Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, special counsel in the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation, rejected the possibility of political bias from his fellow prosecutors on the case.
Weiss testified Nov. 7 to the House Judiciary Committee and repeatedly dismissed the idea of favoritism from his staff for the Democratic party or the Biden family, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: DOJ Declined Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor’s Request For Additional Authority, Testimony Confirms)
Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware, on October 3, 2023. Biden pleaded not guilty Tuesday to an illegal gun possession charge, marking the latest chapter in his troubled life just as his father President Joe Biden accelerates his campaign for reelection next year. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
He was initially asked about internal protocols for handling potential political favoritism in sensitive Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations. (RELATED: Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor David Weiss Confirms DOJ Tax Division Has Authority To Approve Decisions)
“I’m not aware of protocols. And look, my interest and the interest of prosecutors in my office is pursuing cases, and we should be pursuing cases based on the laws and the facts, period,” Weiss stated.
“Look, no, I’m not aware of any policies, and I haven’t experienced, to my knowledge, a situation in which I had to deal with the hypothetical that you’re describing,” Weiss added after a follow up question.
He declined to comment on specific details of alleged Hunter Biden favoritism while defending the prosecutors on the case.
“Again, I’m not going to comment on any aspect of the investigation or a prosecution, and from my perspective, the prosecutors who participated in this case followed the law and the facts,” Weiss asserted.
In a similar way, Weiss said his office does not have protocol for dealing with perceived political bias and refused to speculate on hypotheticals.
“I’ve told you. I have no such process. We haven’t experienced it in our office. And to generally — I don’t have an answer,” Weiss stated.
Weiss did confirm he is aware of testimony from IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler accusing the DOJ of giving Hunter Biden special treatment during the investigation.
“I am aware that you have two whistleblowers who have testified. That’s correct,” Weiss said. He declined to answer specific questions related to the whistleblower testimony.
“It’s not something I experienced. I understand what your representation is with respect to these whistleblowers, and that would have me commenting on specifics relative to this investigation and this case,” Weiss testified.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley (L) and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler are sworn-in as they testify during 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)
He also said he did not know of internal DOJ processes for an investigative agent to raise concerns over the conduct of DOJ employees.
Both whistleblowers specifically accused Assistant Delaware U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf of protecting Joe Biden from a search warrant and stonewalling investigators’ attempts to search Hunter Biden’s Virginia storage locker.
The House Ways and Means Committee released a trove of documents in September substantiating the whistleblower testimony, including Wolf’s alleged interventions on behalf of Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.
Her name has not appeared on any court documents on the Hunter Biden matter despite her extensive work on the case and the central role she reportedly played in negotiating Hunter Biden’s failed guilty plea deal.
The first son is suing the IRS for alleged illegal disclosures by the IRS whistleblowers. (RELATED: ‘Demonization’: Hunter Biden Uses Past Drug Addiction To Attack Political Opponents In Latest Op-Ed)
Weiss did not answer questions pertaining to Wolf’s work on the case and the allegations made against her. He repeatedly defended Wolf’s integrity as a prosecutor.
“Yeah, I’m not going to discuss any particular allegations. Lesley Wolf has been a dedicated public servant for more than 16 years. I believe she is an excellent lawyer and is a person of integrity,” Weiss told the Judiciary Committee.
Another allegation brought forward by the whistleblowers is the FBI and Secret Service’s decision to tip off the Biden presidential transition team to investigators’ plans to interview Hunter Biden at his California residence in December 2020.
An FBI agent involved with the process testified in July to the House Oversight Committee and recalled when he found out the Biden transition team was tipped off. Weiss said he would address the situation in his special counsel report due at the conclusion of his investigation.
“That’s, again, another — that’s a part of the investigation, and it is something that I would expect to address in the submission of my report, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment on that matter until that time,” Weiss said. He gave a similar response to a question about investigators’ plans to search Hunter Biden’s locker.
