President Joe Biden was asked for the first time Friday about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) special counsel appointment in the ongoing investigation into his son Hunter.
During a press conference at Camp David, a reporter asked the president for his reaction to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Aug. 11 announcement that he was appointing Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden case. (RELATED: Americans Do Not Support How The DOJ Handled The Hunter Biden Investigation: POLL)
Brave Reporter Asks Biden About Hunter’s Special Counsel
REPORTER: “What is your reaction to the Special Counsel Appointment…to your son?”
BIDEN: “Hahaha…I have no comment on any investigations going on. That’s up to the Justice Department.”
YOUR Justice Department. pic.twitter.com/GEwDwGUBWe
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 18, 2023
“I have no comment on any investigation that’s going on. That’s up to the Justice Department and that’s all I have to say,” the president responded. (RELATED: IRS Whistleblowers Say They Were Kept Out Of DOJ Meetings Touted By Hunter Biden’s Attorneys)
Weiss was appointed special counsel after two IRS whistleblowers accused DOJ prosecutors of slow-walking and obstructing the Hunter Biden investigation under Weiss’ watch. This testimony led many, Republicans led by House Oversight Chairman James Comer, to react negatively to Weiss’ appointment.
Shortly after he was appointed special counsel, Weiss filed a motion to withdraw Hunter Biden’s Delaware tax misdemeanor charges in order to potentially charge Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C. or the Central District of California.
Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika granted Weiss’ request to rescind the charges Thursday after Hunter Biden’s legal team did not object to the request. The president’s son was expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and sign a diversion agreement for a felony gun charge in Delaware.
The deal, which would have allowed Hunter to avoid jail time, fell apart in late July when Noreika’s scrutiny of an immunity provision tucked into the diversion agreement led to a disagreement between DOJ prosecutor Leo Wise and Biden’s defense counsel regarding to the scope of the potential immunity. Wise maintained that, under the terms of the deal, Hunter could still be charged for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) with his foreign business dealings. Biden’s attorney, Christopher J. Clark, disagreed. Hunter pleaded not guilty to the charges after the deal fell through.
The first son’s legal team claimed in a Sunday court filing that the diversion agreement was legally binding and accused the DOJ of walking away from negotiations. The DOJ clarified Tuesday that the diversion agreement was never put into place and blamed Hunter Biden’s legal team for the failure of the plea deal.
IRS Whistleblower Gary Shapley testified in May to the House Ways and Means Committee that Weiss was blocked by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys in D.C. and the Central District of California from filing charges against the president’s son. The New York Times has independently confirmed that Weiss was blocked from charging Hunter Biden in California.
Shapley also released an Oct. 2022 email showing that Weiss requested special counsel authority and was denied after the D.C. U.S. Attorney refused to charge Hunter Biden.
Weiss said in a June letter to Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan that he did not have charging authority outside of his designated district, though he contradicted this assertion in a July letter to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Garland has denied Shapley’s accusations of political interference in the Hunter Biden case.