Hunter Biden attorney on special counsel David Weiss: ‘Nothing really changed’

An attorney for Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, said the appointment of a special counsel for the Justice Department’s 5-year investigation into him “makes no difference.”

Abbe Lowell said in a CNN interview Friday that the promotion of special counsel David Weiss, who has led the Hunter Biden investigation from its inception, does not change the likely outcome of the case.

“What happened today, as a practical matter, is not much different than what was the case yesterday or three weeks before,” Lowell said. “The Attorney General and Mr. Weiss have said for weeks, months, that he had all the authority he needed to bring any charge that was merited, at any time that was appropriate, in any place that made sense.”

“So, the power that a special counsel has is the power that he has had,” he added. “From a practical point of view, nothing really changed.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland named Weiss a special counsel on Friday after he requested the title earlier this week. Special counsel status allows additional leeway in seeking charges and additional resources, but Lowell said that Garland and Weiss previously communicated that he already had that authority.

Hunter Biden was charged with two misdemeanor tax crimes and a gun possession charge in June. An agreed to plea deal over the charges fell through this month over questions about lenience and immunity for other conduct.

Lowell said he is confident that Weiss will not find additional evidence or information to incriminate the younger Biden, and questioned whether any other outcome could show political bias.

“After five years of what has to be one of the most thorough investigations that office has ever done, started by a Republican attorney general, given to a Republican U.S. Attorney, given to a career set of experienced prosecutors, the only charges that were appropriate would be two misdemeanor failure to file charges and a diverted gun charge for the 11 days that Hunter possessed a gun,” Lowell said. “And that was after five years of painstaking investigation.”

“So, whatever his title, and whatever happens next, we’re confident that should be the same conclusion,” he continued. “And if it’s not, then it’s something other than the facts and the law that has come into play.”

Weiss’ appointment has drawn criticism from Republicans, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying he doesn’t believe the title will lead to change in the case.

McCarthy, along with others, has floated an impeachment inquiry into the president over investigations into his family.