The attorney representing one of two IRS whistleblowers claiming U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss was unable to exercise full prosecutorial authority in the Hunter Biden case told Fox News on Wednesday that the Trump appointee must speak out and clear up apparent contradictions.
Tristan Leavitt, who is representing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigator Gary Shapley, said he is not sure whether Attorney General Merrick Garland was left in the dark about Weiss’ inability to bring charges against the first son in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia – or whether main justice knew Weiss had been rebuffed.
Leavitt said, instead, the focus should be on Weiss more so, after the New York Times confirmed – buried in an article’s 21st paragraph – that the offices of U.S. Attorney for Central California E. Martin Estrada and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matt Graves rebuffed Weiss’ attempts to bring charges there.
The Times said Weiss reached out to Graves in hopes charges could be pursued but was denied, further reporting the same situation occurred with the Los Angeles office.
“AUSA Wolf interjected and said she did not want to ask about the big guy and… did not want to ask questions about ‘dad’,'” the testimony, which appeared to reference the “Ten [percent] held by H for the big guy” message extrapolated upon several times by Hunter’s former business partner Tony Bobulinski.
Leavitt told “Fox & Friends,” Wednesday, his client was also rebuffed from executing search warrants on the Bidens’ Greenville, Del. estate, where, separately, classified documents were found stored near the president’s Chevrolet Corvette.
“After a few months of that, it was clear to him that this is being treated differently. He tried to write that off. He tried to say, well, look, people have differences of opinion all the time,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt said there are six witnesses to that situation, adding that, with the Times’ purportedly-buried lede, the onus is no longer on his client because the press has now confirmed the allegation.
Kilmeade noted Garland has said publicly he never hindered Weiss or his probe, asking Leavitt if he believes the attorney general is telling the truth.
“I think it’s new information. I don’t think he was behind that,” the whistleblower’s lawyer said. “I think you just have two other U.S. attorneys who were nominated by [Biden], who are confirmed by the Senate, and they have their own authority to do what they like. And U.S. Attorney David Weiss doesn’t have the authority to bring charges in their district without their permission.”
“[Garland’s] letter to Jim Jordan said, ‘I have the authority consistent with department regulations and prosecutorial standards.’ And so if he’s hiding behind those words to say that’s where the fact lies, that under department regulations he didn’t have the authority. They’re playing word games and it’s too cute by half.”
Later on Wednesday, in an appearance on “The Story,” Leavitt spoke out further on his client’s case, citing the recently-published WhatsApp message purporting to show Hunter Biden threatening a Chinese businessman by saying his father – the now-president – is beside him and will be upset if the deal being described does not go through.
The message would contradict claims by President Biden that he has not been privy to his son’s dealings. The elder Biden continued to double down on that claim this week when asked by reporters.
“Prosecutors again and again limited the investigation and stopped investigators from doing what they needed to do.”