U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he was appointing Delaware U.S. attorney David Weiss as a special counsel in the lawyer’s ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden.
The Trump-appointed attorney had asked Garland to be given such status this past Tuesday, and Garland said Friday he had determined it was in the public interest.
Weiss has been investigating allegations of criminal conduct by President Joe Biden’s son, among others, since 2019 and was asked in February 2021 to remain in his role as U.S. attorney for Delaware and was permitted to continue to lead the investigation.
His probe has looked into the business dealings of the younger Biden and he had brought charges against Hunter in Delaware.
“As I said before, Mr. Weiss would be permitted to continue his investigation, take any investigative steps he wanted and make the decision whether to prosecute in any district,” Garland said.
Last month, Hunter Biden had agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanour charges related to his failure to pay income taxes earlier this year.
But the agreement fell apart over confusion about a separate gun charge, according to reports, prompting the judge to ask both parties to hammer out an agreement and later return.
Weiss has said plea deal talks have broken down in the tax and gun case.
The attorney general added that Tuesday was the first time Weiss had requested special counsel status, despite reports that an IRS whistleblower had made claims saying otherwise.
Garland said the new status would ensure Weiss receives resources he requests as part of his investigation and “reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation.”
“The special counsel will not be subject to the day to day supervision of any official of the department, but he must comply with the regulations, procedures and policies of the department consistent with the special counsel regulations,” he said.
He added that once Weiss’s work has concluded, the U.S. attorney would be required to provide him with a report explaining any prosecution or declination decisions reached.
Garland said he was committed to making “as much of his report public as possible.”
— with files from The Associated Press