The ongoing investigation into the president’s son Hunter Biden has named U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel, as announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday.
According to a statement from the Justice Department, Weiss will be responsible for investigating President Joe Biden’s son and any other related matters. Garland agreed with Weir as it was in the public interest to have him appointed as special counsel on Tuesday.
The decision was made known shortly before Weiss’s team disclosed that plea negotiations for tax and gun charges against the president’ son have broken down, leading to the possibility of the case being tried in California or Washington, D.C. Prosecutors suggested on Friday that they could bring different charges gegenmuch against Biden in the new case.
According to DOJ, Weiss was nominated by then-President Donald Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in 2018.
The appointment, as per Garland, reinforces the Department’s dedication to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters for the American people.
Chris Clark, the attorney representing Hunter Biden, released a statement saying that they are seeking redress from both parties in Delaware and Washington, D.C.
He stated that Weiss has been devoted to investigating his client for five years and has proposed a resolution. If there were any other crimes he could have successfully prosecuted, if those offenses were absent, they are unlikely to be successful.
Despite Hunter Biden’s agreement to admit misdemeanor charges for not paying income taxes earlier this year, the agreement became untenable due to confusion over a separate gun charge during his court appearance last month.
The judge instructed the parties to finalize the settlement and return it later, leaving Hunter Biden to enter a not-guilty plea during the legal proceedings.
Hunter Biden’s legal team had indicated that the plea deal would resolve all issues concerning the president’ son, but prosecutors stated that other inquiries were still ongoing.
The parties were unable to reach an agreement after the hearing, prompting prosecutors to request a trial.
Prosecutors disclosed that Biden may be subject to new charges in a separate filing later in the day. The filing stated that the government is exercising its legal power by considering which tax charges to bring in another district and may choose to file the same charges or different ones.
Two sources familiar with the matter informed NBC News that the White House had not given any indication of the special counsel appointment beforehand.
On July 26, Hunter Biden departs from the courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware. Kenny Holston / The New York Times & Redux:
The documents in the failed plea deal were made public last week.
The White House chose not to respond and instead directed the Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s legal team to be contacted.
The appointment of Weiss was denounced by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., as a part of the Justice Department’s efforts to conceal the Biden family’ business dealings.
Comer stated that the Biden Justice Department is working to block congressional oversight despite providing evidence of corruption related to the biden family.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who had previously called for a special counsel, also expressed disapproval of the appointment.
The Biden family’s corruption is being covered up by David Weiss, who has already agreed to a sweetheart plea deal that was rejected by judicial review, according to his spokesperson, Russell Dye.
Dye emphasized that the Department must cooperate fully in their investigation, which includes refraining from interfering with the 11 transcribed interviews requested from DOJ and FBI officials, and David Weiss must keep his promise to testify.
Weiss wrote a letter on July 25 to House Republicans, proposing to publicly testify before Congress in late September or early October.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker from California, echoed the sentiments of Comer and Jordan by tweeting that Biden’s DOJ action cannot be used to prevent congressional investigations or whitewash the Bian family’records. Given that Weiss was responsible for negotiating the sweetheart deal but could not pass, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?
Under the modified agreement, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of not paying taxes and be given probation instead of a separate felony gun possession charge for possessing an illegal Colt Cobra handgun, which would require him to comply with the diversion agreement’s terms.
During a plea hearing last month, despite being nominated by Trump, the judge refused to sign the agreement, asking for more information from both parties regarding certain “unusual provisions,” such as one that could have potentially shielded Biden from other tax-related offenses.
Since taking over the Justice Department in 2021, Garland has appointed two additional special counsels.
Garland appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel in November 2022 to investigate two cases against former President Donald Trump, one on his involvement in the attempt to annul the 2020 election and the other on him handling classified documents after his retirement.
Smith has been indicted twice by Trump, the first in a Florida court for mishandling national secrets and the second in another Washington, D.C. court, accusing him of defrauding the U.S. to prevent power transfer.
In January, Garland enlisted Robert Hur to investigate classified documents that were discovered in President Biden’s office and residence. The documents are believed to be from his time as vice president.
NBC News reported on Friday that the president’s lawyers and Hur have been in talks for around a month regarding the interview conditions.