Prosecutor in Hunter Biden case elevated to US special counsel, giving him more authority

WASHINGTON – US Attorney-General Merrick Garland on Friday said the federal prosecutor who has

filed criminal charges against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden,

would get additional authority to investigate whether the son engaged in improper business dealings.

Mr Garland’s elevation of prosecutor David Weiss to special counsel comes as Republicans in Congress threaten an impeachment inquiry into unproven claims that President Biden benefited from his son’s business ventures.

Mr Weiss was originally appointed to his position as US attorney for Delaware by former Republican president Donald Trump, and allowed to stay on during the Biden administration.

His appointment as special counsel gives him more independence than federal prosecutors usually enjoy.

Republicans have accused the elder Biden of profiting from his son’s business ventures in Ukraine and China, though they have yet to produce any evidence of wrongdoing.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in July that the Chamber might launch an impeachment inquiry in the autumn.

The White House has dismissed the allegations as “insane conspiracy theories” and has said that Mr Biden did not participate in his son’s business affairs.

A years-long inquiry conducted by Mr Weiss has not turned up any evidence that the younger Biden used his father’s political power for personal gain.

Hunter Biden, 53, has worked as a lobbyist, lawyer, consultant and investment banker and has said he has struggled with alcoholism and crack cocaine use.

Mr Weiss

charged Hunter Biden

with failing to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and unlawfully owning a firearm while addicted to illegal drugs.

A federal judge in July rejected a deal that would have allowed Hunter Biden to plead guilty to the tax charges and avoid the gun charge.

Mr Weiss is the third quasi-independent prosecutor appointed by Mr Garland to oversee politically sensitive investigations.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed two criminal cases against Trump – one accusing him of

trying to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat to Mr Biden

and a second that alleges

he improperly took sensitive government documents with him

when he left the White House and tried to prevent officials from recovering them.

Another special counsel, Mr Robert Hur, is probing whether Mr Biden mishandled classified documents after he left office as vice-president in 2017.

Mr Weiss has said the Justice Department has not interfered with his work, and Mr Garland has also denied allegations of special treatment.

Hunter Biden has been a focus of several Republican congressional committees.

One former associate told the House Oversight Committee that

Hunter gave an impression that he emphasised his family ties

while he was doing business in Ukraine nearly a decade ago, while his father was vice-president. That witness, Mr Devon Archer, said Hunter spoke with his father daily but said the conversations did not involve business dealings.

Trump also has frequently mentioned the younger Biden in an attempt to tar his father as the two gear up for a

possible rematch in the 2024 presidential election.

A June Reuters/Ipsos poll found half of Americans, including 75 per cent of Republicans and 33 per cent of Democrats, believed the younger Biden received preferential treatment from Mr Weiss.

But most said that would not affect their vote in 2024. REUTERS