Doubt Cast on Garland’s Claim of ‘Full Authority’ to Weiss: Report

Amid the trove of documents turned over by the Department of Justice in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, it was the lack of one in particular that casts doubt on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s claim of “full authority” given to U.S. Attorney David Weiss in the Hunter Biden probe.

The missing document amid the FOIA lawsuit brought by the Heritage Foundation? Garland, in writing, memorializing that Weiss had ultimate authority to investigate Biden. The lack of it, for a bureaucratic machine that memorializes everything, is further proof that Garland and Weiss misled Congress for more than a year, The Federalist reported.

“The DOJ lives on paper,” Heritage Oversight Project director Mike Howell told The Federalist. “There was nothing written down at the DOJ and sent to Weiss, indicating Weiss had any of the authority that Garland claimed he did.”

Weiss certainly has ultimate authority now, after being named special counsel on Aug. 11. But there have been several instances over the past year when Garland asserted Weiss had full authority, including in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1.

“The U.S. attorney in Delaware has been advised that he has full authority … to bring cases in other jurisdictions if he feels it’s necessary,” Garland testified then. 

Weiss even claimed “ultimate authority” in a letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on June 7.

However, the first batch of documents released by the DOJ two weeks ago show that Weiss coordinated with the DOJ, often deferring, on multiple occasions in response to GOP lawmakers’ inquiries in the case. Not exactly the behavior of an attorney in charge, The Federalist reported then. 

What those documents and the lack of one memorializing Weiss’ independence prior to Aug. 11 show is that the “claimed authority was always a charade,” The Federalist reported.

“We’re beginning to understand why Biden’s DOJ is throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us to fight the release of these records in federal court, all paid for by the taxpayers of course,” Howell told The Federalist.