Special counsel in charge of Hunter Biden case defends the integrity of the investigation
In his concluding report, special counsel David Weiss states that Joe Biden was "wrong" in his critiques of the investigation.
TroibNews 
The special prosecutor responsible for the criminal tax and gun-related charges against Hunter Biden utilized a final report on the investigation to counter President Joe Biden's assertion that his son was unfairly targeted for political motives.
“The President's characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong,” special counsel David Weiss stated in his report, publicly released by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday and presented to Congress. “These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics.”
The 27-page document offers little new information regarding the findings from the inquiry into Hunter Biden, as those details were extensively covered in federal court proceedings in Delaware and California over the past year. In Delaware, a jury found him guilty of three felony charges related to his handgun purchase in 2018 when he was grappling with a crack cocaine addiction. Meanwhile, in California, he pleaded guilty in September to nine federal tax charges that included failing to file returns and inflating business expenses.
Throughout the legal proceedings, the president repeatedly stated that he would not grant his son a pardon. However, on December 1, he reversed that stance, offering broad clemency to Hunter, which encompassed not only the charges at hand but also any federal offenses he may have committed since 2014.
“I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden remarked in a statement that accompanied the pardon, explaining his change of heart. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.”
Hunter Biden’s defense team also consistently contended in court that the charges were "selective" and "vindictive." However, both federal judges presiding over the cases dismissed the requests from the defense to drop the charges on those grounds, with one judge publicly criticizing the president’s claims regarding his son's treatment.
Weiss, who was appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware by Trump, initiated the investigation into Hunter Biden before Joe Biden assumed office in 2021. Garland permitted Weiss to continue the inquiry and later promoted him to special counsel status in 2023, granting him further independence to pursue the investigation and file charges.
The disclosure of Weiss's report coincides with Washington's anticipation of another special counsel report, this one from Jack Smith, investigating Donald Trump’s two criminal cases. A federal judge recently allowed the Justice Department to publish one volume of Smith's findings.
The most pointed segments of Weiss’s report directly address the president’s claims that his son was a target of a political vendetta supported by Justice Department prosecutors. Despite this, Weiss does not challenge the president's authority to pardon his son or the extent of that pardon.
“Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,” Weiss noted.
Some Republican lawmakers have urged Weiss to pursue additional charges against Hunter Biden, claiming he breached various laws in connection with foreign companies he worked for. Although prosecutors intended to present these allegations during his tax trial, his guilty plea negated that plan.
In his report, Weiss hinted at the possibility of other charges against the president's son but indicated that the pardon’s scope would prevent pursuing those options. “It would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges are warranted,” he wrote.
Garland's letter transmitting the report to Congress did not reference Weiss's rebuttal to the president’s claims. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the report.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
“The President's characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong,” special counsel David Weiss stated in his report, publicly released by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday and presented to Congress. “These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics.”
The 27-page document offers little new information regarding the findings from the inquiry into Hunter Biden, as those details were extensively covered in federal court proceedings in Delaware and California over the past year. In Delaware, a jury found him guilty of three felony charges related to his handgun purchase in 2018 when he was grappling with a crack cocaine addiction. Meanwhile, in California, he pleaded guilty in September to nine federal tax charges that included failing to file returns and inflating business expenses.
Throughout the legal proceedings, the president repeatedly stated that he would not grant his son a pardon. However, on December 1, he reversed that stance, offering broad clemency to Hunter, which encompassed not only the charges at hand but also any federal offenses he may have committed since 2014.
“I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden remarked in a statement that accompanied the pardon, explaining his change of heart. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.”
Hunter Biden’s defense team also consistently contended in court that the charges were "selective" and "vindictive." However, both federal judges presiding over the cases dismissed the requests from the defense to drop the charges on those grounds, with one judge publicly criticizing the president’s claims regarding his son's treatment.
Weiss, who was appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware by Trump, initiated the investigation into Hunter Biden before Joe Biden assumed office in 2021. Garland permitted Weiss to continue the inquiry and later promoted him to special counsel status in 2023, granting him further independence to pursue the investigation and file charges.
The disclosure of Weiss's report coincides with Washington's anticipation of another special counsel report, this one from Jack Smith, investigating Donald Trump’s two criminal cases. A federal judge recently allowed the Justice Department to publish one volume of Smith's findings.
The most pointed segments of Weiss’s report directly address the president’s claims that his son was a target of a political vendetta supported by Justice Department prosecutors. Despite this, Weiss does not challenge the president's authority to pardon his son or the extent of that pardon.
“Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,” Weiss noted.
Some Republican lawmakers have urged Weiss to pursue additional charges against Hunter Biden, claiming he breached various laws in connection with foreign companies he worked for. Although prosecutors intended to present these allegations during his tax trial, his guilty plea negated that plan.
In his report, Weiss hinted at the possibility of other charges against the president's son but indicated that the pardon’s scope would prevent pursuing those options. “It would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges are warranted,” he wrote.
Garland's letter transmitting the report to Congress did not reference Weiss's rebuttal to the president’s claims. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the report.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
