The Department of Justice is reportedly considering delaying Hunter Biden's plea hearing after IRS whistleblowers claimed that the president's son got a "sweetheart" deal and that Attorney General Merrick Garland lied to Congress.
Judge Maryellen Noreika is set to rule on whether to accept Biden's plea deal over two tax misdemeanors on July 26, but Republican lawmakers are questioning how the Delaware federal judge can move forward on the deal after the IRS whistleblowers who investigated his tax matters for five years say he could have been charged with more serious crimes.
Amid the chorus of criticism, the Justice Department is considering delaying finalizing the plea deal, according to a recent legal filing.
The Heritage Foundation is suing the DOJ for failing to release Delaware prosecutor David Weiss' communication records as it requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Daily Mail reports that a court filing last week documented a June 29 phone call between Heritage Foundation lawyer Samuel Dewey and DOJ lawyer Jason Lynch, in which Dewey told Lynch he could ask the federal judge for Biden’s July 26 plea hearing to be delayed to allow for more time to process Weiss' records and scrutinize the plea bargain.
"DOJ counsel indicated that Plaintiffs were 'absolutely right' that the Department could file such a motion and that DOJ counsel would take that point back to the 'District' (presumably speaking of the District of Delaware)," Dewey reportedly wrote.
The description suggests that the DOJ could be weighing whether to delay finalizing the plea deal.
"They have the capability to move the plea deal, though they didn't indicate any likelihood they would," Heritage Foundation Oversight Director Mike Howell told the Mail.
"The public has an interest to assess for themselves: Is this a sweetheart deal? It certainly appears to be," he said. "This information needs to be out, and it's in the public interest for it to be out prior to any plea being signed off on."
Garland told the Senate that Weiss has all the powers required to prosecute Biden for crimes committed anywhere in the United States. IRS whistleblowers told Congress, however, that Weiss indicated he was blocked from prosecuting Biden by prosecutors in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles that were appointed by his father.
"If the whistleblowers are correct, U.S. Attorney Weiss' Office should have responsive records that will corroborate the whistleblowers," Dewey wrote in the Heritage Foundation lawsuit. "There are events so grave — so essential — to our constitutional order that if we are to keep our Republic, the American people must have a full accounting of the facts."
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