A timeline of behind-the-scenes moves in the Hunter Biden probe this week
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives for Friday's news conference. Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
US Attorney David Weiss requested special counsel status on Tuesday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Court filings indicate that Weiss’ team reached out to Hunter Biden’s lawyers on Wednesday, telling them that they would ask to drop the charges in Delaware so they could pursue charges in a different jurisdiction.
Prosecutors asked Hunter Biden’s lawyers to privately respond to them by Friday, according to court filings. Hunter Biden’s team asked for an extension until Monday, but prosecutors held firm on their deadline.
On Friday, Garland announced Weiss’ appointment as a special counsel, around the same very moment Weiss filed the court papers revealing that the plea negotiations had broken down and that the case was now likely heading to trial.
"As of the time of this filing, the Defendant has not yet provided his position," Weiss said in the court papers.
Federal judge Maryellen Noreika ordered Hunter Biden’s lawyers to respond by noon on Monday to the Justice Department’s request to drop the misdemeanor charges in Delaware so they can bring charges elsewhere.
23 min ago
Trump campaign criticizes Department of Justice over special counsel appointment
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized the Justice Department's handling of its investigation into Hunter Biden on Friday, following news that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed US attorney David Weiss as a special counsel in the investigation into President Joe Biden's son.
"Crooked Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the entire Biden Crime Family have been protected by the Justice Department for decades even though there is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartel’s own financial gain," Cheung told CNN in a statement.
"If this special counsel is truly independent - even though he failed to bring proper charges after a four year investigation and he appears to be trying to moving the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue - he will quickly conclude that Joe Biden, his troubled son Hunter, and their enablers, including the media, which colluded with the 51 intelligence officials who knowingly mislead the public about Hunter’s laptop, should face the required consequences," the statement added.
Trump, as part of his defense against his own legal troubles, has long criticized the Justice Department for operating under what he claims is a two-tiered system of justice, and not doing enough to investigate the Biden family.
23 min ago
Special counsel status could complicate effort to get Weiss to testify on Capitol Hill
From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Paula Reid, Marshall Cohen and Annie Grayer
David Weiss speaks to the press in April 2021. Damian Giletto/Delaware News Journal/USA Today Network/File
The appointment of US Attorney David Weiss as a special counsel could complicate congressional efforts to have him testify on Capitol Hill about his investigation of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, according to a senior Democratic congressional aide.
The aide said that past practice suggests Weiss’ special counsel status could insulate him from testimony until after the investigation is completed and Weiss has finished the report he’s expected to deliver.
Calls for a special counsel have intensified in recent months, with leading Republicans claiming Hunter Biden got a “sweetheart deal,” and IRS whistleblowers alleging that the Justice Department gave him preferential treatment.
Two career IRS agents who worked on the Hunter Biden probe went public as whistleblowers, claiming there was political meddling in the probe. And last month, the plea deal between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden imploded at a court hearing where the judge said she wasn’t ready to approve the deal, calling the arrangement “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical” and “unprecedented.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan had asked for Weiss to testify before his committee about the Hunter Biden probe, and Weiss had offered to appear before the panel in the fall.
A spokesperson for Jordan downplayed the significance of the special counsel designation.
“David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye said in a statement. “Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it. We will continue to pursue facts brought to light by brave whistleblowers as well as Weiss’s inconsistent statements to Congress.”
Another Democratic aide, however, said the appointment of Weiss as special counsel would make it harder for Republicans to continue repeating allegations that he does not have complete authority over the Hunter Biden investigation or the ability to bring charges.
A DOJ official said it was unclear how the special counsel designation impacts Weiss testifying before Congress, but the official noted that two previous special counsels, John Durham and Robert Mueller, testified only after they submitted their final reports, which came after a yearslong investigations.
Federal prosecutors have spent five years investigating Hunter Biden for potential felony tax evasion, illegal foreign lobbying, money laundering, and other possible crimes. As part of plea deal – which is now on hold – Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would have recommended no jail time.
