Inside the White House, U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ selection as special counsel was met with private frustration. Those close to Biden believed that the appointment was the result of a GOP pressure campaign intended to distract from the legal troubles surrounding their party’s presidential frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
But many Republicans also voiced unhappiness, expressing their belief that the appointment of a special counsel was actually meant to protect the president by creating a mechanism to stall the various Hunter Biden probes being conducted by the GOP-led House of Representatives.
What was certain in the aftermath of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement was that as much as the White House had tried to turn the page, the specter of Hunter Biden’s legal problems would hang over his father’s reelection bid.
“This is exactly, exactly why I’m trying to raise the alarm,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has toyed with the idea of challenging Biden in a Democratic primary and encouraged others to do so.
“It is another reason why I wish this call to action that I’m trying to inject into the Democratic Party would be heard,” Phillips said. “The data, the polling is a huge risk. The president’s age is a risk. And now the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the president’s son — essentially, what, 16 months before the 2024 election — is almost certain to ensure that this is front and center during the most consequential campaign in perhaps history.”
It was barely two weeks ago that the younger Biden was mere minutes away from a plea deal that could have put his legal worries to rest. But a federal judge in Delaware balked at the expansiveness of the immunity being granted. Garland said Friday that he approved the request from Weiss — who had been investigating Hunter Biden and approved the plea deal — to assume the title of special counsel to continue the probe. Weiss, a Trump appointee, said Friday that plea agreement talks had broken down and that a trial was likely.
Outwardly, Biden world downplayed the development and promised full cooperation with the newly empowered special counsel’s investigation.
“This doesn’t change our understanding of Mr. Weiss’ authority over the five-year investigation into Mr. Biden,” said Chris Clark, one of the attorneys for Hunter Biden. “For years, both Mr. Weiss and the Department have assured us and the public that Mr. Weiss had more authority than a special counsel and full authority to negotiate a resolution of his investigation — which has been done. Whether in Delaware, Washington, D.C. or anywhere else, we expect a fair resolution not infected by politics and we’ll do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that.”
A narrow reading of the appointment could suggest, some experts said, that in the aftermath of the plea deal collapse, Weiss simply needed the broader powers of a special counsel to prosecute crimes committed outside of his Delaware jurisdiction. Some of the matters Hunter Biden is facing occurred in California and the District of Columbia and there was no certainty that Weiss would expand the probe beyond existing charges.
But there was suggestion, at the plea hearing, of other investigations. And history suggests that Friday represented an expansion of the scope of Weiss’ work, not just an effort to access new venues — some special counsels probing previous administrations have at times dramatically broadened the scope of their inquiries.
Few, if any, Democrats believe that a trial would be anything but a lengthy distraction from the campaign, though several argued that the appointment of Weiss would diffuse a Republican talking point that the DOJ was trying to impede the investigation.
“Attorney General Garland has committed to avoiding even the appearance of politicization at the Justice Department, and his appointment of a Special Counsel in this matter demonstrates that commitment yet again,” said Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in June found that most Americans said the Hunter Biden plea deal does not affect their likelihood of voting for Biden next year.
The White House and Biden campaign declined comment on the appointment.
The investigation into Hunter was discussed by the Biden family prior to launching the 2024 campaign. First lady Jill Biden made clear last year that it would not play a decisive role in whether or not the president would run for reelection. But the impact that the scrutiny of another campaign might have on Hunter Biden was weighed, according to three people not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
The president had long expressed private frustration with the length of the federal investigation into his son — now five years and counting — and has worried deeply about the toll it took on Hunter, who has been open about his drug addiction issues, according to two people close to the elder Biden not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. The plea deal would have been a marker, the first couple hoped, of a new era in Hunter Biden’s life. Biden calls to check on his son nearly every day, people close to him said, to voice his love, concern and support for Hunter staying sober.
Biden aides — while believing that most voters don’t care about the allegations into Hunter — have grown accustomed to the growing number of accusations being levied by Republicans against the so-called “Biden Crime Family.” Even though a number of alleged witnesses and whistleblowers have yet to provide evidence of illegality, Republicans have seized on the allegations — and even discussed impeachment.
But many Republicans were not happy with the appointment of a special counsel — even though they had called for exactly that.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy posted on social media that “this action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?”
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise echoed the notion, declaring: “Don’t be fooled. Garland appointing Weiss as a sham special counsel on Hunter is a way to block info from Congress while claiming they’re investigating.”
The House Republican Judiciary Committee also issued a statement blasting the appointment, although in February it tweeted: “Why hasn’t DOJ appointed a special counsel for the Hunter Biden investigation?”
While no one in the White House nor Biden’s reelection team was happy about the appointment — least of all the president — the White House does believe that many Americans, especially those with addictions in their own family, are, and will be, sympathetic to the Bidens. And aides have long believed that many of the Hunter Biden allegations were known before the 2020 election and didn’t dissuade voters.
Still, many Democrats worry that Hunter Biden — along with the president’s age — loom as real tripwires for the president’s reelection bid even if it is against a Republican standard-bearer facing multiple criminal trials of his own.
“We may know the scale here is dramatically different. I mean, we have one individual who tried to overthrow our democracy and behave like a fascist dictator. … Hunter Biden is a guy who had substance abuse problems,” said one national Democratic strategist. “Clearly he’s done some things that aren’t right. But for voters, unfortunately, in this partisan environment we’re in, it’s going to be hard for voters to make a distinction. And I think that really, seriously hurts Biden.”
Jennifer Haberkorn and Lauren Egan contributed to this report.
