The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, a Joe Biden appointee, confirmed that he refused to cooperate with Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss in the Hunter Biden case within his jurisdiction.
According to a transcript of Estrada's testimony reviewed by the Daily Caller, Estrada's refusal confirmation came during his testimony, revealing that he became aware of the Hunter Biden investigation in his district in late September 2022 or early October 2022.
He said he consulted with career attorneys in his office who recommended against partnering with Delaware on the Hunter Biden case. It was unclear whether this decision was made before or after Estrada took office.
"I agreed that we would not partner or co-counsel in the prosecution, but I did tell Mr. Weiss that we'd provide office space and administrative support for his attorneys in their prosecution," Estrada stated.
However, he emphasized that he had no prior experience with co-counseling as a U.S. attorney or assistant U.S. attorney.
The phone call between Estrada and Weiss occurred on Oct. 19, 2022, when Estrada communicated his decision not to cooperate on the Hunter Biden case. The call was described as professional, with Estrada explaining the legal and factual analysis behind his choice.
"I can't get into the deliberative process. But I discussed our analysis of facts and law to explain to him why we would not be co-counseling on the case, but then I told him that we were happy to provide office space, administrative support for his attorneys. He thanked me for that, and the call ended," Estrada testified.
Estrada clarified that he had never met the Delaware U.S. attorneys who had received special attorney status for prosecuting cases in his district. Whether these Delaware attorneys had visited or worked within his district remained uncertain.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler accused him of refusing to cooperate on the Hunter Biden case. The allegations were independently confirmed by The New York Times and were supported by multiple officials with knowledge of the ongoing investigation.
Similarly, another Biden-appointed U.S. attorney, Matthew Graves, for the District of Columbia, confirmed his decision not to cooperate with Weiss on the Hunter Biden investigation during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
The controversy surrounding this case is further compounded by a trove of documents released by the Ways and Means Committee in September, indicating special treatment given to Hunter Biden.
A legal battle followed; Hunter Biden is suing the IRS for the disclosures made by the whistleblowers.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as a special counsel in August to continue the Hunter Biden investigation after the whistleblowers testified publicly.
Hunter Biden had previously pleaded not guilty to two tax misdemeanors in Delaware, but the case took a turn when a pretrial diversion agreement faced scrutiny.
Weiss filed a motion to dismiss the Delaware tax misdemeanors in favor of potentially charging Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., or the Central District of California, which the court approved.
However, as of now, no new tax charges have been filed against Hunter Biden.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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