WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that he has appointed David Weiss as special counsel in the ongoing investigation of Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden.
Weiss will be responsible for the “ongoing investigation” of the president’s son “as well as any other matters that arise or may arise from that investigation,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Weiss, who was already overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation and is based in Delaware, asked to be appointed special counsel on Tuesday and Garland agreed that it was “in the public interest” to do so, the attorney general said.
The Justice Department noted that Weiss was nominated by Donald Trump in 2017 and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in 2018.
Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges related to his failure to pay income taxes earlier this year. But while he waited in court last month to enter a guilty plea, the deal fell apart over a mix-up over a separate firearms charge.
The judge asked the parties to settle and meet later, leaving Hunter Biden to plead not guilty while the court process continues.
Hunter Biden’s lawyers had also indicated they believed the plea deal would resolve all issues facing the president’s son, but prosecutors said other investigations were continuing.
Documents from the failed plea deal were made public last week.
Garland has appointed two other special counsel since taking over the Justice Department in 2021.
In November 2022, he appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to conduct two investigations into former President Donald Trump: his role in alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
Smith obtained two indictments against Trump, the first in a Florida court accusing him of mishandling national secrets and the second earlier this month in a Washington, DC court accusing him of defrauding the United States in an attempt to prevent transfer of power.
In January of this year, Garland appointed Robert Hur to investigate classified documents found in the office and residence of President Joe Biden. The documents were from his time as vice president.