33 min ago
Hunter Biden’s attorney expects "fair resolution" for his client
From CNN's Kara Scannell
Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark issued a statement on Friday, saying he expects "a fair resolution."
“The Attorney General made clear what was always the case in terms of the authority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware in this matter. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution on behalf of our client – this US Attorney has diligently been investigating my client for five years and he had proposed a resolution which we fully intend to pursue in court," the statement read.
"It is hard to see why he would have proposed such a resolution if there were other offenses he could have successfully prosecuted, and we are aware of none. We are confident when all of these maneuverings are at an end my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully,” it continued.
37 min ago
Weiss might bring tax charges against Hunter Biden in DC or California, filing says
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26. Julio Cortez/AP/File
Special counsel David Weiss asked a judge Friday to dismiss the tax charges filed in Delaware federal court as part of Hunter Biden’s plea deal, in anticipation of possibly bringing future tax charges in California or Washington, DC.
“Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware,” the prosecutors wrote. “Rather, venue for these offenses and any other related tax offenses lies either in the Central District of California or in the District of Columbia.”
Plea talks were underway between the parties, but they broke down in recent weeks, and now prosecutors say they are preparing for trial. The parties previously agreed that the plea agreement would be handled in Delaware federal court. But now that the plea deal is off, prosecutors say that venue is no longer appropriate.
23 min ago
White House declines to comment on Hunter Biden special counsel
From CNN's Arlette Saenz
The White House has declined to comment on the Justice Department appointing David Weiss as a “special counsel” in the Hunter Biden probe, instead pointing reporters to the Justice Department and Hunter’s personal representatives.
The no-comment strategy is consistent with how the White House has handled various Justice Department investigations.
The White House did not have a heads up about the appointment, a White House official says. A senior Justice Department official previously told CNN that the White House and Hunter Biden’s legal team were not informed beforehand about Attorney General Merrick Garland special counsel decision.
The president was at the White House when the announcement was made. He has no public events today but is expected to depart for Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in the 6 p.m. hour.
The decision to designate Weiss as a “special counsel” marks a new phase for not just the investigation, but for the president who has already faced sustained pressure from Republicans over his son Hunter’s business dealings.
The Bidens had hoped Hunter’s expected plea deal last month would mark a moment to turn the page from a dark chapter in their family’s history, one person familiar with the president’s thinking had said, but the matter remained unresolved after the plea deal was put on hold.
Earlier this summer, the Bidens telegraphed their support for their son when the expected plea deal was initially announced, with a White House spokesman saying, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
24 min ago
Key things to know about David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the Hunter Biden criminal probe
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle
David Weiss speaks at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2018. Suchat Pederson/The News Journal/AP/File
David Weiss, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney who on Friday was named a special counsel leading the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, has decades of experience as a federal prosecutor.
Weiss, the Delaware US attorney, met in April with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, who had requested a routine status update on the investigation. The long-running probe, which began as early as 2018, at one time concerned multiple financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when Joe Biden was vice president.
In June, a plea agreement was reached in which Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge. But Weiss said in a court filing Friday that plea talks between his team and Biden broke down in recent weeks after a hearing in Delaware last month where the judge said she wasn’t ready to accept the complex plea deal that was negotiated.
In 2018, the Senate confirmed Weiss to serve as US attorney for the District of Delaware. At the time of his nomination, he was serving as the acting US attorney for the district and was one of nine candidates whom Trump said shared his “vision for ‘Making America Safe Again.’”
The Philadelphia native is a member of the Delaware and Pennsylvania bars.
A Washington University in St. Louis and Widener University School of Law graduate, Weiss began his career in law in 1984 as a clerk to Justice Andrew D. Christie of the Delaware Supreme Court, according to his Justice Department biography.
Following his clerkship, Weiss prosecuted violent crimes and white-collar offenses as an assistant US attorney before joining firm Duane Morris, where he was a commercial litigation associate and eventually became a partner. He later served as chief operating officer and senior vice president at The Siegfried Group, a financial services firm, according to his biography.
