Attorney General Merrick Garland nearly had Republicans for a moment.
Friday, the chief of the Department of Justice announced that a special counsel would be appointed to investigate Hunter Biden. Yes! In addition, the special counsel would have been appointed by former President Donald Trump. Yes! The Associated Press reports that Garland told the media that the special counsel should operate in a “even-handed and urgent” manner. Yes!
Then, conservatives realized that the special counsel, David Weiss, was the same U.S. prosecutor who had spent years investigating the Hunter Biden case but had never reached the point of indictment. Um, no. In addition, he was the mastermind behind the plea bargain that was rejected by the federal magistrate. “Um, no,” but this time italicized.
And just in case it took you too long to figure out what the new special counsel will be doing, one of his first acts was to move to expunge the Hunter Biden tax charges in order to file them in a new jurisdiction, away from the judge who rejected the plea agreement.
CNN reported that the action was part of a Friday filing in which Weiss stated that negotiations between the parties had failed.
“After the hearing, the parties continued negotiating but reached an impasse,” prosecutors wrote. “A trial is therefore in order.”
🚨BREAKING: DOJ moves to dismiss Hunter Biden tax charges to file in new venue, rendering Hunter Biden plea deal null and void pic.twitter.com/7WUv24Yg99
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 11, 2023
Weiss now wants the case to be heard in either Washington, D.C., or California, which could provide an opportunity for a pro-Biden judge to review the case.
“Venue for these offenses does not lie in Delaware,” prosecutors wrote in their filing. “Rather, venue for these offenses and any other related tax offenses lies either in the Central District of California or in the District of Columbia.”
In other words, away from District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who rejected the plea bargain that offered Hunter Biden broad immunity for tax and firearms charges because it was “confusing,” “not straightforward,” “atypical,” and “unprecedented,” in her words.
Weiss’s statement that “a trial is therefore in order” does not necessarily imply that he intends to bring a trial. Rather, he may simply seek a judge who may be more receptive to any new plea agreement he reaches with Hunter Biden’s attorney.
After Weiss’ appointment as special counsel was disclosed on Friday, Republicans were, needless to say, unhappy and vocal about it.
“David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” said a spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. “Weiss has already signed off on a sweetheart plea deal that was so awful and unfair that a federal judge rejected it.”