Tipsheet

U.S. Attorney Weiss Causing All Sorts of Distrust in Hunter Biden Case As His 'Story Continues to Change'

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 10, 2023 8:00 PM

On Monday, David Weiss, who serves as the U.S. Attorney at the heart of the Hunter Biden case, sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that is once again causing confusion. This July 10 letter came in response to Graham sending a letter on June 28 requesting clarity on whistleblower allegations that Weiss had requested but was denied Special Counsel designation. 

Weiss does plenty of dancing around in that letter. The first paragraph is a whole lot of words explaining that Weiss can't talk about an active case. The same goes for the last paragraph. 

But, then he goes on to claim "I have not requested Special Counsel designation pursuant to  28 CFR § 600 et seq," something Weiss says is "[t]o clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion..."

"Rather, I had discussions with Departmental officials regarding potential appointment under 28 U.S.C. § 515, which would have allowed me to file charges in a district outside my own without the partnership of the local U.S. Attorney," Weiss goes on to write. "I was assured that I would be granted this authority if it proved necessary. And this assurance came months before the October 7, 2022, meeting referenced throughout the whistleblowers’ allegations. In this case, I’ve followed the process outlined in my June 30 letter and have never been denied the authority to bring charges in any jurisdiction.

That June 30 letter in question was sent to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), on the Friday night before the 4th of July holiday. 

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This July 10 letter is just the latest update in the saga as to whether or not what Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland are telling the public contradicts with IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley.

Shapley had said that Weiss did not actually have the full authority to bring charges against Hunter Biden, and that he told six witnesses he did not. Last month, however, Attorney General Merrick Garland had indicated that Weiss did have such authority, raising questions about Weiss and Garland deceiving Congress. The June 30 letter mentioned above showed that Shapley had been right, since Weiss indicated he would have to "request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General." 

For Weiss to have to request that authority is inconsistent with what Garland has claimed, as Tristan Leavitt,  tweeted out. He serves as president of Empower Oversight, which is representing Shapley.

This July 10 letter also verifies that the October 7 meeting happened. That meeting was when Shapley had said Weiss told six witnesses he did not have full authority. 

The questions raised about this letter pertain to the kind of authority status Weiss said he was seeking. As quoted above, the letter from June 30 mentions "Special Attorney status," while the July 10 letter mentions the "Special Counsel designation."

Also of note is that the House Oversight Committee tweeted out email communication, also on October 7,  from Shapley to Michael Batdorf, a director within the IRS’ Criminal Investigation division. Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office Darrell J. Waldon of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division is also included in the email, which serves as Exhibit 10. 

"Weiss stated that he is not the deciding person on whether charges are filed," Shapley laid out in part in his email, going on to say "I believe this to be a huge problem - inconsistent with DOJ pubic position and Merrick Garland testimony." 

On October 11, Waldon emailed back in part "Thanks, Gary. You covered it all."

A statement from Empower Oversight called out how Weiss' "story continues to change," noting that "[a]s a practical matter, it makes no difference whether Weiss requested special counsel or special attorney authority."

"Under no circumstances should 'the process' have included the political appointees of the subject’s father, because Congress and the public had been assured it would not—but it did," the statement goes on to say.

"Weiss" and "Biden's DOJ" have been trending in Twitter in response to the letter, with Jordan and Leavitt among those speaking out. As part of his many tweets on the matter, Leavitt is also asking when Weiss is going to come before Congress, as the whistleblowers have down.