©  AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

Weeks after a judge declined to accept a plea deal between federal prosecutors and Hunter Biden, the U.S. attorney leading the investigation has been given special counsel status by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he granted David Weiss‘s request for special counsel authority. Weiss, a U.S. Attorney in Delaware nominated by former President Trump, has been investigating Hunter Biden for the past five years.

The move follows different accounts from an IRS whistleblower and the Justice Department about whether Weiss had power before to prosecute the case outside his Delaware district and whether he previously requested the special counsel status.

Weiss last month disputed claims from an IRS whistleblower and House Republicans who said he was previously denied special counsel status. Then this week, Weiss reportedly asked for special counsel authority.

“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.

Background reading: What is a special counsel?

Republicans have panned the appointment. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan‘s (R-Ohio) spokesperson Russell Dye said in a statement that Weiss “has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it.”

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika last month gave the parties 30 days to explain the plea deal, in which Biden would have pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and avoided prosecution on a gun charge by entering a pretrial diversion program.

House Republicans have for weeks lambasted the deal, and heard testimony in committee from two IRS whistleblowers who alleged the president’s son received preferential treatment in the Justice Department‘s investigation.

On Friday, the Justice Department said in court filings that plea agreement talks had reached an impasse, stating, “The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial.”

Read the full report here.

More coverage from The Hill: DOJ seeks to dismiss Hunter Biden case in Delaware to bring charges elsewhere

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• A judge revoked FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried‘s bail over alleged witness tampering, sending him to jail.
  
  

• “The closest thing I can compare it to is perhaps a war zone or maybe a bomb went off,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. told ABC News of wildfire destruction in Hawaii as the death toll reached 55.
  
  

• The Republican National Committee’s upcoming presidential primary debates may not be the only show in town. Catch up on developments and expert analysis around the proposed debate between California Gov. Gavin Newson (D) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

©  Associated Press/Charlie Neibergall

The Hill’s Caroline Vakil is keeping us up to speed at the Iowa State Fair, where several GOP presidential candidates are giving Political Soapbox speeches and sitting down with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) for “fire-side chats.”

Vakil’s coverage so far has included summaries of remarks from North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Vice President Mike Pence and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the two polling frontrunners, will be at the fair on Saturday.

Check out Vakil’s on-the-ground reporting here. (“Fair” warning: Some photos might make you hungry.)

In the case on Trump’s efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on the protective order over evidence in the case and discussed one factor she said could affect her decision about the trial date.

From The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Zach Schonfeld: “Chutkan hashed out a deal that gives Trump more latitude to discuss evidence gathered in the Jan. 6 case while blocking the sharing of sensitive discovery such as witnesses testimony gathered in the case.” Read more about the protective order here.

On the trial date, Chutkan said, “The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case … the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly.” She added later, “I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.”

Chutkan is expected to set a trial date at an Aug. 28 hearing.

© AP Photo/Victoria Adkins

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has asked the president of FIFA to allow the Afghanistan Women’s Football team to represent its country in global events. Team members were evacuated to Australia after the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s government in 2021, and the international soccer governing body considers the team unofficial. Read more here.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put troops on standby over a military junta leader’s takeover of Niger’s government and condemned the detention of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS said it’s still seeking a peaceful solution, The Hill’s Brad Dress reported. Read more here.

An estimated 49,449 people died by suicide in the United States last year, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with rates falling among younger people and rising for those over 25. The total number is an all-time high.

If you or someone you know needs support, you can call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. There’s also a chat option at 988lifeline.org.

“Trump should be tried in a courtroom, not on TV” — Jeffrey M. McCall, a media critic and professor of communication at DePauw University who has worked as a radio news director, a newspaper reporter and as a political media consultant. (Read here)

“These 4.6 million US citizens are barred from voting. A new court decision could help change that.” — Austin Sarat, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. The views expressed here do not represent Amherst College. (Read here)

12 days until the first GOP presidential debate.

452 days until the presidential election.

The Iowa State Fair continues through next week.

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@digital-stage.thehill.com