He served as the first assistant US attorney starting in 2007.
Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden continued into the Biden administration, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to stress during a March Senate committee hearing that he would not interfere with the investigation. Weiss, he reiterated at the time, had “full authority” to carry out the investigation and to bring in another jurisdiction if necessary.
Garland says "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding Hunter Biden probe led to special counsel decision
From CNN's Devan Cole
Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks on Friday. Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding the federal criminal investigation into Hunter Biden contributed to his decision to give the top prosecutor in the probe special counsel status.
“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel. And he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said during a news conference. “Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it's in the public interest to appointment him as special counsel.”
“I am confident that Mr. Weiss will carry out his responsibility in an evenhanded and urgent manner and in accordance with the highest traditions of this department,” Garland added.
Garland said that Weiss will continue to serve as the US Attorney for the District of Delaware as he takes on this new post. And he noted that in the special counsel position, Weiss will “not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department.”
He said Weiss “must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the department.”
Garland also said he is “committed to making as much of his report public as possible consistent with legal requirements and department policy.”
48 min ago
Hunter Biden criminal case appears to be headed to trial weeks after judge pushed back on proposed plea deal
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Hunter Biden leaves a federal court after a plea hearing last month. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/File
Special counsel David Weiss said in a court filing Friday that plea talks between his team and Hunter Biden broke down in recent weeks, after a hearing in Delaware last month where the judge said she wasn’t ready to accept the complex plea deal that was negotiated.
“After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse,” prosecutors said. “A trial is therefore in order.”
The probe appeared to reach its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June. In a two-pronged agreement, Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors, and prosecutors would agree to drop a separate felony gun charge in two years if he stayed out of legal trouble and passed a drug test.
Federal prosecutors also agreed to recommend probation, and no jail time, for Hunter Biden.
But at a stunning three-hour court hearing last month, the deal nearly collapsed under scrutiny from the federal judge overseeing the case. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said the intertwined deals to resolve the tax and gun charges were “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical” and “unprecedented.” At the end of that hearing, she ordered the Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers to file additional legal briefs defending the constitutionality of the deal.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that the Trump-appointed US attorney who is investigating Hunter Biden has been given special counsel status after plea talks between the Justice Department and the president’s son related to tax charges fell apart.
The new status gives senior prosecutor, David Weiss, more powers than a typical US attorney and puts the nation in uncharted territory – with three special counsels at the Justice Department currently investigating matters related to the sitting president, his son and former President Donald Trump.
Garland’s order appointing Weiss said he is authorized to conduct the ongoing investigation as well as "any matters that arose from that investigation or may arise."
Attorney General Merrick Garland arrives for Friday's news conference. Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images
US Attorney David Weiss requested special counsel status on Tuesday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Court filings indicate that Weiss’ team reached out to Hunter Biden’s lawyers on Wednesday, telling them that they would ask to drop the charges in Delaware so they could pursue charges in a different jurisdiction.
Prosecutors asked Hunter Biden’s lawyers to privately respond to them by Friday, according to court filings. Hunter Biden’s team asked for an extension until Monday, but prosecutors held firm on their deadline.
On Friday, Garland announced Weiss’ appointment as a special counsel, around the same very moment Weiss filed the court papers revealing that the plea negotiations had broken down and that the case was now likely heading to trial.
"As of the time of this filing, the Defendant has not yet provided his position," Weiss said in the court papers.
Federal judge Maryellen Noreika ordered Hunter Biden’s lawyers to respond by noon on Monday to the Justice Department’s request to drop the misdemeanor charges in Delaware so they can bring charges elsewhere.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized the Justice Department's handling of its investigation into Hunter Biden on Friday, following news that Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed US attorney David Weiss as a special counsel in the investigation into President Joe Biden's son.
"Crooked Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the entire Biden Crime Family have been protected by the Justice Department for decades even though there is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartel’s own financial gain," Cheung told CNN in a statement.
