David Charles Weiss (born 1956) is an American attorney. He was nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

to be

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the

United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington. Currently, four district judges and fi ...

, and was retained by President Joe Biden. He has served in that office since February 22, 2018.

Career

Weiss received his bachelor's degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from

Widener University School of Law Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...

. He clerked for Justice Andrew D. Christie of the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

. He then served as an assistant United States Attorney in Delaware from 1986 to 1989, prosecuting

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, violent act is t ...

s and

white-collar criminal The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

offenses. Leaving the U.S. Attorney's office, he worked as a commercial litigation associate and partner at the

Duane Morris Duane Morris LLP is a law firm headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1904 as Duane, Morris, Heckscher, & Roberts, the firm has offices in the United States, London, Singapore, Vietnam, Oman, Myanmar, Shanghai, and Taiwan. In ad ...

firm and as an executive at a financial services firm. He returned to the Delaware U.S. Attorney's office as First Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2007. In this capacity, he served as Acting US Attorney for the District of Delaware from 2009 until the confirmation of

Charles Oberly Charles Monroe Oberly III (born November 9, 1946) is an American attorney from Delaware. He had served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware from 2010 to 2017 and had served as Attorney General of Delaware from 1983 to 1995. Ea ...

. Weiss later served as Acting U.S. Attorney for Delaware again during the administration of Donald Trump following the resignation of Oberly. He was subsequently nominated to officially fill that position, and on February 15, 2018, his nomination to be the United States Attorney was confirmed by the Senate by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. He was sworn in on February 22, 2018.

Hunter Biden investigation

Weiss has been in charge of the investigations into the financial dealings of

Hunter Biden Robert Hunter Biden (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney who is the second son of President of the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden and his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden. He is also a hedge fund, venture capital, and privat ...

and was asked to stay on during the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

. On August 11, 2023, Weiss was named

special counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exist ...

in the Hunter Biden probe by

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...

. On February 14, 2024, he indicted a former FBI informant with lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company

Burisma Holdings Burisma Holdings Limited ( uk, Бурісма Холдингс) is a holding company for a group of energy exploration and production companies. It is registered in Limassol, Cyprus, but based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Burisma Holdings has operated in t ...

undercutting a major aspect of Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president.

References

External links

Attorneys Biography
at United States Attorneys for the District of Delaware 1956 births 21st-century American lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys Delaware lawyers Lawyers from Philadelphia Living people United States Attorneys for the District of Delaware Washington University in St. Louis alumni Widener University Delaware Law School alumni {{US-gov-bio-stub