David Weiss did whine to IRS investigators that he couldn’t press the charges against Hunter Biden which they wanted to file, because he was “not the deciding person.” That allegation by two IRS whistleblowers has just been separately confirmed by two more IRS officials.
Weiss did say that
Two additional IRS officials “have come forward and detailed how now-Special Counsel David Weiss was ‘not the deciding person‘ over whether to charge [Joe] Biden’s son Hunter with tax crimes.” That’s apparently a direct contradiction to “sworn testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland.”
Don’t expect either of them to go down for it because both of them were extremely careful with what they said to who. It’s like one of those “magic trick” illusions. “At no time did my fingers leave my hands…” Both of them told the truth, just not the whole truth or nothing but the truth. They’re using lots of mirrors and misdirection.
Garland and Weiss weren’t expecting IRS Director of Field Operations Michael Batdorf and DC IRS Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon to throw them under the bus. These two testified in front of the House Ways and Means Committee and the transcripts just became public.
"Michael Batdorf described…how federal prosecutors in California and Washington, D.C., declined to assist U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware in charging the president’s son. The lack of cooperation caused Weiss…to fret about how to move forward." https://t.co/JaG6h47ORh
— Tristan Leavitt (@tristanleavitt) September 20, 2023
As recently as the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, September 20, Garland continues to swear up and down that Delaware’s U.S. Attorney had all the authority he needed. For the asking.
Weiss simply didn’t ask. He apparently made a half-hearted attempt at talking prosecutors in California and D.C. into filing felonies against Hunter Biden but they wouldn’t touch such a politically radioactive prosecution with a ten foot pole.
He told the IRS agents doing the investigation that he asked for Special Counsel status and didn’t get it. That’s the part which contradicts Garland.
The tax division, too
When director of IRS field operations Michael Batdorf took the witness stand on September 12, he told Congress that “the Justice Department’s Tax Division would have also had to sign off on any charges that Weiss wanted to pursue.” That totally confirms what IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler already went public with.
“My understanding would be that DOJ Tax has to authorize it first,” the 22-year tax collection veteran testified. When Waldron testified on September 8, “she understood Shapley’s description of Weiss not being the ‘deciding person‘ as referring to the process of working with fellow US attorneys to bring cases against Hunter Biden in Southern California and Washington, DC.”
As Batdorf made crystal clear under oath, “he can’t make that [charging] decision without DOJ Tax authorization.” He also remembered “sitting in on a June 2022 meeting involving Weiss, IRS criminal investigators, and FBI officials.”
“Michael Batdorf's statements corroborate what the first & second whistleblowers testified, that Weiss was not given the freedom to pursue charges unabated as AG Merrick Garland claimed.” https://t.co/1BRRDr1qRd
— Katrina Ski (@MtRushmore2016) September 21, 2023
During that heated pow-wow, “DOJ Tax personnel pushed back against charges for the first son — at the same time they were holding conferences with Hunter Biden’s legal team.” Prosecutors aren’t famously known for having conference sessions with the defendant.
The House Ways and Means Committee was really interested in those conferences. “Batdorf could not recall specifically, but said there had been ‘more than two‘ meetings and possibly as many as four.” The committee wanted to know “is it typical in a tax investigation to meet with defense counsel two, three, four times?” There was a really short answer. “No.”
Batdorf also testified that “he had signed off on a report recommending felony and misdemeanor tax charges dating back to 2014 against Hunter.” Weiss let the statute of limitations run on those. It was the taxes Hunter evaded from his salary for doing nothing paid by Burisma.
