Current:Home > ContactTrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center-Hunter Biden prosecutor wasn’t blocked from bringing California charges, US attorney tells Congress -VisionFunds
TrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center-Hunter Biden prosecutor wasn’t blocked from bringing California charges, US attorney tells Congress
PredictIQ View
Date:2025-04-05 23:55:10
WASHINGTON (AP) — A second U.S. Attorney has testified to Congress that the prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation had full authority over filing charges,TrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center rebutting whistleblower claims that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss didn’t have the final say on the case against the president’s son.
The allegation that Weiss was blocked from filing tax charges in California and Washington D.C., is one of the more explosive from Internal Revenue Service Agents who testified as part of a GOP probe that the case had been “slow-walked” and mishandled by the Justice Department.
Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said he told the House Judiciary Committee behind closed doors Tuesday that he understood that Weiss had full authority to bring charges and offered him logistical support. “I did not and could not ‘block’ Mr. Weiss since he did not need my approval to bring charges in my district,” he said in a statement.
That echoes testimony from Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., who testified last week that while he declined to partner with Weiss, he never did anything to block him and instead offered logistical support.
An attorney for IRS Agent Joseph Ziegler, on the other hand, said declining to partner with Weiss amounted to blocking him from going forward with the case outside his district. Lawyers for supervisory special agent Gary Shapley said U.S. Attorneys appointed by President Joe Biden “shouldn’t have been involved at all because of their conflict of interest.”
Weiss, for his part, has also said in writing he had full authority over the case. He is scheduled to testify himself on the subject on Nov. 7. While that testimony will also take place outside the public view, speaking about an open investigation is a very unusual step that Justice Department officials have said was warranted to “correct any misrepresentations” about work done on case.
The five-year investigation into Hunter Biden had been expected to end with a plea deal this summer, but it imploded during a July plea hearing. Weiss has now charged the president’s son with three firearms felonies related to the 2018 purchase of a gun during a period Hunter Biden has acknowledged being addicted to drugs. No new tax charges have yet been filed.
The agreement had been pilloried as a “sweetheart deal” by Republicans who have made Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the Justice Department’s handling of the case a key part of an impeachment inquiry into the president.
___
Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
veryGood! (494)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Suspect in Texas killings tried to escape from jail, affidavit says
- 'Peaky Blinders' actor, poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah dead at 65
- 2024 NWSL schedule includes expanded playoffs, break for Paris Olympics
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- 'Killers of the Flower Moon' director Martin Scorsese to receive David O. Selznick Award from Producers Guild
- Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft’s history
- How Ukraine's tech experts joined forces with the government despite differences
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Miami-Dade police officer charged with 3 felonies, third arrest from force in 6 weeks
Ranking
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- It was a great year for music. Here are our top songs including Olivia Rodrigo and the Beatles
- Allies of Russian opposition leader Navalny post billboards asking citizens to vote against Putin
- California faces record $68 billion budget deficit, nonpartisan legislative analyst says
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Panthers TE Hayden Hurst details 'scary' post-traumatic amnesia diagnosis
- Alex Ovechkin records 1,500th career point, but Stars down Capitals in shootout
- 6 Republicans who falsely certified that Trump won Nevada in 2020 indicted
Recommendation
'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
Ex-Philadelphia labor leader convicted of embezzling from union to pay for home renovations, meals
Maple syrup is a breakfast staple. Is it healthier than sugar?
Steelers LB Elandon Roberts active despite groin injury; Patriots will be without WR DeVante Parker
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
John Lennon was killed 43 years ago today: Who killed him and why did they do it?
Census Bureau wants to change how it asks about disabilities. Some advocates don’t like it
'Transitions' explores the process of a mother's acceptance of her child's gender