President Biden’s transition team included former Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney and longtime Biden official Alexander Mackler, former deputy counsel to then-Vice President Biden and former press secretary for Senator Biden, the Washington Examiner reported.
Weiss said he did not know about Mackler’s work as then-Vice President Biden’s deputy counsel, but he was aware of Mackler’s role on Biden’s transition team.
“Were you aware that in 2014 through 2016 he served as deputy counsel to then-Vice President Biden?”
“I was not aware of that,” Weiss replied. He could not recall when he learned of Mackler’s role on Biden’s presidential transition team.
Mackler worked in the the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s office from August 2016 to May 2019. He then left to work for Democratic Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings.
Weiss assumed his role in February 2018 after he was nominated by former President Donald Trump with bipartisan support from Delaware’s Democratic senators. (RELATED: Special Counsel Investigating Hunter Biden Still Hasn’t Filled Out His Legal Team Months After Appointment)
Weiss said he never spoke to Mackler about the Hunter Biden case and did not know if any of his staff members communicated with Mackler during his time with Biden’s transition team.
“I don’t know when he worked with the transition team. I don’t know if I would’ve had any conversations with him. I certainly wouldn’t have had any conversations with him about his work as a member of the transition team,” Weiss testified.
“I have not spoken to Mr. Mackler ever about the Hunter Biden case,” he added after further questioning.
Weiss previously worked with Hunter Biden’s brother, the late Beau Biden, as acting Delaware U.S. Attorney under former President Obama.
“No, I wasn’t friends with Beau Biden. I barely had a relationship with Beau Biden,” Weiss said of his relationship with the former Delaware attorney general.
At the beginning of his testimony, Weiss confirmed his bipartisan support and the Biden administration’s request for him to continue serving. He also acknowledged his service at the pleasure of President Biden.
Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys Matthew Graves of the District of Columbia and E. Martin Estrada both declined to partner with Weiss on the Hunter Biden case, Weiss confirmed.
Both U.S. Attorneys confirmed their decisions when they testified before the Judiciary Committee in October, according to transcripts reviewed by the Daily Caller. Graves and Estrada’s conduct was first brought to light by the IRS whistleblowers.
“Did it surprise you that two Biden appointees didn’t want to participate in a case to prosecute the son of the President?”
“I understand the question. I’m just not going to comment on whether I was or was not surprised,” Weiss answered. Graves similarly rejected the notion of political favoritism when he testified before the Judiciary Committee.
Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and a federal gun charge in Delaware when his guilty plea deal collapsed at a court appearance in July.
U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned a prosecutorial immunity provision tucked into the pretrial diversion agreement for Hunter Biden’s gun charge, resulting in a dispute between Biden’s defense counsel and the DOJ. Hunter Biden ended up pleading not guilty to the tax offenses.
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 appointed Weiss special counsel in August after the IRS whistleblowers came forward and Hunter Biden’s plea deal fell through. Weiss refused to discuss the details of Noreika’s decision and the guilty plea deal because of ongoing litigation.
He did tell the Judiciary Committee the Hunter Biden investigation would not have concluded if Noreika had accepted the guilty plea and pretrial diversion agreement.
“Our efforts were not concluded; that’s correct,” Weiss stated. (RELATED: Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor David Weiss, FBI ‘Constricted’ Internal Communications, Testimony Shows)
Garland testified to the House Judiciary Committee in September and repeatedly deferred to Weiss on the Hunter Biden matter. Garland refused to answer questions on Wolf’s status inside the DOJ, citing alleged threats to Wolf.
Weiss filed a motion in August to dismiss Hunter Biden’s Delaware tax charges in order to charge him in D.C. or the Central District of California. Noreika approved Weiss’ motion, and the tax charges were dismissed.
Weiss has not leveled any new tax charges against Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three federal gun charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment in October. Noreika subsequently dismissed the single felony firearms charge.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden on Nov. 8 to appear for a deposition in December.
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report