DOJ prosecutor snubs House deadline for Hunter probe docs

Delaware’s top federal prosecutor ignored a House Judiciary Committee request Thursday to hand over Justice Department communications about the five-year investigation into Hunter Biden  — including information about IRS investigators being kicked off the case weeks before the first son struck a plea deal.

US Attorney David Weiss had until 5 p.m. Thursday to share any correspondence between his office and Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as the reasons why the IRS team was let go, a spokesman for the House panel told The Post. The deadline came and went with no word from Weiss.

On Wednesday, a bicameral group of senior Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Office of the Special Counsel asking for a review of the purported reprisals against the IRS investigative team, saying the agents themselves were not informed of anti-gag provisions that gave them the right to disclose information to Congress.

“The importance of protecting whistleblowers from unlawful retaliation and informing whistleblowers about their rights under the law cannot be understated. After all, it is the law,” wrote Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.).

Weiss in two previous letters to the Judiciary Committee insisted he had “ultimate authority” over the Hunter probe but refused to provide any of the requested materials, citing concerns about confidentiality in an ongoing investigation.

The Delaware prosecutor denied that the Department of Justice retaliated against IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley and removed his investigative team from the case.

Shapley and another whistleblower have alleged “preferential treatment” of the first son and said Weiss was twice denied special counsel status, while US attorneys appointed by President Biden blocked the prosecutor when he tried to bring charges against Hunter Biden in jurisdictions outside Delaware.

US Attorneys Matthew Graves and Martin Estrada prevented Weiss from bringing the case against the first son to Washington, DC, and Southern California, respectively, according to Shapley. The New York Times has separately confirmed Estrada’s interference.

“I stand by what I wrote,” Weiss wrote in a June 30 letter to the committee. “The whistleblowers’ allegations relate to a criminal investigation that is now being prosecuted in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. At this juncture, I am required to protect confidential law enforcement information and deliberative communications related to the case. Thus, I will not provide specific information related to the Hunter Biden investigation at this time.”

“At the appropriate time, I welcome the opportunity to discuss these topics with the Committee in more detail, and answer questions related to the whistleblowers’ allegations consistent with the law and Department policy.” Weiss added. “It is my understanding that the Office of Legislative Affairs will work with the Committee to discuss appropriate timeline and scope.”

Jordan in a June 22 letter asked Weiss to explain why the Justice Department retaliated against the IRS whistleblowers who made protected disclosures to Congress and how he became aware of a separate request the committee had made to Garland about the matter. 

Weiss had written June 7 that the attorney general gave him “responsibility for deciding where, when, and whether to file charges and for making decisions necessary to preserve the integrity of the prosecution.”

Garland has maintained in public statements and sworn congressional testimony that Weiss had “full authority” of the Hunter investigation and never asked the attorney general for special counsel authority.