{"id":2013999,"date":"2023-08-28T08:04:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T12:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-u-s-attorney-weiss-colluded-with-doj-to-thwart-congressional-questioning-emails-show\/"},"modified":"2023-08-28T08:08:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T12:08:38","slug":"exclusive-u-s-attorney-weiss-colluded-with-doj-to-thwart-congressional-questioning-emails-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-u-s-attorney-weiss-colluded-with-doj-to-thwart-congressional-questioning-emails-show\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Attorney Weiss and DOJ Collaborated to Block Congressional Inquiry, Emails Reveal."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-u-s-attorney-weiss-colluded-with-doj-to-thwart-congressional-questioning-emails-show%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2013999&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Emails Reveal DOJ&#8217;s Intervention in \u2063Hunter Biden \u2063Investigation<\/h2>\n<p>Emails obtained by \u200bthe Heritage Foundation\u200c following a\u200d Freedom\u2064 of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit and shared exclusively\u2063 with The Federalist establish that on multiple occasions, \u200bthe Department of Justice intervened on behalf of \u2063Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss to \u200brespond to congressional inquiries related to the Hunter Biden investigation.<\/p>\n<p>This revelation raises \u200bmore questions \u2062about the June 7,\u200c 2023,\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23854516-20230607-out-jordan-investigation\">letter<\/a> \u200c dispatched to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan under Weiss\u2019s signature line, in which\u200c the Delaware\u200b U.S. attorney claimed he had\u2062 \u201cultimate authority\u201d \u200bover charging decisions related to \u200dHunter\u2062 Biden. It also suggests Weiss and the DOJ \u2063may have conspired to \u200cmislead Congress.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Did the DOJ\u2019s Office of Legislative Affairs respond\u200c to Sens. Chuck\u2062 Grassley and Ron Johnson\u2019s May 9, 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ronjohnson.senate.gov\/services\/files\/FAB82BFC-B90B-4AB3-B952-F372EE0663D2\">letter<\/a> seeking information concerning \u2062the Hunter\u200b Biden investigation? Weiss posed that \u2063question to one of his lead assistant U.S.\u200b attorneys, Shannon \u200cHanson.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cNot \u200dto my knowledge,\u201d Hanson \u2064replied,\u2064 followed soon after with\u2064 a second email noting that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joseph-gaeta-07040aa8\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Gaeta<\/a>, the then-deputy assistant attorney general in\u200c the Office of Legislative\u200d Affairs, was working on a response. And \u2062although \u200cGrassley and Johnson had \u200daddressed their May 9, 2022, inquiry \u2063solely\u200d to Weiss, DOJ\u2019s Office\u200c of Legislative Affairs would intercede on \u200dhis behalf, responding in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/justice_depttograssleyjohnsonbideninvestigation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> dated June 9, 2022, that\u2063 the \u200dDOJ would \u200cnot respond to the questions posed.<\/p>\n<p>The following month, Grassley \u200cand Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ronjohnson.senate.gov\/2022\/7\/sens-johnson-and-grassley-to-ag-garland-director-wray-and-u-s-attorney-weiss-hunter-biden-s-apparent-criminal-behavior-must-be-thoroughly-investigated\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dispatched<\/a> \u2064 another\u200c letter \u2062requesting information related to the \u2063Hunter Biden investigation, addressing this letter to Weiss, as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Again, the Office of \u200bLegal Counsel intervened, telling\u200c Weiss\u2019s \u200coffice in an\u2063 email reviewed by\u200b The Federalist that \u200dit \u2063would \u201ctake\u2062 the lead \u2064on drafting a response\u201d \u200cto Grassley and Johnson\u2019s\u200b letter.<\/p>\n<p>These never-before-seen\u2062 emails establish \u200bthe Department of Justice and U.S. attorney\u2062 collaborated in responding to congressional inquiries and were among the \u200dfirst\u2062 batch of \u2064documents\u200b provided to the Heritage Foundation following a court \u2062order \u2064last \u200bweek in \u2062Heritage\u2019s FOIA case\u2064 against \u2064the DOJ. That court order required the DOJ to \u2062produce, by Aug. 25,\u2064 2023, all records collected from Weiss and\u200c Assistant\u2064 U.S. Attorney Lesley\u200d Wolf \u200dthat were responsive to\u2063 the\u2063 Heritage FOIA lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Mike\u200c Howell, director of the \u200dHeritage Foundation\u2019s Oversight Project, \u200binitiated the FOIA request and \u2063then filed suit \u200bagainst the DOJ after the Biden\u2062 administration \u200battempted to slow-walk the production. Howell told The Federalist the emails\u200d show that while Garland was claiming Weiss had the independence to bring whatever charges he\u200b wanted, Garland was \u201csimultaneously running communications from Weiss to \u200cGrassley through the political controls of Main Justice.