A high ranking Department of Justice (DOJ) official confirmed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss needed approval from the department’s tax division to bring charges against Hunter Biden for alleged tax offenses, new testimony shows.
Stuart Goldberg, acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Matters at the DOJ Tax Division, testified before the House Judiciary Committee in October and described the Tax Division’s role in the Hunter Biden case, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Comer Unveils Bank Records Showing Joe Biden Received $40,000 Of ‘Laundered’ Chinese Money)
The DOJ Tax Division typically works on criminal cases with U.S. Attorneys offices and approves specific tax charges, Goldberg outlined.
“Generally speaking, we approve specific charges. But we might provide an option, I guess. In some tax cases the Tax Division might say, ‘U.S. Attorney, you have discretion to bring this charge or this other charge,'” Goldberg explained, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller.
“Sometimes cases get sent back for more work. So that is an option. And there is declination, approval, or prosecution with discretion or prosecution authorized,” he said after a follow up question.
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JULY 26: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on July 26, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prosecution on an additional gun charge. However, the federal judge overseeing the case unexpectedly delayed Biden’s plea deal and deferred her decision until more information is put forth by both the prosecution and the defense. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“So in approval prosecution authorization there is an expectation the case would be brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. If it is prosecution with discretion then the U.S. Attorney’s Office has the ability to decide not to bring the case. That is within their purview. They don’t have to come back to the Tax Division.”
DOJ Tax attorneys worked with Weiss’ office and IRS criminal investigators on the Hunter Biden case starting in 2019, Goldberg said, without going into specific details. (RELATED: Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor David Weiss, FBI ‘Constricted’ Internal Communications, Testimony Shows)
“So from my perspective, David Weiss in the U.S. Attorney’s Office was leading the case and running the case and were doing that and that Tax Division had responsibilities under the Justice Department procedures and policies to review certain things and approve certain things, yes,” Goldberg stated, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller.
“So I expect that during that investigation stages, that there was ongoing discussions back and forth. So any disagreement or difference of opinion as to certain perspectives would be discussed, I think, and if some resolution couldn’t be reached, then it would have to be decided by somebody else in higher authority,” Goldberg continued in response to a follow up question.
Goldberg did not comment on the specific investigative steps the DOJ Tax Division had to approve during the Hunter Biden case. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and June accusing the DOJ of giving Hunter Biden special treatment during its investigation.
Both described how DOJ Tax approved investigative measures by IRS agents and potential tax charges to be leveled against Hunter Biden by Weiss.
“Without commenting specifically on the Hunter Biden case, there were specific things that I think I alluded to before, like an attorney subpoena in a tax case, where Tax Division has to sign off in order for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take that step,” Goldberg testified, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller.
“I think typically U.S. Attorney’s Office, if we were working with a U.S. Attorney — and, again, I’m going to try to keep it at a more generic level so that I can respond — if DOJ Tax is working on a case with a U.S. Attorney’s Office, that U.S. Attorney’s Office often is the lead in that case and they would be making most of the ultimate decisions. But we would expect them, if we have people on the case, to be consulting with our folks about the investigative steps that were taken and there would be discussions that would be had about those,” Goldberg added after a series of follow up questions.
Goldberg assumed responsibility for the DOJ Tax Division’s criminal subdivision in 2021 and consulted with his predecessor on the Hunter Biden case. Later in his testimony, he revisited the topic of Weiss’ authority and DOJ Tax authority on the Hunter Biden case.
Authority for the Tax Division is outlined in the DOJ manual and regulation granting authority on matters related to internal revenue laws, Goldberg pointed out. The Attorney General can overrule the Tax Division’s assessment of how to handle specific cases, such as the Hunter Biden case, he clarified.
Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys Matthew Graves of the District of Columbia and E. Martin Estrada of California both testified to the Judiciary Committee that they declined to partner with Weiss on the Hunter Biden case. Goldberg confirmed Graves’ decision and explained how Weiss would have to seek authority under section 515 to charge Hunter Biden in their districts without their cooperation.
“So to take this up a level so that I can try to address it as much as possible: If a U.S. Attorney wanted to bring a case in another district, and the U.S. Attorney there was not agreeing to — didn’t want to be partnered with it, didn’t want to sign on to the indictment, then the U.S. Attorney would need to secure a 515 letter in order to bring that case in that district,” Goldberg testified.
