Prosecutor investigating Hunter Biden denounces president's criticism

The special counsel leading the years-long investigation into Joe Biden's son Hunter criticized the president for making “baseless accusations” in the case and defended his investigation in his final report.

In a report released Monday, David Weiss called his prosecution of the president's son for gun and tax crimes “unbiased” and “non-partisan.”

Hunter Biden's lawyer said the report showed Weiss' investigation “serves as a warning of abuses of prosecutorial power.”

In early December, Biden formally pardoned his son, who was facing sentencing in two criminal cases.

In issuing the pardon, the president said his son had been “singled out” and called his case a “miscarriage of justice” and “raw politics.”

Mr Weiss called the comments “unjustified and wrong”.

“I prosecuted two cases against (Hunter) Biden because he violated the law,” he wrote in the report.

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in early September and was found guilty of possession of a firearm and illegal drug use in June.

The father granted his son a full, unconditional pardon after the president repeatedly said he would not grant him clemency.

This is not the first time a US president has pardoned a family member.

Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton in 2001 for cocaine-related crimes committed in 1985.

In 2020, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of his daughter Ivanka, who in 2005 pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions.

Weiss acknowledged this in the report, but added: “No one used this as an opportunity to defame a Department of Justice public servant based solely on false accusations.”

Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in September to nine counts of federal tax fraud, for which he faces up to 17 years in prison.

He was also convicted of three felonies for purchasing a firearm in June and faced up to 25 years in prison.

The investigation into the president's son has resurfaced disturbing and embarrassing details about his personal life, including his addiction to crack cocaine and alleged Fees paid to attendants.

President Biden has remained largely silent during the investigation into his son but vigorously defended him during the process of pardoning him.

“Hunter has been sober for five and a half years, despite the relentless attacks and selective prosecution he faced, and efforts have been made to take him down,” President Biden said.

“In trying to destroy Hunter, they're trying to destroy me – there's no reason to believe it's going to stop here. Enough is enough.”

He added: “I hope Americans can understand why a father and a president made this decision.”

The pardon runs from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024 and “includes but is not limited to” tax and firearms offenses for which he was convicted.

Weiss said he could not make any “additional charging decisions” against Hunter Biden during this period because of the unconditional pardon.

“It would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional fees are necessary,” he said.

Weiss has previously defended his investigation into the president's son.

2023, he told the House Judiciary Committee His work was never subject to political pressure or interference from the Department of Justice.

Weiss' investigation into Hunter Biden has drawn intense scrutiny from both sides of the political spectrum.

Democrats said it had political overtones and argued Hunter Biden was being unfairly targeted.

Republicans argued that the Justice Department was not aggressive enough in pressing charges and showed unfair favoritism against the president's son.

Hunter Biden was convicted in 2023 after a plea deal collapsed.

A judge has refused to approve the deal – dubbed a “sweetheart deal” by Republicans – that would have allowed Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax evasion charges to avoid more serious gun-related charges.

In a statement released on Monday, Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbey Lowell, criticized Mr. Weiss for causing the deal to collapse.

“Mr. Weiss also failed to explain why he reneged on his agreement, a reversal that came at the 11th hour in court as he and his office faced a barrage of attacks from Republicans,” Lowell said.