Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley slammed the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday for delaying the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Davis Weiss as the special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe Friday, following whistleblowers’ accusations that the DOJ slowed the investigation for political purposes. Weiss had been appointed to look into the first son’s tax misdemeanors and illegal gun purchase that took place during former President Donald Trump’s administration.
“I was not nearly as delighted as I would’ve been two years ago when many of us were calling for this appointment,” Turley told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on Friday. “They waited for the appointment of a special counsel after the statute of limitations has run on critical crimes like the tax violations in 2014, 2015. They waited until Weiss himself was accused of slowing or suppressing efforts. At least the whistleblowers suggested that he was not able to pursue cases and didn’t aggressively push back on that.”
Turley suggested that the special counsel appointment could slow House Republicans’ efforts to investigate both Hunter’s alleged crimes and the DOJ’s probe into the first son’s activities. (RELATED: ‘A Debacle For The Justice Department’: CNN Guest Criticizes Merrick Garland’s Handling Of Hunter Biden Probe)
He added that Garland has been careful to leave President Joe Biden out of the equation by making the investigation solely about Hunter. The law professor pointed out that a special counsel “would be useful” to investigate the corruption allegations against the Biden family, including the president.
An FD-1023 form leaked by a DOJ whistleblower included evidence that Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, bribed Biden and Hunter with $5 million to fire then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who at the time was investigating the energy company. Zlochevsky’s wish for Shokin to be fired was eventually granted after then-Vice President Joe Biden threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Ukraine.
A whistleblower from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the Biden family made approximately $17 million from foreign business interests in China, Romania and Ukraine.
Turley also said Weiss’ appointment as a special counsel is a “chilling moment” for Hunter Biden, after his lawyers reached a deal with prosecutors in late June that would allow him to plead guilty and avoid jail time. The plea deal fell through in late July when Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected it after becoming aware of disagreements between the prosecution and defense regarding Hunter’s scope of immunity, particularly in relation to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Turley expressed hope that Weiss will investigate Hunter’s alleged violations of FARA and be able to indict him as a foreign agent. He also warned that there are no guarantees of a “more aggressive” investigation against Hunter with Weiss as special counsel.