‘Nothing could be further from the truth’

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday denied allegations of corruption within the Justice Department and maintained that the US attorney investigating Hunter Biden “was given complete authority” to prosecute the case as he wished. 

Two IRS whistleblowers involved in the federal investigation into the first son for tax fraud allege that Garland misled Congress about the ability of US Attorney David Weiss to bring charges outside of Delaware and that the attorney general provided Hunter Biden with “preferential treatment” throughout the probe. 

“I certainly understand that some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department and its components and its employees by claiming that we do not treat like cases alike. This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy and essential to the safety of the American people,” Garland told reporters during a press conference. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The whistleblowers told the House Ways and Means Committee that Weiss requested at least twice to be named a special counsel so that he could independently bring criminal charges against Hunter — after US attorneys in California and Washington, DC, appointed by President Biden refused to prosecute the first son for evading taxes in their districts. 

DOJ leadership allegedly refused Weiss’ requests to be named a special counsel so he could pursue charges against Hunter for failure to pay $2.2 million in taxes on $8.3 million in income earned between 2014 and 2019.

“Mr. Weiss never made that request to me,” Garland said of the whistleblower’s claim. 

The attorney general also asserted that Weiss had “complete authority” throughout the five-year-long probe. 

“As I said at the outset, Mr. Weiss was appointed by President Trump as the US Attorney in Delaware and assigned this matter during the previous administration and would be permitted to continue his investigation and to make a decision to prosecute any way in which he wanted to and in any district in which he wanted to,” Garland said. 

“Mr. Weiss has since sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee confirming that he had that authority. I don’t know how it would be possible for anybody to block him from bringing a prosecution given that he has this authority,” the attorney general added. “He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own.”

The Delaware US attorney’s office announced Tuesday that Hunter has agreed to plead guilty to federal tax and firearms charges in a deal that’s expected to carry no prison time and leave his record free of felony convictions.