The group, which includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, wrote in a letter to Garland that the move is justified because the criminal investigation involves the president’s son Joe Biden. They also argued that it would “avoid the appearance of impropriety”. Granting Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss special counsel authority would also “provide additional assurances to the American people that the investigation of Hunter Biden is free of political influence,” the letter argued. If Garland honors the request, it could provide Republicans and Democrats in Congress with information about the rationale for any future decision by Weis on whether to prosecute Hunter Biden. Lawmakers could otherwise not get that justification if Weiss is not granted special counsel status. Giving Weiss that status would also force Garland to explain to Congress any disagreement he had with an action Weiss suggested during the investigation, including a recommendation to impeach Hunter Biden. Former President Donald Trump and his GOP allies have for years cited Biden’s son and his business dealings in attacks on the president. Hunter Biden disclosed the existence of the criminal investigation in late 2020, shortly after his father was elected president. He said he had been informed that Weiss was looking into his “tax affairs.” “I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax professionals,” Hunter said at the time. In their letter to Garland, the Republican senators wrote: “There is no way to know the full scope of the investigation, but there appears to be increasing evidence that Hunter Biden committed several federal crimes, including but not limited to tax fraud, money money laundering and foreign lobbying violations’. Hunter Biden has not been charged with any of these crimes and it is unclear if he will ever be charged. An Arkansas woman who fathered a child with Hunter Biden out of wedlock testified in a federal court in Delaware earlier this year as part of the criminal investigation, her attorney told CNBC in March. The lawyer, Clint Lancaster, also said the woman had turned over a significant amount of his financial records to federal investigators. “I expect him to be indicted,” Lancaster said of Biden at the time. “Based on what I’ve seen in his financial records, I’d be surprised if he’s not charged.” Weiss’ office declined to comment when asked about the GOP senators’ letter to Garland and whether he had requested the appointment of the special counsel. The Justice Department, which Garland heads, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hunter Biden’s criminal defense attorney, Christopher Clark, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump appointed Weiss as the top federal prosecutor in President Biden’s home state. Weiss was allowed to stay on the job, unlike other US attorneys appointed by Trump, and continue the investigation when President Biden took office. Under federal law, the attorney general can appoint a special counsel when an investigation or prosecution of an individual by the US Attorney’s office or the Department of Justice “would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other exigent circumstances.” A spokeswoman for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, one of the signatories of the letter to Garland, told CNBC in an email that if the attorney general complies with the letter’s request, Weiss “will receive the protection and authority of the expert prosecutor, as well [Trump’s Attorney General William] Barr did with U.S. Attorney John Durham.” Barr appointed Durham as special counsel to investigate the origins of the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian individuals. Special counsels can act like US attorneys and file criminal charges during an investigation. But they are also required by law to give the attorney general a confidential report explaining why they decided or declined to prosecute anyone. The attorney general is also required by law to notify the chairman and the minority member of both the Senate and House Judiciary committees with an explanation of any appointment of a special counsel, and similarly, of the removal of any special counsel. The law says that when a special counsel completes an investigation, the attorney general must notify the same members of Congress of “a description and explanation of the circumstances (if any) in which the attorney general has concluded that a proposed action by a special counsel was so inappropriate or unjustified under established Department practices that it should not be pursued.” The law also says the attorney general can determine that public release of a special counsel’s reports “would be in the public interest.”
