The Department of Justice (DOJ) would not commit to allowing Special Counsel David Weiss to testify in mid-October about his investigation into Hunter Biden for tax, gun, and FARA violations.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte said on Friday that Weiss would be made available to testify “in the near term to address the subject of his authority” but refused to commit to allowing Weiss to testify in mid-October, as House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) recently requested.
RELATED VIDEO — Dem Rep. Lofgren: Garland Dodged on if He Spoke to FBI About Hunter Because He Might Have Done So:
It remains unclear when Weiss will be allowed to appear by the DOJ.“The volume and requested pace of the Committee’s proposed scheduled far exceeds the Department’s resources, especially in light of the Committee’s other pending requests and subpoenas to the Department on other topics,” Uriarte wrote to Jordan. “We remain committed to providing information voluntarily, without unnecessary escalation.”
“However, any additional testimony and documents shared at this early juncture must continue to be appropriately limited to protect the ongoing matter and important confidentiality interests,” he added.
The DOJ’s refusal to commit to Weiss testifying in mid-October comes after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss to special counsel status. Before Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel, Weiss gave Hunter Biden a sweetheart plea deal that fell apart due to judicial scrutiny.
WATCH — IRS Whistleblower: Weiss “Is Not Independent” and He’ll Give Hunter “Preferential Treatment” Again:
Critics of the appointment claimed Garland only appointed Weiss as a special counsel to stonewall congressional inquiry into Weiss’s collapsed plea deal.
Weiss investigated Hunter Biden for five years as a federal prosecutor and allegedly permitted the statute of limitations to expire.
“With respect to the 2014 tax year, Hunter Biden did not report any of the money he earned from Burisma for the 2014 tax year, which would have been a tax loss to the U.S. Treasury of $124,845,” IRS Agent Joseph Ziegler said during his testimony before Congress.
At least four IRS agents contended that the DOJ politically interfered into the Hunter Biden probe by blocking Weiss from charging Hunter Biden in Washington, DC, and California, seemingly contradicting Garland’s claims that Weiss had complete authority to charge the president’s son.
According to Jordan, Weiss contradicted himself about whether or not he was the deciding authority to charge Hunter Biden. Weiss ultimately reversed his position to agree with Garland, as both claimed Weiss was the sole authority to charge Hunter Biden.“He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own,” Garland said in June of Weiss.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
