Republicans in the House of Representatives are requesting that the Department of Justice provide full details of the scope of its investigation into Hunter Biden, following the appointment of prosecutor David Weiss as a special counsel.
Weiss was already leading an investigation into Hunter Biden for five years before he was appointed as the special counsel in the case in early August. His appointment came after the “sweetheart” plea deal that the DOJ agreed to with Hunter Biden’s legal team fell apart in court.
Weiss serves as the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, where the investigation originated.
Republican lawmakers have for a while called for a special counsel to be appointed in the case. However, they’ve opposed Weiss’ appointment to the position, since he’s an insider and not an independent outside counsel.
In a letter, Republican Representatives Jim Jordan from Ohio, Jason Smith from Missouri and James Comer from Kentucky wrote to the DOJ:
“It is not clear why you have only now, after the investigation has been going on for five years, opted to appoint Mr. Weiss as special counsel, especially after you and the Department represented that Mr. Weiss had already had ‘ultimate’ authority over the case.”
Jordan is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, while Smith and Comer are the chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee, respectively.
In the letter, the three GOP lawmakers asked that Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general, for any communication and document that relates to Weiss being elevated to special counsel, in addition to any other memos that relate to the appointment.
The DOJ confirmed that they received the letter, but they declined to provide any further comment to media outlet The Hill.
The GOP lawmakers are particularly concerned after transcripts from two different whistleblowers at the IRS were released. The text indicates that they were both critical of how prosecutors handled the case. They argued that Weiss gave preferential treatment to Hunter Biden and “slow-walked” the investigation overall.
Both of the whistleblowers served as investigators for the IRS and suggested that Weiss and his team uncovered evidence of significant tax crimes that Hunter Biden committed in both Washington, D.C., and California. However, Weiss faced resistance when he tried to bring charges outside of his own district.
Garland and Weiss have both denied that was the case, though, with Garland saying Weiss had ultimate authority to approach the investigation however he saw fit. He added that Weiss could be appointed as a special attorney if it was necessary to bring charges in other districts.
Weiss only approached Garland about being elevated to a special counsel in early August, which caused many Republicans to question the timing of it all.
It also came around the time of multiple announcements in the Hunter Biden case, including the plea deal that eventually collapsed.
That deal would’ve seen Biden avoid jail time altogether in exchange for pleading guilty to two counts of wilful failure to pay taxes.
