In a House Judiciary Committee appearance last week, a key FBI agent on the Hunter Biden case contradicted whether Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss could charge the president’s son anyplace before becoming special counsel.
Is Hunter Biden to be charged or not? (Image source: TIME)
Sobocinski Denies Weiss Informing them as Not the Final Authority to Charge Hunter Biden
In published news from the Washington Examiner, the closed-door interview of FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Sobocinski raised eyebrows this week when a leaked transcript suggested he refuted a key element of two IRS whistleblowers’ allegations: that Weiss had described to his investigative team last year a Justice Department pattern of obstruction.
Indeed, Sobocinski could not recall Weiss informing investigators during the Oct. 7, 2022, meeting that he was not the final authority on where and if to charge Biden. However, the FBI agent revealed that Weiss had to ask President Joe Biden’s U.S. attorneys for help to progress Hunter Biden’s case, but he failed to answer questions about when and how he contacted them for prosecution agreements that never occurred.
Sobocinski stated before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, according to a transcript acquired by the Washington Examiner, that Delaware was not the appropriate venue for the Hunter Biden case. They were looking at other potential places. Sobocinski said that there was a process within the Department of Justice that would need to be followed to file charges outside of his assigned district, which was Delaware, during the testimony of the two IRS employees who blew the whistle this spring.
Weiss must obtain permission from US attorneys, who may decline his requests, contradicting the Justice Department’s assertion that he has the last word on Hunter Biden’s claims since 2018. That point of view appears to contradict Weiss’s appointment as special counsel last month, which would not have been necessary if the barriers were not there.
Asked hours into his interview about his contradicting comments regarding Weiss’s authority, Sobocinski blamed “semantics and word choice.” The inability to file charges beyond Delaware without clearance does not suggest the Justice Department was misled about Weiss having final charging authority, he claimed. Hours after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) launched an impeachment probe that Democrats have called illegitimate, the transcript appeared.
Biden will be Charged with Firearm Violation on this Month
GOP legislators said the probe is needed because the Biden administration has ignored most congressional investigators’ questions. In his Thursday interview, the Justice Department only allowed Sobocinski to say he did not remember Weiss saying he lacked final charging power during the Oct. 7, 2022, meeting. Due to the active investigation, the FBI agent declined to address most other case-related inquiries.
This month, the Justice Department rejected House Republicans’ subpoenas for Sobocinski and FBI Baltimore field office agent Ryeshia Holley’s depositions. Sobocinski and Holley could not bring Justice Department counsel to a deposition under House rules. To allow Biden administration attorneys to accompany him, Sobocisnki gave a transcribed interview. Lawyers opposed several queries on matters outside the Oct. 7, 2022, meeting.
Sobocinski acknowledged that his Baltimore field office FBI team, which worked on the Hunter Biden investigation before Weiss became special counsel, is still involved. This month, Weiss stated in court records that Hunter Biden will be charged with a firearms violation by Sept. 29.
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