Justice Department releases special counsel's report on Hunter Biden
The Justice Department on Monday released the final report of David Weiss, the special counsel appointed by Trump to serve as federal prosecutors. Promoted to Special Advisor Attorney General Merrick Garland investigates President Biden's son Hunter Biden.
In Garland's report to Congress on Monday, Weiss wrote that he stood by his decision to prosecute the president's son. Tax and gun The charges come after a deal with Hunter's legal team collapsed. Weiss pushed back on Biden's criticism of the investigation.
Weiss led the years-long investigation into Hunter Biden that culminated in Jury convicted Felony firearm charges in Delaware federal court plead guilty Tax evasion charges in California. In December, the president pardoned his son and claimed the charges against Hunter Biden were “raw politics,” comments that drew bipartisan criticism.
“The President's comments unfairly call into question the integrity of those within the Department of Justice and the integrity of all public servants who make these difficult decisions in good faith,” Weiss wrote in the report. “Based on the facts of this case, the President's characterization is inappropriate. Right, and at a more fundamental level, they're wrong.”
“Challenging these rulings and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the foundation of the fair and impartial U.S. justice system,” Weiss wrote. “It undermines public trust in an institution that is critical to upholding the rule of law. confidence.”
In the report, Weiss defended his charging decisions, which many Republicans in Congress claimed favored the president's son.
“I conclude that federal prosecution principles are satisfactory for both tax crimes and firearms crimes,” Weiss wrote.
Hunter Biden was accused in 2023 of lying about his drug use on a gun application and in a separate case faces three tax felonies and six misdemeanors, including failure to file taxes, tax evasion and filing false returns.
Prosecutors said he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in federal taxes while living a “lavish lifestyle.”
“Both cases were not only proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but also resulted in legal jury verdicts and admissions of guilt,” Weiss wrote. “I have always been free from political influence in making my decisions.”
IRS agents who worked with Weiss' team on Hunter Biden's tax case during the special counsel's investigation came forward in interviews with CBS News to raise questions about what they called special treatment in the investigation of the president's son. . They say they have been repeatedly blocked since the Trump administration from taking steps in IRS investigations that would otherwise be considered routine.
“As special agents with IRS Criminal Investigation, we have to make sure we treat everyone the same,” Gary Shapley, a 14-year veteran of the agency, told CBS News at the time ). “And that didn't happen here at all.”
The Justice Department and Weiss deny that Hunter Biden received preferential treatment.
In a letter to Garland included in the report, Hunter Biden's legal team noted criticism of the investigation, telling the attorney general: “You may be aware of the litigation we have made regarding the initiation and conduct of prosecutions against our clients. argument.”
“These are not 'inconsequential' or 'technical' tax code violations,” Weiss wrote. “Given the nature and severity of Mr. Biden’s tax crimes, his prosecution is warranted.”
In response to criticism of the gun charges, Weiss argued that “an analysis of Department of Justice data from 2008 to 2017 shows that these charges are filed more frequently than more than 90 percent of other gun crimes.”
Weiss submitted the report days earlier on Friday, according to Garland's letter to Congress. The attorney general noted that during the investigation, there were no instances in which Garland had to intervene because of policy violations.
The report also details Weiss' investigation into former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents and feeding them false stories about the Bidens. Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this month.