He was addressing a question about Weiss’ options after Graves decided not to cooperate on potentially bringing a case against Hunter Biden. Goldberg did not know if Weiss requested section 515 authority following Graves’ refusal to cooperate. (RELATED: Biden-Appointed Prosecutor Ignored Potential Conflict Of Interest In Hunter Biden Case, Testimony Shows)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: (L-R) Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler talk with each other as they 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. The committee heard testimony from two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service who allege that the Hunter Biden criminal probe was mishandled by the Department of Justice. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Shapley testified that Weiss said during an Oct. 7 meeting that he had requested special counsel authority subsequent to Graves’ choice not to cooperate. His attorneys have released an email and handwritten notes from Shapley documenting the meeting the whistleblower described.
Shapley and Weiss developed a rift after the meeting resulting in the IRS whistleblower being removed from the Hunter Biden case, multiple IRS officials testified to the Ways and Means Committee.
“That U.S. Attorney’s Office did not want to partner with the case either,” Goldberg said, confirming Estrada’s decision. “If he wanted to proceed with the case, he was to obtain 515 authority.”
Goldberg was then asked to address Weiss’ letters to Congress in the wake of Shapley and Ziegler’s testimony. Weiss wrote a letter on June 7 saying he had “ultimate authority” over the Hunter Biden case. He proceeded to write a letter in late June to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan where he admitted his authority was limited to his geographical location.
Weiss appeared to contradict himself in a July letter to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, where he said he was never denied from charging Hunter Biden and did not seek special counsel authority. Weiss alluded to internal DOJ discussions about section 515 authority in his letter to Graham, without giving further details. Weiss is scheduled to testify on Nov. 7 before the Judiciary Committee.
“We have approval authority, though someone can appeal us if they disagree. But, yes, it’s our responsibility in the first instance to do that,” Goldberg said, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller.
“Okay. And if someone — if Mr. Weiss gets 515 authority, he would still be required to go through the Tax Division to get approval of tax charges. Is that correct?” Goldberg was asked in a follow up.
“Yes,” Goldberg asserted.
“Okay. So even if Mr. Weiss had been afforded special attorney status or special counsel status, he would still be operating within the Justice Department’s guidelines in the Justice Manual, correct?”
“Yes,” Goldberg repeated.
He declined to answer questions related to Weiss’ definition of “ultimate authority” in his June 7 letter. Goldberg also declined to answer questions about the second letter Weiss sent in June.
Graves told the Judiciary Committee in his testimony that DOJ tax officials had to approve potential tax charges from Weiss against Hunter Biden. An FBI agent on the Hunter Biden case and an IRS official have also testified about the bureaucratic process Weiss dealt with for charging Hunter Biden.
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 20: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on September 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee is holding an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Attorney General Merrick Garland testified to the Judiciary Committee in September and said the U.S. Attorneys “could refuse to partner” with Weiss on the Hunter Biden investigation. Garland repeatedly said Weiss could have requested additional authority under section 515 and insisted Weiss had “full authority” over the Hunter Biden matter.
Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August after the IRS whistleblower allegations and the collapse of Hunter Biden’s guilty plea agreement in court.
Biden’s guilty plea deal with Weiss’ office fell apart after Delaware U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned an immunity provision inside the pretrial diversion agreement for a felony gun charge. Noreika’s scrutiny caused a dispute between Biden’s legal team and the DOJ, concluding with Hunter Biden pleading not guilty to two tax misdemeanors.
Weiss filed a motion in August to dismiss Hunter Biden’s Delaware tax misdemeanors to potentially charge him in D.C. or California. Noreika approved the motion and dismissed the Delaware charges without prejudice.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three federal gun charges in connection with his October 2018 purchase of a Colt Cobra revolver while he was allegedly addicted to illicit drugs. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment in October.
The House Ways and Means Committee released a trove of documents in September supporting the testimony from Shapley and Ziegler. Hunter Biden is suing the IRS for what his team argues represent illegal disclosures by the whistleblowers.
Weiss has not filed any new tax charges against Hunter Biden.