Emails have surfaced that challenge the assertion that David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, had "ultimate authority" over charging decisions in the
Hunter Biden investigation, The Federalist reported Monday.
The emails, obtained by the Heritage Foundation following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit and shared with The Federalist, show that Weiss, who is now special counsel in charge of the investigation into Biden, coordinated with the Department of Justice on multiple occasions in response to GOP lawmakers over their inquiries in the case.
The emails contradict Weiss' June 7 letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that he had "ultimate authority."
Instead, the emails, heavily redacted, show officials at the DOJ, not Weiss, offering to "take the lead" on drafting responses.
One such email showed Weiss asking lead assistant Shannon Hanson if the DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) had responded to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in May 2022. Grassley and Johnson directed their letter to Weiss, but it was the OLA that ultimately responded to them a month later, saying the DOJ would not respond to their questions.
When Grassley and Johnson followed up with another letter to Weiss, Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christoper Wray, OLA again said in an email that it would "take the lead on drafting a response," according to The Federalist.
While Garland was asserting Weiss' independence to lawmakers, he was also "simultaneously running communications from Weiss to Grassley through the political controls of Main Justice," Heritage Foundation director Mike Howell told The Federalist.
"It is a slap in the face," Howell told the outlet.
Even Weiss' "ultimate authority" letter to Jordan on June 7 was in response to an inquiry by Jordan sent to Garland, not Weiss.
In a follow-up letter on June 22, this time directed to Weiss, Jordan demanded substantive responses and details "in light of the unusual nature of your response on behalf of Attorney General Garland …"
In fact, Jordan wanted to know who drafted the June 7 "ultimate authority" letter. Weiss replied June 30 saying he was not at liberty to provide substantive details, according to The Federalist.
The Federalist reported, after viewing all of the emails, that Weiss didn't even write the June 7 letter to Jordan but it was written by the DOJ to "corroborate the attorney general's Senate testimony that he had given Weiss full authority to make charging decisions in the Hunter Biden investigation."
No comments:
Post a Comment