Weiss Disputes IRS Whistleblower Claim

Disputing the claims of an IRS whistleblower, U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss said in a letter Monday that he never requested special counsel authority during his investigation of Hunter Biden.

According to The Hill, the letter was sent to Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and calls IRS agent Gary Shapley’s testimony into question. Shapley worked on the Hunter Biden probe and said that Weiss’ request for special counsel status was denied.

Shapley also claimed that Weiss was blocked from bringing charges in Washington, D.C., where he said the strongest case existed.

“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. 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 wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Hill.

“I was assured that I would be granted this authority if it proved necessary,” he said.

The House Ways and Means Committee released Shapley’s testimony days after Hunter Biden’s lawyer announced they had reached an agreement with Weiss that would result in no prison time, but would require the first son to plead guilty to two tax crimes.

The younger Biden would also be allowed to enter a pretrial diversion program in connection with a federal felony charge of possession of a gun by a person who is a drug addict.

The plea has yet to be accepted by a judge.

In a statement released after the testimonies of Shapley and another IRS whistleblower, the committee said their allegations “point to a steady campaign of unequal treatment of enforcing tax law; Department of Justice interference in the form of delays, divulgences, and denials, into the investigation of tax crimes that may have been committed by the president’s son; and finally, retaliation against IRS employees who blew the whistle on the misconduct.”

“The American people deserve to know that when it comes to criminal enforcement, they are not on the same playing field as the wealthy and politically connected class,” Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., said. “The preferential treatment Hunter Biden received would never have been granted to ordinary Americans.”

A key detail of Shapley’s testimony was that Weiss said he was prevented from bringing charges in Washington, D.C.

“There were really earth-shaking statements made by David Weiss that really brought to light some of my previous concerns,” Shapley told CBS News. “And the first one was that he is not the deciding person on whether or not charges are filed. It was just shocking to me.”

“I documented exactly what happened,” he added. “And it doesn’t seem to match what the attorney general or the U.S. attorney are saying today.”