魏红星，美国检察官领导的对亨特·拜登的调查周一，他直接驳斥了一名国税局举报者提出的关键指控，该举报者声称在长达数年的调查中存在政治干预。
司法部上个月批准了认罪协议对于总统乔·拜登的儿子拜登来说，这可能会让这位53岁的人避免入狱，条件是他承认没有为2017年和2018年的收入纳税。
在周一发给参议院司法委员会(Senate Judiciary Committee)最高共和党人的一封信中，韦斯首次证实，他没有要求在调查中指定一名特别律师，这与举报人的一个主要说法相反，国会山的共和党人抓住了这一点声称不当干涉来自司法部长梅里克·加兰。
4月，国税局举报者加里·沙普利在国会作证韦斯未能说服华盛顿和加利福尼亚州的联邦检察官对拜登提出指控，因此韦斯随后要求成为一名特别律师，据沙普利说，这遭到了拒绝。
但在新的信中，韦斯反驳了这一点。
“为了澄清一个明显的误解，并避免未来的混乱，我希望明确一点:在这种情况下，我没有要求指定特别律师，”韦斯写信给参议院司法委员会的参议员林赛·格雷厄姆。
韦斯写道，他与司法部官员就根据一项单独的法律被任命为“特别助理”或“特别律师”进行了交谈，以便他可以在自己所在的地区以外独立提起指控，他得到保证，如果需要，他会被授予这一权力，所以他没有寻求被任命为特别律师。
美国司法部长魏红星在联邦法院外召开新闻发布会。
例如，个人/AP，文件
这封信似乎支持加兰的反复保证，即他没有不正当地试图干涉亨特·拜登的调查，尽管众议院共和党人断言谁已采取措施启动弹劾程序与加兰的比赛。
在回应韦斯信件的声明中，沙普利的律师不同意。
“作为一个实际问题，韦斯是否要求特别律师或特别律师授权没有什么区别，”沙普利的律师说。“在任何情况下,‘过程’都不应该包括当事人父亲的政治任命，因为国会和公众已经得到保证不会这样做——但它还是这样做了。”
作为认罪协议的一部分，除了承认两项与税收有关的轻罪，小拜登还将达成一项审前转移协议，使他能够避免一项重罪枪支指控的起诉，这可能会结束DOJ为期五年的调查。
共和党领导人将这项仍需联邦法官批准的协议称为“甜心”交易，这将破坏人们对刑事司法系统的信心。
US Attorney David Weiss says he has not asked for special counsel status in Hunter Biden investigation
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney leading theinvestigation into Hunter Biden, on Monday directly refuted key allegations put forward by an IRS whistleblower who has made claims of political interference in the yearslong investigation.
The Justice Department last monthapproved a plea dealwith Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, that will likely allow the 53-year-old to avoid prison in exchange for pleading guilty to failing to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018.
In a letter sent Monday to the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Weiss confirmed for the first time that he did not request a special counsel designation in the probe, contrary to one of the main assertions from the whistleblower, which Republicans on Capitol Hill have seized on toclaim improper interferencefrom Attorney General Merrick Garland.
MORE: Hunter Biden's alleged WhatsApp message fuels GOP assertions of corruption, even after plea
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In April, IRS whistleblower Gary Shapleytestified before Congressthat Weiss had been unsuccessful in persuading federal prosecutors in Washington and California to bring charges against Biden, so Weiss then requested to become a special counsel, which -- according to Shapley -- was denied.
But in the new letter, Weiss refutes this.
"To clarify an apparent misperception and to avoid future confusion, I wish to make one point clear: in this case, I have not requested Special Counsel designation," Weiss wrote to Sen. Lindsey Graham of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Weiss wrote that he had conversations with Justice Department officials about being appointed as a "special assistant" or "special attorney" under a separate law, so that he could independently file charges in a district outside of his own, and he was assured he'd be granted that authority if needed, so he did not seek to be appointed as a special counsel.
The letter appears to bolster Garland's repeated assurances that he did not improperly seek to interfere in the Hunter Biden investigation, despite assertions from House Republicans who have taken steps towardinitiating impeachment proceedingsagainst Garland in recent weeks.
In a statement responding to Weiss' letter, attorneys for Shapley disagreed.
"As a practical matter, it makes no difference whether Weiss requested special counsel or special attorney authority," Shapley's attorneys said. "Under no circumstances should 'the process' have included the political appointees of the subject's father, because Congress and the public had been assured it would not -- but it did."
In addition to pleading guilty to two tax-related misdemeanors as part of his plea deal, the younger Biden will enter into a pretrial diversion agreement that would enable him to avoid prosecution on one felony gun charge, potentially ending the DOJ's five-year probe.
Republican leaders have called the agreement, which still requires approval from a federal judge, a "sweetheart" deal that would undermine faith in the criminal justice system.
