The special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden federal criminal investigation, David Weiss, is scheduled to testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee for a highly anticipated voluntary interview Tuesday, as House Republicans continue to allege there was political interference in the criminal probe into President Joe Biden’s son.
The closed-door interview is expected to cover the scope of Weiss’ authority, which has faced intense scrutiny since whistleblowers with the Internal Revenue Service raised questions about Weiss’ ability to bring charges.
It is rare for a special counsel, or any top prosecutor, to testify to Congress in the middle of an investigation – and the Justice Department has already signaled that some questions will be out of bounds. But given the nature of the politicization allegations, and the way House Republicans have used them to fuel their impeachment inquiry into the president, the Department of Justice made Weiss available to testify.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and his deputy, Joseph Ziegler, alleged in their own House testimony in June that the Justice Department put up a number of roadblocks throughout Weiss’ investigation, including that Weiss was not the deciding person on whether charges against Hunter Biden were filed and that Weiss had requested special counsel authority but was denied. Weiss has disputed these allegations in letters to lawmakers, as did Attorney General Merrick Garland at a recent public hearing.
Ahead of Tuesday’s private interview, a spokesperson for Weiss, Wyn Hornbuckle, said in a statement to CNN that Weiss will be testifying voluntarily about the “scope of his authority” and reiterated that he will prepare a public report at the close of his investigation.
“Mr. Weiss is prepared to take this unprecedented step of testifying before the conclusion of his…
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