Washington DC [US], August 12 (ANI): Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced that he has appointed a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.
The Trump-appointed US attorney who is probing US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden has been given special counsel status, CNN reported.
The development comes after plea talks between the US Justice Department and Hunter Biden fell apart.
Prosecutor David Weiss asked Attorney General Merrick Garland for the new authority after plea talks for the resolution of tax and gun charges fell apart, with a trial now likely.
Garland’s decision gives Weiss more powers than a typical US attorney and puts the US in uncharted territory, with three special counsels at the Justice Department currently probing the sitting president, his son and the former president.
The investigation appeared to have reached its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June. In an agreement, Hunter Biden planned to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would drop a separate felony gun charge in two years if he remained out of legal trouble and passed a drug test, according to CNN report.
Furthermore, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend probation and no jail time for Hunter Biden. The GOP had slammed the plea deal and accused Weiss of providing preferential treatment to US President’s son. However, during the court hearing in June, the deal nearly collapsed under scrutiny from the federal judge overseeing the case.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika described the intertwined deals to resolve the tax and gun charges as “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical” and “unprecedented,” CNN reported. At the end of the hearing, Noreika directed the US Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers to register additional legal briefs defending the constitutionality of the agreement.
On Friday, David Weiss said talks had failed. Prosecutors wrote, “After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse.” They further said, “A trial is therefore in order.”
With Weiss being named as a special counsel, Garland gave him further independence from the US Justice Department as he begins an unprecedented trial against the son of the sitting US President and as Republican lawmakers claim that the department is politicized, CNN reported.
Weiss and prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss the tax charges registered in Delaware federal court as part of the plea deal in anticipation of possibly bringing future tax charges in California or Washington, DC.
Previously, the parties agreed that the plea agreement will be handled in Delaware federal court, according to CNN report. However, prosecutors have said that the venue is no longer appropriate as the plea deal no more exists.
Garland on Friday said that “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding the federal criminal probe into Hunter Biden contributed to his decision to give special counsel status to the top prosecutor in the investigation, the report said.
Garland’s order regarding Weiss’ appointment said he is authorized to carry out the “ongoing investigation…as well as any matters that arose from that investigation or may arise” as the probe continues,” CNN reported.
Merrick Garland said that Weiss will continue to serve as the US attorney for the Delaware district as he takes on this new responsibility. He further noted that Weiss in the special counsel position will “not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department.” (ANI)
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