On Friday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland refuted claims that the Justice Department, FBI, and IRS had obstructed U.S. Attorney of Delaware David Weiss’ probe into Hunter Biden.
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee revealed censored transcripts of testimony from two IRS whistleblowers. These whistleblowers alleged misconduct and abuse of power by the IRS and the FBI while working on Biden’s tax evasion investigation.
During a press briefing on Friday, Garland stated, “As I initially stated, Mr. Weiss, appointed by President [Donald] Trump as the U.S. attorney in Delaware and given this case during the previous administration, was allowed to continue his investigation and to determine prosecution as he saw fit, and in any district he chose.”
Garland highlighted that Weiss had confirmed in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee that he held this authority. “I don’t understand how anyone could hinder him from prosecuting, given this authority,” Garland added, underlining that Weiss had been given absolute discretion to make all decisions independently.
In addition to this, the House committee noted that Weiss had requested the DOJ for the status of a special counsel in the spring of 2022 but was rejected. Garland dismissed this report as well.
Garland elaborated, “The only individual who holds the power to appoint or refuse to appoint someone as a special counsel is the attorney general. Mr. Weiss never requested that from me.”
When questioned about his refusal to designate a special counsel, Garland stated, “In reality, Mr. Weiss possessed more authority than a special counsel would have had.”
During his visit to Sweden earlier this week, Garland shifted the responsibility of Hunter Biden’s plea deal onto Weiss entirely.
Garland clarified at an earlier press conference this week, “As I have maintained since my appointment as attorney general, I would delegate this issue to the U.S. attorney appointed by the previous president, and tasked with this matter by the previous administration. He would be given total authority to handle the matter as he deemed suitable.”
Garland concluded, “For any further inquiries on this matter, they should be directed to the U.S. attorney to clarify his decision.”
