Merrick Garland Announces Special Counsel Has Been Appointed in Hunter Biden Probe
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss has been tapped as a special counsel in his ongoing investigation into President Joe Biden’s son.
Weiss’ appointment appears to have been his own idea.
“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that, in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said.
“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel.”
Weiss, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, now has the authority to conduct the Hunter Biden investigation as he sees fit.
“This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss [with] all the resources he requests,” Garland said Friday.
“It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently, based only on the facts and the law.”
Garland said that Weiss “will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has previously exercised to oversee the investigation and decide where, when and whether to file charges.”
The attorney general added that Weiss “will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department.”
Weiss’ final assessment will be reviewed by Garland.
In April, an IRS whistleblower testified that Weiss had asked to be made a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case before, but was denied. Weiss has refuted those claims, according to ABC News.
The attorney general’s announcement comes at an already tumultuous time for Hunter Biden — and his father.
Last month, a plea deal involving Hunter collapsed after it became clear that it would not offer the president’s son blanket immunity from future prosecution.
Under the terms of the deal, Hunter was to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax evasion charges, while an illegal gun possession charge would be diverted for two years.
Hunter ultimately withdrew from the deal and pleaded not guilty to the crimes.
Both Hunter and Joe Biden, meanwhile, are facing allegations that Hunter essentially sold access to his father during Joe’s time as vice president under the Obama administration.
The president and first son have also been accused of accepting $5 million bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Rep. James Comer, who is leading a congressional investigation into the Bidens’ alleged corruption, criticized Garland for appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden case.
“This move by Attorney General Garland is part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup in light of the House Oversight Committee’s mounting evidence of President Joe Biden’s role in his family’s schemes selling ‘the brand’ for millions of dollars to foreign nationals,” he said, according to ABC News.
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