"If this special counsel is truly independent - even though he failed to bring proper charges after a four year investigation and he appears to be trying to moving the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue - he will quickly conclude that Joe Biden, his troubled son Hunter, and their enablers, including the media, which colluded with the 51 intelligence officials who knowingly mislead the public about Hunter’s laptop, should face the required consequences," the statement added.
Trump, as part of his defense against his own legal troubles, has long criticized the Justice Department for operating under what he claims is a two-tiered system of justice, and not doing enough to investigate the Biden family.
David Weiss speaks to the press in April 2021. Damian Giletto/Delaware News Journal/USA Today Network/File
The appointment of US Attorney David Weiss as a special counsel could complicate congressional efforts to have him testify on Capitol Hill about his investigation of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, according to a senior Democratic congressional aide.
The aide said that past practice suggests Weiss’ special counsel status could insulate him from testimony until after the investigation is completed and Weiss has finished the report he’s expected to deliver.
Calls for a special counsel have intensified in recent months, with leading Republicans claiming Hunter Biden got a “sweetheart deal,” and IRS whistleblowers alleging that the Justice Department gave him preferential treatment.
Two career IRS agents who worked on the Hunter Biden probe went public as whistleblowers, claiming there was political meddling in the probe. And last month, the plea deal between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden imploded at a court hearing where the judge said she wasn’t ready to approve the deal, calling the arrangement “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical” and “unprecedented.”
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan had asked for Weiss to testify before his committee about the Hunter Biden probe, and Weiss had offered to appear before the panel in the fall.
A spokesperson for Jordan downplayed the significance of the special counsel designation.
“David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye said in a statement. “Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it. We will continue to pursue facts brought to light by brave whistleblowers as well as Weiss’s inconsistent statements to Congress.”
Another Democratic aide, however, said the appointment of Weiss as special counsel would make it harder for Republicans to continue repeating allegations that he does not have complete authority over the Hunter Biden investigation or the ability to bring charges.
A DOJ official said it was unclear how the special counsel designation impacts Weiss testifying before Congress, but the official noted that two previous special counsels, John Durham and Robert Mueller, testified only after they submitted their final reports, which came after a yearslong investigations.
Federal prosecutors have spent five years investigating Hunter Biden for potential felony tax evasion, illegal foreign lobbying, money laundering, and other possible crimes. As part of plea deal – which is now on hold – Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would have recommended no jail time.
Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark issued a statement on Friday, saying he expects "a fair resolution."
“The Attorney General made clear what was always the case in terms of the authority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware in this matter. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution on behalf of our client – this US Attorney has diligently been investigating my client for five years and he had proposed a resolution which we fully intend to pursue in court," the statement read.
"It is hard to see why he would have proposed such a resolution if there were other offenses he could have successfully prosecuted, and we are aware of none. We are confident when all of these maneuverings are at an end my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully,” it continued.
Hunter Biden leaves after a court appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 26. Julio Cortez/AP/File
Special counsel David Weiss asked a judge Friday to dismiss the tax charges filed in Delaware federal court as part of Hunter Biden’s plea deal, in anticipation of possibly bringing future tax charges in California or Washington, DC.
“Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware,” the prosecutors wrote. “Rather, venue for these offenses and any other related tax offenses lies either in the Central District of California or in the District of Columbia.”
Plea talks were underway between the parties, but they broke down in recent weeks, and now prosecutors say they are preparing for trial. The parties previously agreed that the plea agreement would be handled in Delaware federal court. But now that the plea deal is off, prosecutors say that venue is no longer appropriate.
The White House has declined to comment on the Justice Department appointing David Weiss as a “special counsel” in the Hunter Biden probe, instead pointing reporters to the Justice Department and Hunter’s personal representatives.
The no-comment strategy is consistent with how the White House has handled various Justice Department investigations.
The White House did not have a heads up about the appointment, a White House official says. A senior Justice Department official previously told CNN that the White House and Hunter Biden’s legal team were not informed beforehand about Attorney General Merrick Garland special counsel decision.
