David Weiss, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney who in August was named a special counsel leading the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, has been mentioned multiple times in today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing.
The appointment marked another dramatic development in the long-running probe into Hunter Biden, which began in 2018 and, at one time, concerned multiple financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when Joe Biden was vice president.
Weiss, the Delaware US attorney, met in April with Biden’s attorneys, who had requested a routine status update on the investigation, and it had appeared in June that the probe was near its end with a plea agreement. Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge.
That original plea deal ultimately collapsed, and Weiss indicted Hunter Biden last week in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018, the first time in US history the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.
About Weiss: He has decades of experience as a federal prosecutor. In 2018, the Senate confirmed Weiss to serve as US attorney for the District of Delaware. At the time of his nomination, he was serving as the acting US attorney for the district and was one of nine candidates whom Trump said shared his “vision for ‘Making America Safe Again.’”
Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden continued into the Biden administration, prompting Garland to stress during a March Senate committee hearing that he would not interfere with the investigation. Weiss, he reiterated at the time, had “full authority” to carry out the investigation and to bring in another jurisdiction if necessary.
Garland said Weiss was “not to be denied anything that he needs.”
The appointment of a special counsel had long been called for by Republicans who repeatedly criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the probe as being favorable to the president and his son.
However, House GOP members have questioned whether Weiss could be trusted and reiterated calls for Weiss to testify before Congress.
“This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a tweet. “If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?”