Hunter Biden special counsel criticizes President Joe Biden over pardon
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Monday released the final report of the special counsel who charged Hunter Biden with gun and tax crimes ahead of the pardon of his father, President Joe Biden.
Special counsel David Weiss said in the report that the president cannot “rewrite history” and suggested that Biden's criticism of his last surviving son's case when he announced the pardon decision was “a smear campaign against a Department of Justice civil servant.” False accusations. “
In an official White House statement announcing the pardon, Biden described his son's prosecution as a “miscarriage of justice,” which prosecutors working for Weiss disputed in later court filings.
“Politicians' decisions to attack career prosecutors when they disagree with the outcome of a case are politically motivated and undermine public confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss wrote. “The President's comments unfairly cast doubt on the Department of Justice “It also calls into question the integrity of all public servants who make these difficult decisions in good faith.”
Biden pardoned his son early last month, shortly before Hunter Biden was expected to be sentenced for violating a statute rarely used by federal prosecutors that makes it illegal for drug users to possess weapons. Biden has said multiple times during the 2024 campaign, including after he dropped out of the race over the summer, that he would not pardon his son.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Hunter Biden's attorney Abbey Lowell said Weiss' report “conveniently ignored two of the minor claims he made as career prosecutors in 2023.” crime and a recommendation to transfer firearms charges to resolve this investigation.”
Lowell also said Weiss extended the investigation by failing to explain why prosecutors “pursued a wild and unmasked conspiracy.”
Lowell added: “It is clear from this report that the investigation into Hunter Biden is a warning shot of an abuse of prosecutorial power.”
Weiss received bipartisan support when he was appointed U.S. Attorney for Delaware during President Donald Trump's first term, and he remains at the Justice Department at the start of the Biden administration. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him as special prosecutor in 2023.
The Justice Department is also expected to release a report on special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Trump's efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election.
Zoe Richards Contributed.