The federal prosecutor leading an investigation into Hunter Biden defended his “ultimate authority” over the decision to charge the president’s son in a letter to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
United States Attorney David Weiss has come under fire since two IRS whistleblowers came forward with allegations about the investigation, accusing the Department of Justice of slow-walking the inquiry and blocking investigators from following leads linking Biden’s conduct to President Joe Biden.
SUPREME COURT NEWS: MAJOR QUESTIONS DOCTRINE WAS ‘AMMUNITION’ TO BLOCK STUDENT DEBT PLAN
In light of this testimony, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Weiss on June 22 asking him to clarify his claim that he had “ultimate authority” over the Hunter Biden criminal investigation. Weiss responded to Jordan on Friday, saying in a letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, that he had “been granted ultimate authority over this matter, including responsibility for deciding where, when and whether to file charges.”
Weiss’ “ultimate authority” claim came in a June 7 letter to the committee in response to a previous letter Jordan had sent Attorney General Merrick Garland seeking answers about the Hunter Biden investigation. Weiss ultimately responded on behalf of Garland, claiming he had the “ultimate authority over this matter.”
The IRS whistleblowers, who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and an unnamed source, alleged that the DOJ blocked Weiss’ request to bring the charges in California or Washington, D.C. and the prosecutor’s request for special counsel status was denied.
Weiss, who is the U.S. attorney in Delaware, pushed back on this assertion telling Jordan he had control and authority over the investigation, but, because of his office being in Delaware, if he wishes to prosecute the case in another jurisdiction, he must ask other U.S. attorney’s offices to partner with him on the case. Or he can also request “Special Attorney” status from the Attorney General.
“Here, I have been assured that, if necessary after the above process, I would be granted § 515 Authority [Special Attorney status] in the District of Columbia, the Central District of California, or any other district where charges could be brought in this matter,” Weiss tells Jordan in the letter.
In the June 22 letter, Jordan had pressed Weiss saying he “did not dispute that the Department retaliated against the IRS whistleblower and his investigative team for making protected disclosures to Congress.” In his response on Friday, Weiss did dispute this claim saying the “Department of Justice did not retaliate against” the IRS whistleblowers for making disclosing information to Congress.
While he did provide some broad answers, Weiss refused to provide Jordan with the information he previously requested regarding the Hunter Biden Investigation and the drafting of his June 7 letter, saying he is “not at liberty to provide the materials you seek” because the allegations made by the whistleblowers pertain to a “criminal investigation that is now being prosecuted.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
On Thursday, Jordan requested that Weiss, along with eleven other employees at the DOJ, sit for transcribed interviews. In his letter, Weiss said he is open to talking in more detail before the committee.
“At the appropriate time, I welcome the opportunity to discuss these topics with the Committee in more detail, and answer questions related to the whistleblowers’ allegations consistent with the law and Department policy,” Weiss said in the letter.
