The appointment of a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe by US attorney general Merrick Garland on Friday, intensifying the investigation of the president’s son in front of the 2024 election, sent shockwaves across US politics. The decision is a significant departure for the ordinarily circumspect Garland and comes amid two extensive investigations by the justice department into Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s main opponent in the general election of next year.
The probe is being conducted by House Republicans into Hunter Biden’s financial operations. Hunter Biden’s life and business transactions have long been a source of political friction for his father, according to the party. Garland appointed David Weiss, the US attorney in Delaware who has been looking into the son of the president’s financial and commercial activities, as the special counsel.
Republicans have long asserted that Weiss is being prevented from serving as a special prosecutor; he and the justice department vehemently refute this assertion. Weiss will now have considerably greater ability to carry out a wider inquiry thanks to his appointment as special counsel. Weiss allegedly informed Garland on Tuesday that “in his opinion, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be appointed,” according to Garland.
Garland stated, “After giving careful thought to his request and the unique circumstances surrounding this situation, I have determined that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel. Hunter Biden has worked as a lobbyist, attorney, banker, consultant, and artist in a career that has taken him all over the world and is rife with scandal. This has consistently been a sore spot for his father. He has always acknowledged that he battles addiction to drugs and alcohol. On more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, he is alleged to have underpaid taxes. In a different instance, he is also accused of illegally possessing a handgun while abusing a controlled narcotic.
Hunter Biden entered a not guilty plea to tax charges at the end of last month after a federal judge in Delaware ruled that she needed more time to consider a potential plea agreement with federal prosecutors to dismiss a felony gun charge. It came as a surprise when the plea agreement fell through, and it appeared to indicate that Hunter’s legal problems remained unresolved.
