(Headline USA) Special Counsel David Weiss coordinated with Justice Department officials on how to respond to congressional oversight efforts regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden, raising questions about his prior statement that he had “ultimate authority” over the case.
Emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation and shared with The Federalist show Weiss sought advice from the DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs and Office of Legal Counsel about how to respond to questions from congressional Republicans.
For example, after Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., sent a letter to Weiss asking about the Hunter Biden probe, Weiss’s office reached out to the Office of Legislative Affairs for help drafting Weiss’s response.
“I will send this along now to [redacted]. Anything else you’d like me to convey or ask?” assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Hanson told Weiss in a June 2, 2022 message.
“I don’t think it matters. Does it?” Weiss responded.
When Weiss reached out a few days later asking whether Hanson’s team had crafted his response to Grassley and Johnson, Hanson informed him the OLA was “working on it.” On June 9, the OLA responded to Grassley and Johnson saying Weiss could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
The Heritage Foundation pointed out that Weiss’s constant collaboration with the main DOJ proves “claims of Weiss’s independence were a sham.”
“Garland’s political lobbyists were controlling congressional communications to the Hill, while the Hill thought they were going to be hearing from Weiss himself,” Heritage Oversight Project director Mike Howell said in a statement.
“It’s insane that we needed a judicial order to produce a few documents after months and months of the Department of Justice throwing every roadblock they possibly could, at the taxpayers’ expense of course,” he admonished.
This is not the first time Biden officials have inserted themselves into a political investigation. Last week, it was reported that members of Biden’s White House counsel’s office met with special counsel Jack Smith’s team in the weeks leading up to Smith’s indictment of former President Donald Trump over Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Reports also showed Weiss’s office coordinated with Hunter Biden’s legal team directly regarding the sweetheart plea deal offered to him by the Justice Department. In fact, emails show much of the language used in the plea deal was drafted by Hunter Biden’s lawyers and included verbatim.
