Aug. 11 (UPI) — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday named Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation.
Weiss began investigating the president’s adult son in 2019, and Garland said he requested that he be named special counsel to continue his investigation.
“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 Friday in a video statement. “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.”
Garland said the move will provide Weiss all the resources he requests and this step “reinforces for the American people the department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.”
He said that, as special counsel, Weiss will have the authority to continue to investigate Biden and “to take the steps he deems appropriate independently.”
Garland said those decisions will be guided only by the facts and the law.
The Hunter Biden investigation reached this stage after a plea agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and a gun possession charge with prosecutors was questioned and denied by District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika on July 26.
She ordered both sides to file briefs in an effort to resolve the issues, giving them 30 days to do so.
After the plea agreement fell apart, Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges instead. If a new plea agreement can be worked out between the parties, he can reverse his not-guilty plea.
It was not immediately clear how Wess’ appointment as special counsel will affect the ability of Biden’s attorneys and Weiss to complete the plea agreement.
