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Although he was appointed by former President Donald Trump, US Attorney David Weiss is not going to be on any Republican’s Christmas list this year if he keeps going like this. On Monday, he dashed yet another GOP attempt to show that the Department of Justice (DOJ) obstructed the probe of Hunter Biden in order to protect the president’s son.
This time, Weiss responded to an inquiry from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Citing the testimony of a whistleblower, Graham had insinuated in a June 30 letter that Weiss had requested special counsel status but was denied.
Not so, responded Weiss, who has been leading the prosecution of the president’s son.
“To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation pursuant to 28 CFR § 600 et seq.,” Weiss wrote. “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 US Attorney.”
Weiss added that he would be granted this authority if it proved necessary, and that he received that assurance long before an October 7, 2022, meeting. It was during that meeting that the request was supposedly denied, according to the whistleblower.
“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,” Weiss wrote.
Apart from that, the US attorney said he could not share more information with Graham because the matter involves an ongoing criminal investigation. This is very similar to what he told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) recently.
However, Weiss offered congressional Republicans, who are eager to “get” just about anybody related to this investigation, some hope that answers would be forthcoming.
“I welcome the opportunity to respond to these claims in more detail at the appropriate future time, as authorized by the law and Department policy,” Weiss wrote.
Jordan, for his part, won’t take “No” for an answer and, essentially, accused Weiss of lying to Congress.
“David Weiss says he wasn’t limited on where he could bring charges in the Hunter Biden case,” Jordan tweeted. “Two IRS whistleblowers say the opposite was true. Do you trust Biden’s DOJ to tell the truth?”
With so much acrimony coming from congressional Republicans, Weiss can expect to get many more letters from them… just not any Christmas cards.
