WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president's son ahead of the 2024 election.
Attorney General announces appointment of David Weiss as Special Counsel: "Beginning in 2019, Mr. Weiss in his capacity as U.S. Attorney...began investigating allegations of certain criminal conduct by, among others, Robert Hunter Biden...that investigation remains ongoing." pic.twitter.com/eeAdVtBAxX
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 11, 2023
Garland said he was naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president's son, as the special counsel.
This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption.
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) August 11, 2023
If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?
House Republicans will continue to pursue…
Just as his appointment as special counsel was announced, Weiss notified a federal judge in Delaware that plea deal talks in the Hunter Biden case were at an “impasse.”
Garland noted the “extraordinary circumstances” of the matter as he made the announcement at the Justice Department. He said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that “in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel."
“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel,” Garland said.
The move is a momentous development from the typically cautious Garland and comes amid a pair of sweeping Justice Department probes into Donald Trump, the former president, and President Joe Biden's chief rival in next year's election.
It also comes as House Republicans are mounting their own investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
Last month, Hunter Biden’s plea deal over tax evasion collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics.
Republicans had derided that agreement as a “sweetheart” deal as they pushed their own probe.
The Republicans claimed Weiss was being blocked from becoming a special counsel a claim he and the Justice Department denied.
By being named special counsel Weiss will have broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.