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House GOP blasts appointment of Hunter Biden special counsel

by Sarah Fortinsky - 08/11/23 1:20 PM ET

Top House Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of attempting to stymie their investigation into Hunter Biden following the Department of Justice’s appointment of a special counsel.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised doubts about whether special counsel David Weiss could be trusted and pledged in a statement that House Republicans would continue their investigations into the president’s family.

“This action by Biden’s DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption,” McCarthy said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel? House Republicans will continue to pursue the facts for the American people.”

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) returns to his office following votes on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Russell Dye, a spokesperson for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), also questioned whether they could trust Weiss and said the appointment of the special counsel “is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption.”

“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,” Dye continued.

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called the move “part of the Justice Department’s efforts to attempt a Biden family coverup.”

“Let’s be clear what today’s move is really about,” Comer said in a statement. “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.”

Comer and Jordan have led the push to investigate President Biden’s family’s business dealings and have sharply criticized how the Justice Department handled its probe into Hunter Biden.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who has been leading the Hunter Biden investigation, as a special counsel Friday.

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Garland said the appointment comes after Weiss approached him and said he thinks a special counsel would be necessary to proceed in the case involving the president’s son.

“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 in a statement Friday.

“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel,” Garland added.

Democrats have called out the GOP reaction as hypocritical, pointing to a time when House Republicans asked for a special counsel to be named in the case.

“Request granted! But now you don’t support what you asked for,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz wrote on X, responding to a post from the House Judiciary account from February.

“Amnesia can be very serious,” he wrote. “If you need a doctor recommendation let me know. Happy to help.”

Updated at 6:50 p.m.