Special Counsel David Weiss condemned President Joe Biden’s attacks on the criminal prosecutions against Hunter Biden as “vindictive” and “selective” after the outgoing commander-in-chief pardoned the first son.
“Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,” Weiss wrote in the slim 27-page report.
“I prosecuted the two cases against Mr. Biden because he broke the law,” he added. “A unanimous jury — who found Mr. Biden guilty of gun charges — and Mr. Biden himself — who pleaded guilty to tax offenses — agreed.”
President Biden slammed the prosecutions of his son in December when giving Hunter Biden a sweeping pardon stretching back through 2014.
“I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” the president said. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.”
In the report published Monday night, however, Weiss, who had initially delivered a lenient plea deal struck down by a federal judge, disagreed.
“These prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics,” Weiss said. “Eight judges across numerous courts have rejected claims that they were the result of selective or vindictive motives.”
Hunter Biden had previously been convicted of three felony gun crimes by a Delaware jury in June and pled guilty to tax charges in a prelude to a pardon.
“Far from selective, these prosecutions were the embodiment of the equal application of justice — no matter who you are, or what your last name is, you are subject to the same laws as everyone else in the Untied States,” Weiss wrote.
But while the special counsel prosecutor admonished the president’s condemnations of the independent investigations into the first family, Weiss’ report still drew criticism by Republicans as “incomplete.”
“Let’s be clear: the Biden DOJ was never going to prosecute the Biden Crime Family,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., in an immediate press release. “The House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Bidens’ influence peddling schemes revealed how Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name.”
A report from Comer’s committee released in August accused President Biden of “impeachable offenses.” House investigators said the president, his family, and their associates capitalized on Joe Biden’s occupation of high office to rake in $27 million from foreign individuals and entities since 2014 through shell corporations designed “to conceal these payments from scrutiny.” The money came primarily from foreign adversaries, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, Romania, and Panama.
“By monetizing the Vice Presidency for his family’s benefit, [Joe Biden] abused his office of public trust, placing the welfare of his family ahead of the welfare of the United States,” the report said.
Despite evidence that Hunter Biden had likely broken laws requiring him to register as a foreign agent, and was possibly a sex trafficker, Federalist Senior Contributor Benjamin Weingarten pointed out on X Weiss “says nothing” about issues related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
“Mr. Biden made his money by using his last name and connections to secure lucrative business opportunities, such as a board seat at a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate, Burisma Holdings Limited, and a joint venture with individuals associated with a Chinese energy conglomerate,” Weiss wrote.
Hunter Biden can’t be charged, however, after his father extended the pardon for a decade. Weiss ignored some of the most controversial charges from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers anyway, including allegations of DOJ interference with investigations from the tax agency.