President Joe Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California E. Martin Estrada confirmed he refused to cooperate with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss on potentially charging Hunter Biden in his district, new testimony shows.
Soon after he was sworn in, Estrada met with his team of U.S. attorneys to discuss Weiss’ request to partner on the Hunter Biden case, according to a transcript of Estrada’s testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller. Estrada eventually had a phone call with Weiss and informed him of his, Estrada’s, decision not to co-counsel on leveling charges. (RELATED: Biden-Appointed Prosecutor Refused To Cooperate On Potentially Charging Hunter Biden, Testimony Confirms)
“I first learned about — that there was a Hunter Biden investigation touching on our district shortly after taking the seat. So it would have been late September 2022 or early October 2022,” Estrada testified. He went on to discuss his conversations with the attorneys in his office surrounding Weiss’ request to partner.
“I learned from attorneys in my office, career attorneys in my office, that there was a request from the District of Delaware to partner or cocounsel [sic] on certain charges that they were investigating; that our career attorneys had communicated that they were recommending against partnering or cocounseling in the charges being contemplated; and that the District of Delaware, through Mr.Weiss, wanted to speak to me about that,” Estrada said.
Weiss’ request was first brought to Estrada’s attention by his first assistant U.S. attorney (FAUSA), an individual Estrada declined to identify by name in his testimony. (RELATED: Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor David Weiss, FBI ‘Constricted’ Internal Communications, Testimony Shows)
“My first assistant, my then First Assistant United States Attorney brought — told me that there had been this request from the District of Delaware to cocounsel or partner on the case; that the chief of my Major Frauds Section, who would be the person who makes these decisions, was recommending against doing so; and that that had been communicated to the District of Delaware,” Estrada testified.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – JANUARY 20: Vice-President Joe Biden and sons Hunter Biden (L) and Beau Biden walk in the Inaugural Parade January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Estrada did not know whether the decision not to partner had been made before or after he assumed his role in late September 2022. The attorney who ranked above his Major Frauds section chief, the criminal chief of his division, agreed with the recommendation not to partner with Weiss, according to Estrada’s testimony.
Estrada clarified that to “cocounsel” on the case meant partnering on the case. He said he had no experience with co-counseling as a U.S. attorney or an assistant U.S. attorney. (RELATED: David Weiss Needed Outside ‘Approval’ To Bring Tax Charges Against Hunter Biden, US Attorney Testifies)
In addition, Estrada said his predecessor, the acting U.S. attorney for his district, approved the elevation of Delaware assistant U.S. attorneys to special attorney status, giving them the ability to litigate in his district. Estrada did not know the specific details of the apparent special attorney appointment, his testimony shows.
Estrada had two meetings with his Major Frauds chief and criminal chief on partnering with Weiss’ office to charge Hunter Biden. He said he reviewed three memos ahead of his first meeting with his chiefs in October 2022 and made the decision not to partner on the case based on those materials.
“Based on the recommendation of my major frauds chief and my then Criminal Division chief who, combined, had over 40 years’ experience as prosecutors, I agreed that we would not partner or cocounsel in the prosecution; but I did tell Mr.Weiss that we’d provide office space and administrative support for his attorneys in their prosecution,” Estrada said.
“Ultimately, it was my — my conclusion. They had already made recommendations. And having reviewed the materials and doing analysis and then speaking with them about materials and analysis, I agreed with their recommendations,” he added in response to follow-up questions.
Estrada called Weiss on Oct. 19, 2022, after the first meeting with his team. Weiss asked to have a phone call and Estrada communicated his decision about the Hunter Biden case, according to the testimony transcript.
“I can’t get into the deliberative process. But I discussed our analysis of facts and law to explain to him why we would not be cocounseling on the case, but then I told him that we were happy to provide office space, administrative support for his attorneys. He thanked me for that and the call ended,” Estrada said.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley (L) and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler arrive for a House Oversight Committee hearing related to the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, on Capitol Hill July 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Shortly after his call with Weiss, Estrada held another meeting with his chiefs and told them the details of the five-minute discussion he had with Weiss.
Estrada and Weiss had another call Sept. 19, 2023, and the call was not about co-counseling on the Hunter Biden case, according to the testimony. Estrada did not discuss the details of the call because the Hunter Biden investigation is ongoing.
Estrada said he never met the Delaware U.S. attorneys who were supposedly given special attorney status to prosecute in his district. It’s unclear whether those attorneys ever came to Estrada’s district. (RELATED: FBI Received ‘Criminal Information’ On Joe And Hunter Biden From Over 40 Confidential Sources, Sen Grassley Finds)
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler accused Estrada of refusing to cooperate on the Hunter Biden case when they testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in May and June. The whistleblower allegations were independently confirmed by The New York Times and corroborated by multiple officials with knowledge of the Hunter Biden case.
Likewise, Shapley accused Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves of refusing to cooperate on the Hunter Biden investigation. Graves testified before the House Judiciary Committee in early October and confirmed his decision not to cooperate with Weiss, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller.
Shapley and Ziegler’s testimony accusing Department of Justice (DOJ) officials of giving Hunter Biden special treatment is supported by a trove of documents released in September by the Ways and Means Committee. Hunter Biden is suing the IRS for what his legal team believes to be illegal disclosures by the whistleblowers.
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 02: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland listens as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at a Cabinet meeting at the White House on October 02, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August to continue the Hunter Biden investigation after the whistleblowers testified publicly and Hunter Biden’s guilty plea agreement fell apart in court.
Biden pleaded not guilty in July to two tax misdemeanors in Delaware after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika scrutinized an immunity provision inside of the accompanying pretrial diversion agreement for a felony gun charge leveled against Biden.
Weiss filed a motion in August to dismiss the Delaware tax misdemeanors in order to potentially charge Hunter Biden in D.C. or the Central District of California. Noreika approved Weiss’ motion and the tax charges were dismissed without prejudice. Weiss has not leveled any new tax charges against Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three federal gun charges connected to his October 2018 firearm purchase during a period where he was allegedly addicted to crack cocaine. The younger Biden pleaded not guilty to the firearms offenses at an arraignment in Delaware on Oct. 3. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Garland testified to the House Judiciary Committee in September and said the U.S. attorneys “could refuse to partner” with Weiss on the Hunter Biden case. The attorney general repeatedly testified Weiss could have requested additional charging authority under section 515 and he would have approved it.
Weiss is scheduled to testify in early November before the Judiciary Committee.
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report.