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WASHINGTON — House and Senate Republicans on Friday ripped Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint U.S. Attorney David Weiss as the special counsel in the ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden.
Republicans accused Weiss of signing off on a “sweetheart deal” with the president’s son and suggested that he was appointed as special counsel to inhibit congressional investigations into the Bidens and to avoid testifying before Congress.
“This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a tweet. “If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people.”
Follow live updates on the Hunter Biden investigation special counsel appointment
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chair of the Oversight Committee who’s been investigating the Biden family’s business dealings, slammed the development as “part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup.”
Comer vowed that the Oversight panel’s probe would continue concurrently with the special counsel’s work. Just a day earlier, the chairman promised that his committee would soon issue subpoenas for members of the Biden family, including possibly the president himself.
“Let’s be clear what today’s move is really about. The Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family’s corruption,” Comer said in his statement Friday.
Another powerful Republican, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had previously called on Garland to name a special counsel in the case. But on Friday, Jordan’s team also took aim at Weiss, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney in Delaware and stayed on under President Joe Biden.
Weiss approved DOJ’s plea agreement with Hunter Biden on two misdemeanor tax charges, but that deal fell apart after a Trump-nominated federal judge refused to accept it. The deal, which Republicans have criticized, would have included Biden pleading guilty to two tax-related charges in exchange for prosecutors recommending probation and dropping a gun charge later on under a diversion agreement.
“David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” said Jordan spokesman Russell Dye. “Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it.”
Weiss, in July, had offered to testify before the Judiciary Committee this fall and Dye said Friday the panel still expects him to do so.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., disparaged Weiss as a “sham special counsel” and said the development “is an even better deal for Hunter since charges may never come.”
Across the Capitol, the GOP criticism of Weiss was much the same.
Shortly after Garland’s announcement, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appeared on Fox News and said that he doesn’t “trust” Weiss and his team to “fairly investigate” the Bidens, adding that by appointing a special counsel “they’re trying to make it harder” for Congress to investigate.
“What they tried to do is give Hunter Biden a deal that no other American would get, the judge asked hard questions, the plea agreement blew up. And to think that the very guy who wrote the plea agreement is seriously going to continue to investigate the Bidens is laughable” Graham said. “Who in their right mind believes that changing the title of what you call Mr. Weiss solves all the problems associated with Mr. Weiss? Nobody.”
On Weiss testifying before Congress, Graham said that his appointment to special counsel “does not absolve him of the obligation” to answer Congress’ questions, reiterating that this appointment is a means to “shut down” congressional investigations.
“We’re not gonna let this go. Mr. Weiss, you’re not off the hook here. This Friday afternoon gambit is not going to work. We’re gonna continue to ask questions about the biggest sweetheart deal in the history of America. We’re not going away in Congress.” Graham said.
Rebecca Kaplan and Dareh Gregorian contributed.
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