The president was at the White House when the announcement was made. He has no public events today but is expected to depart for Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in the 6 p.m. hour.
The decision to designate Weiss as a “special counsel” marks a new phase for not just the investigation, but for the president who has already faced sustained pressure from Republicans over his son Hunter’s business dealings.
The Bidens had hoped Hunter’s expected plea deal last month would mark a moment to turn the page from a dark chapter in their family’s history, one person familiar with the president’s thinking had said, but the matter remained unresolved after the plea deal was put on hold.
Earlier this summer, the Bidens telegraphed their support for their son when the expected plea deal was initially announced, with a White House spokesman saying, “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
David Weiss speaks at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2018. Suchat Pederson/The News Journal/AP/File
David Weiss, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney who on Friday was named a special counsel leading the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, has decades of experience as a federal prosecutor.
Weiss, the Delaware US attorney, met in April with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, who had requested a routine status update on the investigation. The long-running probe, which began as early as 2018, at one time concerned multiple financial and business activities in foreign countries dating to when Joe Biden was vice president.
In June, a plea agreement was reached in which Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and struck a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve a felony gun charge. But Weiss said in a court filing Friday that plea talks between his team and Biden broke down in recent weeks after a hearing in Delaware last month where the judge said she wasn’t ready to accept the complex plea deal that was negotiated.
In 2018, the Senate confirmed Weiss to serve as US attorney for the District of Delaware. At the time of his nomination, he was serving as the acting US attorney for the district and was one of nine candidates whom Trump said shared his “vision for ‘Making America Safe Again.’”
The Philadelphia native is a member of the Delaware and Pennsylvania bars.
A Washington University in St. Louis and Widener University School of Law graduate, Weiss began his career in law in 1984 as a clerk to Justice Andrew D. Christie of the Delaware Supreme Court, according to his Justice Department biography.
Following his clerkship, Weiss prosecuted violent crimes and white-collar offenses as an assistant US attorney before joining firm Duane Morris, where he was a commercial litigation associate and eventually became a partner. He later served as chief operating officer and senior vice president at The Siegfried Group, a financial services firm, according to his biography.
He served as the first assistant US attorney starting in 2007.
Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden continued into the Biden administration, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to stress during a March Senate committee hearing that he would not interfere with the investigation. Weiss, he reiterated at the time, had “full authority” to carry out the investigation and to bring in another jurisdiction if necessary.
Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks on Friday. Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding the federal criminal investigation into Hunter Biden contributed to his decision to give the top prosecutor in the probe special counsel status.
“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel. And he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said during a news conference. “Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it's in the public interest to appointment him as special counsel.”
“I am confident that Mr. Weiss will carry out his responsibility in an evenhanded and urgent manner and in accordance with the highest traditions of this department,” Garland added.
Garland said that Weiss will continue to serve as the US Attorney for the District of Delaware as he takes on this new post. And he noted that in the special counsel position, Weiss will “not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department.”
He said Weiss “must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the department.”
Garland also said he is “committed to making as much of his report public as possible consistent with legal requirements and department policy.”
Hunter Biden leaves a federal court after a plea hearing last month. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/File
Special counsel David Weiss said in a court filing Friday that plea talks between his team and Hunter Biden broke down in recent weeks, after a hearing in Delaware last month where the judge said she wasn’t ready to accept the complex plea deal that was negotiated.
“After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse,” prosecutors said. “A trial is therefore in order.”
The probe appeared to reach its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June. In a two-pronged agreement, Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors, and prosecutors would agree to drop a separate felony gun charge in two years if he stayed out of legal trouble and passed a drug test.
Federal prosecutors also agreed to recommend probation, and no jail time, for Hunter Biden.
But at a stunning three-hour court hearing last month, the deal nearly collapsed under scrutiny from the federal judge overseeing the case. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said the intertwined deals to resolve the tax and gun charges were “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical” and “unprecedented.” At the end of that hearing, she ordered the Justice Department and Hunter Biden’s lawyers to file additional legal briefs defending the constitutionality of the deal.
