disclosures in their testimony and media interviews. His defense attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, wrote to Weiss in August accusing the whistleblowers of making illegal disclosures. The whistleblowers have accused Biden of trying to silence them with the lawsuit.
Weiss has not leveled any new tax charges against Hunter Biden and a trial date for the gun charges has not been set.
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report.