Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss told Congress that Attorney General Merrick Garland had granted him ultimate authority over the Hunter Biden investigation and that, if need be, he would be appointed a “special attorney” under a federal statute known as Section 515. This type of Section 515 appointment would allow him to charge Hunter Biden outside Delaware, including in D.C. and California, Weiss stressed in a letter earlier this year to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan.
According to D.C. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, however, Section 515 is not how such prosecutions are typically handled. Rather, the offices work informally with each other to coordinate prosecutions between offices. In fact, according to a transcript of Graves’ interview before the House Judiciary Committee, he had never “dealt with” a special attorney appointment under Section 515. Nonetheless, when approached by the Delaware U.S. attorney about bringing charges in D.C. against Hunter Biden, Graves committed to assisting Weiss in any way necessary.
Why then did Weiss not pursue charges in D.C., and why did he speak to department officials about obtaining special attorney authority under Section 515?
Those questions should be the focus after Graves’ transcribed interview last Tuesday. The clarity with which Graves testified about his conversation with Weiss just cannot be squared with Weiss’s subsequent actions unless something substantial happened — or Weiss was misled.
According to Graves, in late February or early March of 2022, the Delaware U.S. attorney telephoned him directly. Graves explained to the House investigators that Weiss said,
