One of the U.S. attorneys accused by IRS whistleblowers of impeding fellow U.S. Attorney David Weiss' investigation of Hunter Biden on alleged tax crimes testified that Weiss did indeed want to charge the president's son in Washington, D.C., the Washington Examiner reported.
The Examiner cited 180 pages of testimony given by Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves before the House Judiciary Committee last week.
Graves said he spoke to Weiss just once about the Hunter Biden case, a phone call lasting 10 minutes.
Graves testified that he asked Weiss "whether he was just looking for the kind of normal administrative support that any U.S. attorney would need if they were going to come and bring a case in another jurisdiction ... or whether he was asking for us to join the investigation."
According to Graves, Weiss answered support "at a minimum" but left open the door for "joining" the investigation.
Ultimately, after briefings and communications between the D.C. and Delaware offices, Graves said, his office "ultimately did not join" the Weiss investigation, a decision that was reached around March 19, 2022.
"The challenge is — particularly when you're talking about U.S. attorney and U.S. attorney — is you're bringing in another chain of command. And once you're partnered, you have to reach a consensus," Graves said. "So, as a manager, in general, we don't want to do that."
Graves testified that normally, his office would take the case from Weiss or one of the prosecutors would get special counsel status, which Weiss ultimately was granted, but only after a plea agreement with Hunter Biden that disintegrated after judicial scrutiny.
However, Graves insisted he expressed to Weiss his willingness to provide the "logistical support" on the D.C. front, tasking his criminal division chief with "immediate" action "because time was of the essence, and we had to make a decision quickly."
According to the Examiner's review of the testimony, Graves hedged when asked if Weiss knew he had a "green light" to proceed in D.C.
"I can't really get into the specifics of the conversation," Graves replied, also refusing to name the members of his staff he conferred with — citing threats — around the March 19 meeting that resulted in not joining Weiss' probe.
Three different IRS whistleblowers testified earlier this year that Weiss was stifled by Graves in D.C. and another U.S. attorney in the Central District California, the two places where Biden allegedly committed tax crimes.
The whistleblowers also testified being obstructed by Department of Justice prosecutors in the tax division, all of which could shoot down Weiss' and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's claims that Weiss had "ultimately authority" to pursue and prosecute Biden's alleged tax crimes no matter where they led.