Weiss special counsel investigation
The Weiss special counsel investigation was a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of David Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, as the special counsel on August 11, 2023, three days after Weiss requested such authority.
Since 2018, Weiss had been investigating Hunter Biden as U.S. attorney. In 2023, Republicans asked Garland to appoint a special counsel, some specifically demanding Weiss, a Republican appointed to his role by President Donald Trump. Garland ultimately appointed Weiss, giving him additional authority. However, congressional Republicans then expressed criticism, some stating Weiss was untrustworthy.
A plea agreement negotiated in July 2023 fell through after a U.S. district judge declined to approve it, due to disagreement between the defense and prosecution about the extent of the prosecutorial immunity offered. In September 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on gun-related charges arising from his purchase of a handgun in 2018, when he had an addiction to cocaine. In December 2023, the special counsel indicted Biden on nine additional counts, all tax-related charges. Biden's gun trial began on June 3, 2024, and he was found guilty of all counts on June 11, making him the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted in a criminal trial. Hunter Biden was scheduled to face an additional trial related to the tax charges starting on September 5, 2024. On this day, however, he would instead change his plea to guilty.
On December 1, 2024, President Biden granted Hunter Biden a full and unconditional pardon for all offenses charged by Special Counsel Weiss and for any other crimes he may be alleged to have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. He said he made this decision due to what he claimed was the "selective" and "political" nature of the charges against his son, which he deemed an extraordinary affront to justice, necessitating his rare interference in the justice system. David Weiss later issued a statement saying "There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case.”
On January 13, 2025, Weiss's special counsel report was released. In the report, Weiss criticized the assertions made by President Biden in his December 1 pardon, noting "Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law...[T]hese baseless accusations have no merit and repeating them threatens the integrity of the justice system as a whole." Weiss also stated that because of the pardon, he was prevented from making "additional charging decision". Hunter Biden's legal team did not review the report prior to its public release.