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The federal prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden probe on Friday doubled down on his insistence that he had ‘ultimate authority’ over the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden investigation.
In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, obtained by The Post, US Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss maintained that he was being truthful in a June 7 missive to the Ohio Republican when he wrote that he was in charge of “deciding where, when, and whether to file charges” against President Biden’s son.
“I stand by what I wrote,” Weiss told Jordan in Friday’s letter.
“At the outset, I would like to reaffirm the contents of the June 7 letter drafted by my office and reiterate that I am not at liberty to provide the materials you seek,” Weiss said in response to requests for information made by Jordan in a June 22 letter related to claims made by IRS whistleblowers alleging a coverup in the Hunter Biden probe.
“The whistleblowers’ allegations relate to a criminal investigation that is now being prosecuted in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. At this juncture, I am required to protect confidential law enforcement information and deliberative communications related to the case. Thus, I will not provide specific information related to the Hunter Biden investigation at this time,” the US attorney wrote.
In the letter, Weiss denied that the DOJ retaliated against an IRS investigatory team after two whistleblowers involved in the Hunter Biden case came forward with bombshell allegations that Weiss did not have ultimate authority in charging decisions and investigative steps.
“The Department of Justice did not retaliate against an Internal Revenue Service Criminal Supervisory Special Agent and whistleblower, as well as his entire investigative team… for making protected disclosures to Congress,’” Weiss wrote, quoting from Jordan’s earlier letter.
The Delaware US attorney also wrote that he wishes to expand on what he means when he says he was “granted ultimate authority” by Attorney General Merrick Garland “consistent with federal law, the Principles of Federal Prosecution, and Departmental regulations.”
“As the US Attorney for the District of Delaware, my charging authority is geographically limited to my home district,” Weiss says. “If venue for a case lies elsewhere, common Departmental practice is to contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the district in question and determine whether it wants to partner on the case. If not, I may request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 515.”
“Here, I have been assured that, if necessary after the above process, I would be granted § 515 Authority in the District of Columbia, the Central District of California, or any other district where charges could be brought in this matter,” he added.
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley told the House Ways and Means Committee in May that Weiss sought to bring federal charges against Hunter in the Central District of California and in Washington, DC, last year and was denied both times by Biden-appointed US attorneys Martin Estrada and Matthew Graves.
Shapley also told the panel that Weiss sought to be appointed special counsel in the case at least twice — including as recently as spring 2022 — but was turned down by the Biden Justice Department. A separate anonymous IRS whistleblower backed up this claim in testimony to the same committee in June.
“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. It is my understanding that the Office of Legislative Affairs will work with the Committee to discuss appropriate timeline and scope,” concluded Weiss’ letter.
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