Attorney General Merrick Garland denied Friday allegations from a congressional whistleblower that the Justice Department interfered in a federal investigation into US President Joe Biden's son.
Garland maintained that David Weiss, the US attorney of Delaware appointed by President Donald Trump, was "permitted to continue his investigation, and to make a decision to prosecute any way in which he wanted to and in any district in which he wanted to."
"Mr. Weiss has since sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee confirming that he had that authority," he told reporters at the Justice Department.
"I don't know how it would be possible for anybody to block him for bringing a prosecution given that he has this authority. And he was never told no. I'm saying he was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own," he added.
The comments came one day after the Ways and Means Committee in the Republican-held House of Representatives released testimony from two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees alleging that Garland, the FBI and IRS interfered in Weiss' investigation into Hunter Biden, the president's son.
Committee Chairman Jason Smith said the allegations reveal "misconduct at the IRS and the Biden Department of Justice regarding unequal enforcement of tax law, interference and government abuse in the handling of investigations into criminal activity by President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and retaliation against IRS employees blowing the whistle on this abuse."
"The preferential treatment Hunter Biden received would never have been granted to ordinary Americans," he said.
IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, one of the whistleblowers, accused the Justice Department of providing Biden with preferential treatment and having the investigation "slow-walked, and "did nothing to avoid obvious conflicts of interest in this investigation."
"The criminal tax investigation of Hunter Biden, led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware, has been handled differently than any investigation I've ever been a part of for the past 14 years of my IRS service," he said during May 26 testimony.
"Some of the decisions seem to be influenced by politics. But whatever the motivations, at every stage decisions were made that had the effect of benefiting the subject of the investigation," he added.
He pointed to alleged efforts to prevent enforcement actions from being taken, limiting lines of questioning, "misleading investigators" on their ability to charge, and delaying actions ahead of elections.
The decision to release the whistleblower transcripts came just three days after Weiss announced that the junior Biden agreed to accept a plea deal with his office on tax and gun charges.
The details of the deal have yet to be publicly announced, but Federal district Judge Maryellen Noreika, another Trump-appointee, will have to decide whether or not to accept the agreement.
The transcript included a 2017 WhatsApp conversation from Hunter Biden to Chinese businessman Henry Zhao that appears to suggest the junior Biden sought to have his father involved in his business dealings, despite the president's instance that he has never been involved.
"I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight," it said.
"And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father," it added.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby declined to comment on the matter when pressed by reporters Friday.
