The US attorney appointed by Donald Trump investigating Hunter Biden was given special counsel status after talks between the Justice Department and the president’s son failed.
Prosecutor David Weiss asked Attorney General Merrick Garland for the new authority after talks to resolve the tax and weapons charges broke down, with a trial now likely.
Garland’s decision, which he announced on Friday, gives Weiss more powers than a typical American lawyer and puts the nation in uncharted territory, with three Justice Department special prosecutors currently investigating the acting president, his son and the previous president.
It’s the latest dramatic turn in the long-running Hunter Biden criminal investigation that has plagued President Joe Biden’s White House and has been a top priority for Congressional Republicans.
The investigation seemed to reach its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June.
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In a two-pronged deal, Hunter Biden planned to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would drop a separate felony gun possession charge in two years if he stayed out of legal trouble and passed a drug test.
Federal prosecutors also agreed to recommend probation, not prison, for Hunter Biden.
The Republican Party has criticized the plea deal, accusing Weiss of giving Hunter Biden preferential treatment.
But in a stunning three-hour hearing last month, the deal nearly collapsed under the scrutiny of the federal judge overseeing the case.
US District Judge Maryellen Noreika said the intertwined settlements to resolve the tax and weapons charges were “messy”, “non-direct”, “atypical” and “unprecedented”.
At the end of that hearing, she ordered the Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s attorneys to file additional procedural briefs defending the settlement’s constitutionality.
On Friday, Weiss said the talks had failed. “After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse,” the prosecutors wrote. “A trial is therefore in order.”
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By naming Weiss special counsel, Garland gave him more independence from the Justice Department as he embarks on an unprecedented trial against the sitting president’s son, and Republicans say the department is politicized.
The White House and Hunter Biden’s legal team were not informed in advance of the decision to appoint a special counsel, according to a senior Justice Department official.
Republican Party Criticism of the Investigation
Calls for a special counsel have intensified in recent months, with top Republicans claiming Hunter Biden got a “love deal” and IRS whistleblowers claiming Weiss and the Justice Department gave him preferential treatment in the plea deal.
Two career IRS agents who worked on the Hunter Biden investigation have gone public as whistleblowers, claiming there was political meddling in the investigation.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, asked Weiss to testify before his committee about the Hunter Biden investigation, and Weiss has volunteered to appear before the panel in the fall.
“David Weiss is not to be trusted and this is just a new cover-up for Biden family corruption,” Jordan spokesman Russell Dye said in a statement. “Weiss already signed a plea deal that was so appalling and unfair that a federal judge rejected it.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky was also displeased, calling it a “Biden family cover-up.” Federal prosecutors spent five years investigating Hunter Biden for possible crimes of tax evasion, illegal foreign lobbying, money laundering and other possible crimes.
Trials can take place in Washington or California
Weiss and prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss the tax charges filed in Delaware federal court as part of the plea deal in anticipation of possible future tax charges in California or Washington.
“The location for these crimes is not in Delaware,” prosecutors wrote. “Instead, the seat for these offenses and any other related tax offenses is in the Central District of California or the District of Columbia.”
The parties previously agreed that the plea deal would be handled in federal court in Delaware. But now that the plea deal has ended, prosecutors say the site is no longer appropriate.
Hunter Biden attorney Chris Clark said in a statement shortly after the filing that “whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or elsewhere, we expect a fair resolution on behalf of our client.”
“This U.S. attorney has been diligently investigating my client for five years and has proposed a resolution that we intend to pursue in court,” he said, adding: “We are confident that when all these maneuvers are over, my client will have resolution and will move on with his life. successfully.”
“Extraordinary Circumstances”
In a brief speech, Garland said on Friday that “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding the federal criminal investigation into Hunter Biden contributed to her decision to grant the investigation’s lead prosecutor special counsel status.
Garland’s order naming Weiss said he is authorized to “conduct the ongoing investigation… as well as any issues that arise from that investigation or may arise” as the investigation continues.
A senior Justice Department official said Weiss will write a report, which the attorney general is expected to be released publicly when the investigation is complete.
This has been the common practice of special advisers in recent years such as Robert Mueller and John Durham. “I am confident that Mr. Weiss will discharge his responsibility impartially and urgently and in accordance with the highest traditions of this department,” added Garland.
Garland said Weiss will continue to serve as US Attorney for the District of Delaware as he takes on this new role. He noted that, as special counsel, Weiss “will not be subject to day-to-day supervision by any departmental employee.” He said Weiss “must comply with departmental regulations, procedures and policies.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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