\u201d \u201cIt is a slap in the face,\u201d\u200d Howell said.<\/p>\n<p>Significantly, \u2064the emails also call\u2062 into question the veracity \u200dof a series of exchanges \u2062between Weiss and \u200dJordan, beginning with Weiss\u2019s June 7\u200c response to the \u2063May 25, 2023, \u200cletter Jordan sent to\u200b Garland. In \u200bthat May 25 letter, Jordan questioned\u2064 Garland \u2064on the removal of \u200dthe \u2064IRS whistleblowers from\u2063 the Hunter Biden \u200cinvestigation.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the House committee addressed that letter solely to\u2064 Attorney General Garland, Weiss responded to the inquiry on \u200cJune 7 in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23854516-20230607-out-jordan-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a>, which opened:\u2063 \u201cYour \u2062May 25th letter to Attorney General Garland was \u200cforwarded to me, with a request that I respond on behalf of the Department.\u201d Weiss then claimed that, as Garland had stated, the Delaware U.S. attorney had \u201cbeen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/irs-whistleblower-emails-suggest-david-weiss-misled-congress-in-letter-claiming-charging-authority\/\" title=\"IRS whistleblower emails indicate that David Weiss may have deceived Congress in a letter where he asserted his charging authority.\">granted ultimate authority<\/a> over this matter, \u200bincluding \u2063responsibility \u200bfor deciding where, when, and whether \u200cto file \u200dcharges \u2064and \u2064for making decisions\u2064 necessary to \u2064preserve\u2063 the integrity of the prosecution\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two more letters \u2064would soon follow, the\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2023-06-22-jdj-to-david-weiss-re-irs-whistleblower-retaliation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first<\/a> being to Weiss from Jordan on June 22. In\u200d that \u200cletter, Jordan reiterated the\u2062 Judiciary Committee\u2019s need for substantive responses, before asking Weiss for more details \u201cin light of the unusual \u2062nature of your response on behalf of Attorney General Garland\u2026\u201d Specifically, \u200dJordan asked for information concerning the names of individuals \u2062who \u200bdrafted \u200cor\u200c assisted in drafting the June 7, 2023,\u200d letter, as well as \u2062details concerning the drafting and dispatching of the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss\u200d responded in \u200da June\u2064 30 letter that\u200b he was not at liberty to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-asks-court-to-rein-in-out-of-control-ftc-inquiry\/\" title=\"Twitter seeks court intervention to curb FTC's 'unrestrained' investigation.\">provide substantive responses<\/a> to the questions concerning an ongoing investigation. \u2062The Delaware U.S. attorney \u2062then sidestepped questions about \u200dthe\u2063 DOJ\u2019s role\u200b in\u200d drafting \u2062the June 7 letter, stating only \u2062that he \u201cwould like to reaffirm the contents\u200b of the June 7\u2064 letter drafted\u200c by\u200d my office\u201d \u2014\u2064 a statement representing that the\u2064 Delaware office \u200bhad\u2062 composed the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss then proceeded to \u201cexpand\u201d on what he\u200c meant when he said \u2063in\u200d his June 7 letter that he had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-sidelined-grassley-in-questioning-whistleblowers-because-he-knew-way-too-much\/\" title=\"Democrats sidelined Grassley in questioning whistleblowers due to his extensive knowledge.\">ultimate charging authority<\/a>, writing:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>As the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, my charging authority is \u2063geographically limited to my home district. If venue for a \u2063case lies elsewhere,\u2062 common Departmental practice is to contact the\u2064 United States \u2064Attorney\u2019s Office for\u2062 the district in question and\u200b determine whether it wants to partner on the case. If not, I may request Special Attorney status from the Attorney General pursuant\u200b to 28 U.S.C. \u00a7 515. Here, I have been \u2064assured\u2064 that, if necessary after the above process, I would be granted \u00a7 515 Authority in \u200bthe\u2063 District \u200cof Columbia, the\u2064 Central District of California, \u2064or\u2062 any other \u2062district where charges could be brought in this matter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Of course, <strong>having<\/strong> ultimate \u200cauthority and being assured\u2062 that you <strong>would be given<\/strong> ultimate authority if need\u2062 be, are two different things. But the scandal goes \u2062beyond Weiss not having\u2064 the authority to charge Hunter Biden, \u2064to what clearly seems to be an attempt by the DOJ and Weiss to mislead Congress.