After scoffing at the idea of appointing a special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland did just that on Friday.
In a short press conference, Garland announced that he has elevated David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware who has been in charge of the Biden prosecution, to the role. Garland said that Weiss himself asked earlier this week to be named as special counsel, which Garland agreed to in light of the “public interest” in the matter of the president’s youngest son. He also said Weiss will ultimately submit a final report to him explaining any “prosecution or declination decisions.”
It’s the latest turn in the Biden saga, which looked like it was headed for a somewhat peaceful resolution until recently.
IRS officials had testified to Congress earlier this summer that there was governmental interference in the Biden probe and claimed that Weiss, who was first appointed by Trump in 2019, had requested special counsel status last year but was ultimately denied by the Justice Department. Weiss pushed back on this in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying that he hadn’t asked to be designated special counsel at that time. Garland has also denied claims of meddling by the Justice Department, saying previously that Weiss had “complete authority” in the case.
Congressional Republicans, who have made investigating both Joe and Hunter a priority since taking the House, quickly weighed in. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on social media that Weiss’s appointment “cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption.”
McCarthy also questioned what he called the “sweetheart deal” that Weiss’s office cut with Biden’s attorneys.
That deal was supposed to see Biden plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to unpaid federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, despite owing more than $100,000 in both years, in exchange for avoiding a felony charge of possession of a firearm in 2018 while he was using illegal drugs. But the deal fell apart in court last month under questions from a judge.
On Friday, prosecutors filed to dismiss the criminal information previously submitted for the charges, writing that the venue for the case should be shifted to either California or Washington, D.C. They said attorneys for both sides have “reached an impasse” in plea discussions and that prosecutors now believe that “the case will not resolve short of a trial.” Biden and his legal team have until Monday to respond to the filing.
