Special Counsel David Weiss was denied such authority in 2022 to investigate Hunter Biden, which confirms IRS whistleblower allegations, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) told reporters on Tuesday following Weiss’s interview.
Weiss’s admission adds to a growing number of inconsistencies about the Justice Department’s five-year-long investigation into the president’s son.
Citing the IRS agents’ accounts, some Republican lawmakers accuse President Joe Biden’s DOJ of politically interfering in the Hunter Biden tax probe. Attorney General Merrick Garland disputed the IRS agents’ claim in June. Garland said Weiss “was given complete authority to make all decisions” in the Hunter Biden tax probe, contradicting IRS whistleblowers and now Weiss’s testimony, according to Jordan.
“When he was specifically asked, ‘Did you ever request special attorney authority under Section 515?’ Mr. Weiss’s response was ‘Yes,’ in the spring of 2022,” Jordan told reporters. “So that that goes to the heart of the matter.”
Section 515(a) of title 28 of the United States Code permits Garland to appoint special counsel to “conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal,” that “United States attorneys are authorized by law to conduct.”
“He [Weiss] requested it [special counsel status] — was not given that request — and never had that authority throughout the time and yet he pretends that somehow he did have that,” the Ohio congressman explained.
Garland finally gave Weiss special counsel status in August 2023, after Hunter Biden’s plea deal with Weiss fell apart.
“So to me, that’s the key takeaway. He won’t answer a lot of questions. But that’s the key takeaway because this whole deposition was about the changing story we got from DOJ, regarding the authority that he had,” the chairman continued.
“And that answer … is entirely consistent with what Mr. Shapley said after the October 7, 2022 meeting, when he said USA [United States Attorney] Weiss requested Special Counsel authority when it was sent to D.C. and Main DOJ denied his request and told him to follow the process,” Jordan said.
IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley told House investigators in May that Weiss allegedly stated during an October 7, 2022, meeting that he requested special counsel status but was denied. Shapley’s attorneys released hand-written notes and an email detailing the allegations.
Gary Shapley, supervisory agent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) testifies. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty)
In a carefully crafted public statement released on Tuesday, Weiss maintained that “[at] no time was I blocked, or otherwise prevented from pursuing charges or taking the steps necessary in the investigation by other United States Attorneys, the Tax Division or anyone else at the Department of Justice.”
Republican Judiciary Committee members said Weiss’s claim was unconvincing.
“The important thing is that he has no answers for why he would offer a misdemeanor plea bargain with no jail time to someone who committed felonies and exclude all unknown or yet-to-be-investigated crimes,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) said. “It’s that lack of explanation that leads us to all the other questions of whether he was influenced by others or in consultation with others.”
“Anytime we had any questions about any communication regarding the Department of Justice or Mr. Graves, he would demur and say that it was just part of his deliberative process,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters. “Well, the reason Congress has questions is because that deliberative process has resulted in some pretty bizarre outcomes.”
Lawmakers said Weiss refused to answer many questions, including about incidents involving U.S. Attorneys Martin Estrada of California and Matthew Graves of D.C., who told investigators they did not want to partner with Weiss in their districts.
Four IRS whistleblowers contend the DOJ twice prevented Weiss from bringing stronger charges against Hunter Biden in the separate jurisdictions of D.C. and California.
Follow Wendell Husebø on “X” @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.