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s\u2063 important to remember that when \u2064Weiss sent the\u200b June \u200c7\u200c letter to Jordan,\u2062 the whistleblowers\u2019 transcripts had\u2064 not yet been released.\u2062 Thus neither Weiss \u200bnor\u200c the DOJ knew\u2062 the specifics of the whistleblowers\u2019 testimony, leading them to represent to Congress that\u200b Weiss \u200dhad\u200b ultimate decision-making authority \u2014 something Weiss would later have to massage.<\/p>\n<p>Weiss\u2019s questionable \u200cstatements didn\u2019t end there, however. In\u200c the June 30 letter, \u2063Weiss represented to Congress that he had drafted the June 7 letter.<\/p>\n<p>But why would \u2064Weiss\u2064 draft the June \u200c7 letter? That letter was \u200cnot even addressed \u200bto Weiss.\u200c And the \u2063emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation establish that even when congressional oversight letters were addressed directly to the Delaware \u2063U.S. attorney, Weiss did not answer them. Instead, the DOJ\u2019s Office \u2063of Legislative Affairs intervened and spoke on his\u2062 behalf.<\/p>\n<p>There is a second reason to suspect Weiss did not\u200b draft the June 7 letter: the footnote reference in the\u200c correspondence to the <em>Linder<\/em> \u2063 letter.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Foster, a former congressional staffer and the founder and chair of Empower Oversight, which\u200d represents the IRS whistleblowers, told The Federalist that when he \u201cworked\u2062 on Capitol Hill (particularly\u2064 on the Senate Judiciary Committee, \u200cwhich did regular oversight of\u2063 the\u2062 Justice Department), the Department\u2019s \u2062Office of Legislative Affairs\u200b frequently referenced\u200c the otherwise-obscure <em>Linder <\/em>letter in response to \u2062congressional oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine the \u2063letter was widely \u200bknown outside of Justice Department headquarters,\u201d Foster continued, \u201cespecially in\u200c U.S. \u2063attorneys\u2019 offices, which almost never respond directly to congressional correspondence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, it is \u200ceasy to imagine Main Justice drafting\u200b the June 7 letter on behalf of Weiss to provide Garland cover and \u2063to\u200c seemingly corroborate\u200b the attorney \u200cgeneral\u2019s\u2062 Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/senate-panel-expected-grill-garland-trump-biden-special\/story?id=97549404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testimony<\/a> that he had given Weiss \u2062full authority to\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-two-men-rob-tj-maxx-calmly-walk-out-with-armfuls-of-clothes\/\" title=\"WATCH: Two Men Rob TJ Maxx, Calmly Walk Out With Armfuls Of Clothes\">make charging decisions<\/a> in\u2063 the Hunter Biden investigation.<\/p>\n<p>That \u2062cover may soon be blown \u200caway, however, thanks to the Heritage\u200c Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only \u200creason these \u2064documents are \u200bstarting to trickle out is because\u200b we sued for transparency,\u201d Howell told The \u2063Federalist. \u201cWe<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-u-s-attorney-weiss-colluded-with-doj-to-thwart-congressional-questioning-emails-show\/\" title=\"U.S. Attorney Weiss and DOJ Collaborated to Block Congressional Inquiry, Emails Reveal.\">\u2019ve faced taxpayer funded \u2062resistance<\/a> \u2063at every step of the way and haven\u2019t given up,\u201d he added,\u200d noting that \u201cthe DOJ is under a judicial order\u2062 to continue this production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bnext round of responsive documents is due by Oct. 31, and since \u2064none of the documents produced to date include references to\u2063 Jordan\u2019s May \u200c25,\u200c 2023, letter,\u2063 it \u2062seems\u2063 likely we\u2019ll\u2063 see those emails in the next batch \u2014 unless House Republicans seek \u200caccess to\u200d them first through a subpoena.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Heritage Foundation obtained emails through a FOIA lawsuit, revealing that the Department of Justice supported Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss in addressing congressional inquiries about the Hunter Biden investigation. This disclosure prompts further inquiries and uncertainties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":2014000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2013999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2013999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2014000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2013999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2013999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2013999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}