Staff Reports
A federal prosecutor accused by IRS whistleblowers of protecting Hunter Biden from tax fraud charges in Washington claims that he never impeded the prosecution of the president’s son. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves informed House investigators that special counsel David Weiss had the option to charge Hunter Biden with tax fraud in the nation’s capital and would have received assistance from his office.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves who was a Biden campaign adviser insists he didn’t block Hunter Biden prosecutionhttps://t.co/KZxO55ulxD pic.twitter.com/wdHHfTQ1iK
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 10, 2023
During a closed-door interview in October, Graves stated that he declined to collaborate with Weiss on the tax fraud case against Hunter Biden and had no interest in pursuing charges against him himself. While IRS whistleblowers corroborate Graves’ statements, they assert that Graves did nothing to prevent Weiss from pursuing charges, contradicting the whistleblower’s allegations.
Graves testified that Weiss contacted him directly in early 2022, expressing his intention to bring a tax fraud case against Hunter Biden in Washington. The charges centered on $124,000 in unpaid taxes from approximately $1 million in income that Hunter Biden earned in 2014 while serving on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.
Graves, a Democratic donor and former Democratic presidential campaign staff member, who was appointed U.S. attorney by President Biden, revealed that he did not personally review the case documents regarding Hunter Biden. Instead, he assigned his subordinates to assess if his office should become involved. Ultimately, three weeks later, he decided against partnering with Weiss or filing charges himself.
Graves elected not to disclose the reasons for his decision, citing an ongoing investigation. He also declined to reveal the names of those within his office involved in the decision-making process. Critics suggest that Graves’ actions aimed to shield the Bidens from a case that may have exposed evidence of influence peddling during Joe Biden’s vice presidency.
According to the transcript, Graves never followed up with Weiss directly or specifically instructed his staff to notify Weiss that he was welcome to bring charges in Washington or that Graves would support the prosecution. Moreover, his prior instructions made such actions unnecessary. Graves confirmed to House investigators, “And based on what was happening, I knew that there was no reason that I needed to give that instruction again.”
Senior agent Gary Shapley from the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division supported Weiss’ statement that Graves would not pursue the tax fraud charges against Hunter Biden and would not collaborate with Weiss on the case. This decision essentially halted the tax fraud investigation, which eventually reached the statute of limitations. Graves maintained that his involvement in the decision did not constitute a conflict of interest, despite his Democratic donor status and work for various Democratic campaigns, including advising the Biden campaign.
Graves attempted to downplay the significance of his campaign roles, insisting that he had no direct interaction with campaign staff while vetting vice-presidential candidates for John Kerry’s campaign. He further explained that he did not delegate the Hunter Biden matter to his principal assistant U.S. attorney due to the absence of a conflict of interest. Additionally, he noted that investigations into administration members and their families were common occurrences and did not inherently present conflicts of interest.
Contradicting Attorney General Merrick Garland’s testimony and public statements, Graves asserted that Weiss could not independently bring charges against Hunter Biden. Rather, Weiss required logistical support and cooperation from the U.S. Attorney’s office in D.C. and approval from the Justice Department’s Tax Division to present the case to a D.C. grand jury. Garland had previously stated that Weiss possessed complete decision-making authority to charge Hunter Biden in any jurisdiction.
As of now, all eyes are on U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and the ongoing investigation surrounding the handling of the Hunter Biden tax fraud case, which has become mired in partisan accusations and controversy.
