Biden says he has not discussed son’s federal tax probe with AG candidates

by Morgan Chalfant - 12/22/20 4:36 PM ET

ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images
US President-Elect Joe Biden looks on while delivers remarks, before the holiday, at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware on December 22, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that he has not discussed the federal investigation into his son Hunter Biden with any attorney general candidates, and he reiterated his pledge to keep politics out of the Justice Department.

“I guarantee you I am going to do what I said,” Joe Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Del. “The attorney general of the United States of America is not the president’s lawyer.”

“I will appoint someone who I expect to enforce the law as the law is written, not guided by me,” he added.

Hunter Biden confirmed earlier this month that the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware is investigating his tax affairs. Reports have suggested that the probe focuses on his foreign business dealings. Officials have said little publicly about the ongoing investigation.

The matter has created a tricky situation for the president-elect and his ultimate choice for attorney general, whose Justice Department may need to decide whether to bring charges against Hunter Biden while his father is in office.

Joe Biden has repeatedly said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be run independently and not influenced by politics during his administration after President Trump was widely criticized for politicizing the department over the course of four years.

Biden has not yet selected an attorney general nominee but is said to be considering a handful of candidates, including outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones (D), federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates.

It is unclear when Biden will announce his choice. He denied Tuesday that he was waiting to name his pick until after the two runoff elections in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate.

“We’re looking for a team that will instill the greatest confidence in the professionals at DOJ to know once again that there is no politics, there is no politics,” Biden told reporters. “We’re just working through it. It’s not by design. There is not an obvious choice in my mind.”