The Hunter Biden tax investigation received special treatment from Department of Justice (DOJ) officials who gave it greater levels of attention because of its political significance, a top DOJ official testified in October.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Matters at the DOJ Tax Division Stuart Goldberg testified to the House Judiciary Committee and told investigators how the DOJ treated the Hunter Biden case differently from normal cases, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: ‘Demonization’: Hunter Biden Uses Past Drug Addiction To Attack Political Opponents In Latest Op-Ed)
“Well, without getting into the case, again trying to answer a question at a slightly higher level, there are cases that are sensitive, people — some would say sensitive, sometimes say significant cases. And those cases typically have closer supervision than other, more run of the mill cases,” Goldberg stated.
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE – JULY 26: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on July 26, 2023 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden is in court to review a plea deal reached with federal prosecutors on misdemeanor tax charges. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The DOJ gives special attention to cases involving high profile public officials like Hunter Biden, Goldberg explained. The added attention meant he would sign off on decisions made as part of the prominent cases.
“So if something can be termed as sensitive pursuant to the case it might be because it’s a public official or it’s a person that has a noteworthy profile or it’s going to generate a lot of media attention, or might be congressional interest. It could be a corporation or an individual,” Goldberg explained.
“That might mean that the case would come to my level for ultimate sign-off on the case as opposed to be handled at the chief’s level,” he added, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Comer Unveils Bank Records Showing Joe Biden Received $40,000 Of ‘Laundered’ Chinese Money)
“Okay. And is it fair to say that the Hunter Biden case fell into that category?” Goldberg was asked as a follow up.
“Yes,” he replied.
Goldberg testified about how the DOJ tax division worked with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, the top prosecutor on the Hunter Biden case, and how Weiss needed approval from the DOJ tax division to potentially charge Hunter Biden for alleged tax offenses.
Goldberg specifically recalled an unusual meeting he attended at the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s office alongside Weiss, Delaware Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, two DOJ Tax officials and Hunter Biden’s defense lawyers.
Goldberg said Biden’s then-defense counsel Christopher J. Clark and two additional attorneys for Biden were present. He was unable to discuss specifics from the meeting but he did recall a slide deck Clark presented at the meeting.
“Okay. And was it customary for you to attend that type of meeting or did you only attend here because of the significance of the target and the investigation?” Goldberg was asked.
“I attended because Mr. Weiss asked me to come up for the meeting,” Goldberg replied, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller. “It’s not something that I would commonly do,” he added after a follow up question. (RELATED: Top Hunter Biden Prosecutor David Weiss, FBI ‘Constricted’ Internal Communications, Testimony Shows)
“I think it’s the only time I’ve done it. But I think this is a matter — the case was being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware and everybody else was going to be there, so they asked me to tag along as well,” Goldberg said.
Prior to the January 2023 meeting, Goldberg had in-person meetings with Weiss in D.C. to discuss the Hunter Biden case. He estimated that he held “maybe seven or eight” meetings with Weiss including a June 2022 meeting with Weiss, Wolf, FBI agents, IRS officials, and DOJ Tax officials.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified to the House Ways and Means Committee in May and June about how DOJ Tax attorneys delivered a presentation at the meeting arguing against charging Hunter Biden for alleged tax offenses. Goldberg could not go into the specifics of the meeting.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 19: (L-R) Supervisory IRS Special Agent Gary Shapley and IRS Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler are sworn-in during a House Oversight Committee hearing related to the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, on Capitol Hill July 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service who allege that the Hunter Biden criminal probe was mishandled by the Department of Justice. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“David Weiss asked for the meeting to be set up” Goldberg disclosed. “My recollection is that David Weiss wanted to have a meeting with people involved in the case.”
He also testified about his prior knowledge of the presentation DOJ Tax Division officials Mark Daly and Jack Morgan delivered at the meeting.
“Fully abreast is — I was aware that they were going to make a presentation. I had a sense of that presentation,” Goldberg said. He did not review the slides Morgan and Daly presented but he did speak with them about the presentation beforehand.
Later in his testimony, Goldberg addressed allegations from Shapley that Hunter Biden’s legal team threatened to ruin the careers of DOJ prosecutors if they charged Hunter Biden.
“I recall seeing something like that. You know, in my experience, having sat in on some meetings where defense attorneys make — not necessarily those statements, and I’m not saying Chris Clark said that or not because I wasn’t present — but I think it’s counterproductive. That tends to solidify prosecutors in the Justice Department not to put their head down and try to do their job,” Goldberg testified, according to a transcript reviewed by the Daily Caller.
Goldberg did not recall anyone reporting Clark’s alleged threats to prosecutors. Goldberg was similarly unaware of Clark’s threat to have Joe Biden testify as a trial witness until public reporting came out.
Clark withdrew from the Hunter Biden case following the collapse of the guilty plea agreement with the DOJ for two tax misdemeanors. Hunter Biden’s guilty plea deal and pretrial diversion agreement for a felon gun charge fell apart at a July court appearance after Delaware U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika asked a series of questions related to an immunity provision inside the diversion agreement.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the two tax misdemeanors because of a dispute between his legal team and the DOJ caused by Noreika’s scrutiny.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss special counsel in August to continue the Hunter Biden investigation after the whistleblower testimony and his failed guilty plea deal.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives to speak at a press conference to announce disruptions of the fentanyl precursor chemical supply chain at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2023. The United States announced sanctions Tuesday on a China-based network for producing and distributing chemicals used to make drugs including those that have fueled a deadly national fentanyl crisis. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Weiss proceeded to file a motion to dismiss the two tax misdemeanors in Delaware in order to potentially charge Hunter Biden in D.C. or the Central District of California. Noreika approved Weiss’ motion and the tax charges were dismissed.
Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys in D.C. and California testified to the Judiciary Committee in October and confirmed their refusal to cooperate with Weiss on potentially charging Hunter Biden prior to his special counsel designation. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matthew Graves also said Weiss required approval from DOJ Tax to charge Hunter Biden.
Garland testified to the Judiciary Committee in September and said the U.S. Attorneys “could refuse to partner” with Weiss on the case. He repeatedly said Weiss could have requested additional authority under section 515 to charge Hunter Biden without assistance from Graves and Estrada.
Hunter Biden was indicted in September on three federal gun charges connected to his October 2018 purchase of a firearm while he battled drug addiction. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in October and his legal team has argued the diversion agreement is legally valid.
The younger Biden is suing the IRS because of alleged illegal disclosures from the IRS whistleblowers. The Ways and Means Committee released a trove of documents in September to support the testimony from Shapley and Ziegler.
Weiss is scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee on Nov. 7.
Henry Rodgers contributed to this report.