WASHINGTON (AP) — The lead prosecutor in the case against the president’s son, Hunter, Joe Biden, says he is ready to testify publicly this fall, setting up a clash with House Republicans who have demanded he come in for a closed-door interview soon.
In a two-page letter to Congressman Jim Jordan on Monday, the Justice Department offered to make U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware available before the House Judiciary Committee for a public hearing after the August recess, as Republicans continue to escalate their ongoing investigation into his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation.
“The Department believes it is in the strong public interest of the American people and Congress to hear directly from US Attorney Weiss about these allegations and questions about his authority at a public hearing,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote to Jordan.
House Republicans, led by Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, requested last month that Weiss and nearly a dozen other officials appear for transcribed interviews with the committee as part of its investigation into allegations that the Justice Department improperly interfered in the case of Hunter Biden’s financial dealings. The Weiss investigation ended last month with a plea deal that will likely spare Biden time behind bars.
The congressional investigation was launched after testimony from two IRS agents who worked on the Hunter Biden case detailed what they called a pattern of “slow investigative steps” and delays in enforcement action in the months leading up to the 2020 presidential election won by his father. The Justice Department — under then-President Donald Trump — issued a memorandum in February 2020 warning prosecutors to be careful in bringing charges in cases with potential political overtones during an election to avoid potentially influencing the outcome.
But the whistleblowers, who testified publicly last week, insist their testimony reflects a pattern of interference and preferential treatment in the Hunter Biden case, not simply a disagreement with their superiors over what investigative steps to take.
Over the past few weeks, the Justice Department has gone back and forth with the committee, rejecting the IRS agents’ claims, including one of the more explosive ones that said Weiss lacked full authority in the ongoing investigation.
Weiss himself wrote to Jordan, saying he had been assured by the department that if he wanted to press charges in a venue other than Delaware, he would be granted special status to do so. U.S. attorneys are generally limited to their own jurisdictions when bringing criminal charges.
Uriarte also wrote to Republicans earlier this month that, due to longstanding department policy, Weiss or other officials involved in the case would be barred from testifying before Congress while the investigation is ongoing. But the committee continued to push for a closed-door interview with Weiss.
The openness to provide Weiss now comes as Hunter Biden is expected to appear before a judge on Wednesday to formally plead guilty to federal tax crimes, giving prosecutors a chance to give some public testimony in the case.
And the Justice Department, seeking to correct the record of what they say is a misrepresentation of the investigation, hopes that by inviting Weiss to appear before Congress in public, he can directly address allegations of wrongdoing by Republicans.
“US Attorney Weiss is the right person to speak on these matters because he is both the senior department official in charge of the investigation and the person with direct knowledge of the facts necessary to answer the allegations in which you have expressed interest,” Uriarte wrote.
House Democrats see the proposed public hearing as a way for Biden’s Justice Department to regain control of the narrative surrounding what has become a high-profile prosecution of the president’s son. And committee members, including ranking member Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., recently accused Jordan and other Republicans of withholding aspects of closed-door interviews over the past six months that could potentially harm their cause.
It is unclear whether Jordan will accept the public hearing proposal.
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