The US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, has refuted claims made by an IRS whistleblower that the Justice Department prevented the top federal prosecutor looking into President Joe Biden‘s son, Hunter Biden, from bringing more serious criminal tax charges.
Reporters were informed by Garland that US Attorney David Weiss, the senior federal prosecutor in Delaware, had been given complete independence to decide whether to file charges.
US Attorney General
To avoid a more serious felony allegation of owning a firearm while a drug addict, Biden has agreed to undergo a pre-trial diversion program and submit a guilty plea to two misdemeanor tax counts.
Republicans have criticized the decision to charge, calling it a “sweetheart deal” that will probably let the younger Biden avoid going to jail. Gary Shapley, an IRS criminal supervisory agent, claimed that the Justice Department dragged its feet on the matter beginning under Trump and continuing under Garland.
- IRS whistleblower’s claims denied; Attorney General Garland refutes.
- Republicans criticize Biden’s charge, accusing Justice Department of delay.
- Garland refutes Weiss’s claim, the claims inquiry is incomplete and reckless.
According to Shapley, investigators found evidence of more significant tax offenses that could only be prosecuted in California or Washington, DC, but not in Delaware.
On Friday, Garland refuted that assertion, asserting that Weiss possessed “more authority” than a special counsel. According to Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark, any claims that the inquiry was incomplete or used shortcuts were absurd and extremely reckless.
