CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said the whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “were right” about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Hunter Biden.
A grand jury is expected to indict the first son after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor David Weiss as special counsel to investigate Biden over an alleged illegal gun purchase and tax evasion charges.
“DOJ has given me whiplash on this one, because six weeks ago they did walk in and they were ready to get rid of this case for a misdemeanor and just dismiss the gun charge,” Honig said. “Now, they’re about to indict him for a felony gun charge which would likely carry jail time if there’s a conviction. The only conclusion that I think is consistent is that the whistleblowers were right that initially the DOJ was ready to go in there and give this deal away cheaply and when political pressure amped up, DOJ did a complete 180 and now they’ve made David Weiss special counsel and now they’re bringing an indictment.”
The two whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in June that the DOJ slow-walked an investigation into the younger Biden’s alleged tax misdemeanors and illegal gun possession. Shapley and Ziegler both alleged that the DOJ lied to investigators about the agency’s plan to not politically interfere in the investigation.
Shapley sent an email in Oct. 2022 alleging that Weiss did not have the ultimate authority on whether charges were brought against Biden. Shapley’s lawyer, Tristan Leavitt, accused Garland of “essentially” calling his client a “liar” by claiming Weiss did, in fact, have the authority. (RELATED: US Attorney Says Hunter Biden Case Is Not Closed)
Weiss, the prosecutor overseeing the investigation, agreed that Biden could avoid jail time if he pleaded guilty to the criminal charges. The plea deal crumbled after Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to sign onto the deal during a July 26 court appearance due to the legal teams’ disagreements about the scope of immunity of coverage Biden had, particularly on charges relating to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
After deliberations, the prosecution and the defense returned to court under the agreement that the DOJ can charge Biden in the future. Biden then changed his plea to not guilty.
House Republicans in the Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees issued subpoenas Aug. 21 to two IRS officials and FBI agents regarding Shapley’s meeting in October where Weiss allegedly said he did not have the ultimate authority over charging Hunter. Shapley testified that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves allegedly blocked Weiss from charging Hunter for failing to pay his taxes.