A new report alleges that David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney in charge of the criminal investigation against Joe Biden’s son Hunter, had no plans to formally charge Hunter prior to the whistleblowers’ testimonies that exposed Hunter’s crimes.
As reported by the New York Post, communications between Hunter’s legal team and Weiss, which were first reported by the New York Times, showed that the U.S. Attorney wasn’t even considering a plea deal and was planning to conclude his investigation without any charges. However, once several whistleblowers revealed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had actively interfered with the investigation to provide cover for Hunter, Weiss suddenly changed his tune and demanded that Hunter plead guilty to two tax crimes and a firearms charge as part of a plea deal.
“It appears that if it weren’t for the courageous actions of these whistle-blowers, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, Hunter Biden would never have been charged at all,” said the legal team for one of the IRS agents in a statement.
Weiss was first appointed as head of the investigation in 2018, tasked with looking into Hunter’s suspicious business deals with foreign companies and entities, among other allegations of wrongdoing. But by 2023, despite having found evidence of crimes committed by Hunter, Weiss initially decided to not bring any charges against him, even ruling out the possibility of misdemeanor charges.
Weiss’ team and Biden’s team began negotiations in January of this year, with Biden’s team suggesting in May that he avoid pleading guilty as part of a “deferred prosecution agreement,” which would include having to seek drug treatment and anti-violence programs, as well as giving up his right to own a firearm.
But the congressional testimony of two IRS agents – Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler – revealed that such gentle treatment of Hunter was facilitated by the DOJ, with federal prosecutors in Washington and California refusing to bring tax charges against Hunter even though there was overwhelming evidence that he had refused to pay taxes for years.
Following the revelations, a plea deal was initially agreed upon that would force Hunter to plead guilty in order to avoid jail time. But at the last minute, the deal collapsed in court due to scrutiny from the judge overseeing the case, and the two legal teams were forced back into negotiations over whether or not Hunter would plead guilty.
Weiss has since been appointed as Special Counsel overseeing the entirety of the Hunter Biden investigation, which gives him special protections against any questioning from Congress until after his investigation is complete.