Weiss says he ‘wasn’t granted’ special attorney authority in Hunter Biden probe despite request: Transcript

FIRST ON FOX: Special Counsel David Weiss admitted he “wasn’t granted” special attorney authority in his Hunter Biden investigation by the Justice Department despite requesting that status, but he told investigators he did not interpret that decision as a “denial in any way, shape or form,” a transcript of his testimony reviewed by Fox News Digital revealed.

Weiss, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware before being appointed as special counsel in August, has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018.

Weiss participated in a voluntary transcribed interview before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. 

His testimony came after IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler alleged that politics affected prosecutorial decisions throughout the probe with regard to search warrants, decisions about lines of questioning during interviews of specific people, and more. 

Shapley also alleged that Weiss did not have “ultimate authority” to pursue charges against the president’s son and instead needed approval from the Justice Department – something that DOJ officials confirmed in their voluntary transcribed interviews before the committee. 

Fox News Digital reviewed a copy of Weiss’ testimony transcript.

Weiss testified that he “raised the idea of 515 authority” because he “had been handling the investigation for some period of time.”

U.S. Code 515 grants authority for special attorneys.

“They suggested let’s go through the typical process and reach out to D.C. and see if D.C. would be interested in joining or otherwise participating in the investigation,” Weiss said.

Later in his interview, Weiss was asked directly if he asked for “515 Special Attorney authority.”

“I did ask for 515 Special Attorney authority,” Weiss said, noting he did so “in the spring of 2022.”

When asked if he was granted that authority, Weiss said: “I asked for it, and then in—I think i’ve described it in or around February, March of 2022, and at the conclusion of the process in D.C….I was informed by the Principal Deputy Attorney General that if I decided to proceed in the District of Columbia, I had the authority to proceed and the authority to move forward with whatever charges I deemed appropriate.” 

Weiss said “the first step was just to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office to see if they wanted to join in the prosecution.”

Weiss testified that he had to follow a number of DOJ steps, including contacting U.S. attorney offices in the districts in question—District of Columbia and Central District of California—to determine if those attorneys wanted to partner with him.

Weiss said he was directed to “proceed as we would in the normal process” and move forward in “a typical fashion.”

“As you know, ultimately, this didn’t happen in this conversation, but down the road, I was given the authority to proceed if I chose to do so,” Weiss said.

Later in his interview, Weiss was pressed: “But [515 authority] wasn’t granted, right?”

“Yes. We have been over this,” he said. “It wasn’t granted.”

“They said follow the process,” he continued. “I followed the process.” 

Weiss added: “I asked for something, and in that conversation, they didn’t give it to me.” 

“When you ask for something and they didn’t give it to you, what is that?” Weiss was asked.

“I’m not—you want me to say it’s a denial, but it’s not,” Weiss said. “Not when I know that, weeks later, I was specifically told, ‘you can proceed.’”

Weiss stressed that he was asked to “proceed with this process. We’re asking you to go through this process.”

“From my mind, it’s a sequencing event,” Weiss said. “It’s not a denial in any way, shape or form.”

He added: “That’s the way I interpreted it.” 
 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.