The prosecutor who investigated Hunter Biden condemns the criticism of the president

The special counsel who led the years-long investigation into Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, criticized the president for making “baseless allegations” in the case and defended his investigation in a final report.

In a report released Monday, David Weiss called the prosecution of the president’s son for gun and tax crimes “impartial” and “nonpartisan politics.”

Hunter Biden’s lawyer said the report showed the investigation into Mr. Weiss “was a warning sign of prosecutorial abuse.”

In early December, Biden officially pardoned his son, who was convicted in two criminal cases.

In issuing the pardon, the president said his son had been “singled out” and called his case a “mistrial” and “crude politics.”

Mr. Weiss called the claims “baseless and erroneous.”

“I brought two cases against (Hunter) Biden because he broke the law,” he wrote in his report.

Earlier in September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and in June he was found guilty of illegal drug use and weapons possession.

The father’s full and unconditional pardon of his son came after the president repeatedly said he would not pardon him.

This was not the first time that the President of the United States pardoned a family member.

In 2001, Bill Clinton pardoned his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton, for a 1985 cocaine-related crime.

In 2020, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, father-in-law of his daughter Ivanka, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion and illegal campaign donations in 2005.

In his report, Mr. Weiss acknowledged this, but added: “No one used this as an opportunity to denigrate public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false allegations.”

In September, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax fraud, for which he faced up to 17 years in prison.

He was also found guilty of three felonies in connection with the purchase of a gun in June, for which he faced up to 25 years in prison.

An investigation into the president’s son has once again revealed uncomfortable and embarrassing details about his personal life, including his addiction to crack and cocaine. Escort payments.

President Biden has been largely silent during the investigation into his son, but has strongly defended him in the pardon.

“There have been attempts to break Hunter, who has been sober for five and a half years, despite relentless attacks and selective prosecution,” President Biden said.

“In trying to break Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason to think it’s going to stop there. Enough.”

He added: “I hope the American people will understand why the father and the president came to this decision.”

The pardon covers the period from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024, “including but not limited to” the tax and weapons offenses he was convicted of.

Mr. Weiss said that because of this unconditional pardon, he could not make any “additional enforcement decisions” against Hunter Biden during that period.

“It would be inappropriate to discuss whether the additional costs are justified,” he said.

Mr. Weiss has previously defended his investigation into the president’s son.

In 2023 He informed the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives about this there was never any political pressure or interference in his work by the Department of Justice.

Mr. Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden has been scrutinized on both sides of the political spectrum.

Democrats said it was politically charged and felt Hunter Biden had an unfair target on his back.

Republicans felt that the Department of Justice was not aggressive enough in bringing charges and showed unfair favoritism to the president’s son.

Hunter Biden was convicted after breaking a plea deal in 2023.

A judge has refused to approve a deal — which Republicans have called a “sweetheart deal” — in which Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion to avoid more serious gun-related charges.

In a statement released on Monday, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abe Lowell, criticized Mr. Weiss for the botched deal.

“Mr. Weiss also cannot explain why he withdrew his own consent, a reversal that came at the 11th hour in court when he and his office faced blistering attacks from Republicans,” Mr. Lowell said. .