Will it help or hurt Joe Biden’s re-election chances? That’s a question on many minds after Attorney General Merrick Garland named David C. Weiss special counsel. Weiss is the US attorney for Delaware overseeing Hunter Biden’s prosecution. Garland announced the special status on Friday, August 11, in a move criticized by Republican opposition leaders and some progressives on the left. Federal prosecutors’ latest court filings indicate that the previous plea deal is gone for good.

President Trump nominated Mr. Weiss in 2017, who agreed to stay on when asked by the Biden administration. He graduated from Widener University Law School in Delaware and spent his career there, rising from assistant federal prosecutor to first assistant. It doesn’t take a tinfoil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist to note that President Biden was a senator from Delaware during Weiss’ time working for the DOJ in Wilmington – and not just a member of the Senate, but Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Was he aware of the DOJ’s #2 man in his state?

Mr. Weiss approved of and asked the federal courts to certify Hunter Biden’s recently canceled plea deal. Jim Jordan’s spokesman told the media: “David Weiss can’t be trusted, and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption.” His analysis seemed to be shared by Republican leaders, who believe the appointment will be used to insulate President Biden’s political campaign rather than deliver justice. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said:

(Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“[The] Biden Justice Department is trying to stonewall congressional oversight as we have presented evidence to the American people about the Biden family’s corruption,” said Rep. James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “This move by Attorney General Garland is part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup…. [of] his family’s schemes selling ‘the brand’ for millions of dollars to foreign nationals.”

In a brief press conference, after which he took no questions, AG Garland said it was in the public interest to appoint Weiss as special counsel by his request:

“In a July 2023 letter to Congress, Mr. Weiss said that he had not to that point requested special counsel designation. 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.”

Weiss will remain US Attorney for Delaware, but as special counsel, he will be free of most oversight and approval requirements from the Department of Justice in Washington. Special Counsel status brings greater independence in charging decisions, for instance. But that same independence can be used to shelter Biden – which is precisely what conservatives fear.