House GOP says DOJ gave Hunter Biden ‘special privileges’ in tax case, as inquiry heats up

A trio of leading House Republican investigators demanded Monday that Attorney General Merrick Garland provide them with records related to the appointment of Special Counsel David Weiss, declaring the Justice Department had provided Hunter Biden with “special privileges” to help him avoid more serious punishment for tax and other crimes.

"The Department pulled punches in this investigation, handicapping veteran investigators and preventing them from freely pursuing the facts," wrote House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.

"The Department agreed to an apparently unprecedented plea deal with Hunter Biden after his attorneys threatened to call his father, President Biden, as a witness in the case," they continued. "Now you have appointed as special counsel an individual who oversaw all the investigation’s irregularities, who spent the past two months claiming that he did not need special counsel status, and who was responsible for the plea agreement that collapsed in court and is widely viewed as an embarrassment for the Department. In light of Mr. Weiss’s record leading this investigation, we have concerns with his appointment as special counsel."

"Given the extremely serious nature of these issues, the Committees expect unfettered cooperation with our oversight from both you and the Department," they warned.

Weiss, in his capacity as U.S. Attorney for Delaware, previously oversaw the years-long investigation into the now-first son. That case saw two IRS agents who worked on the case come forward with allegations that the probe faced political interference from Biden-appointed officials and that Weiss had lacked the authority to pursue relevant charges outside of his jurisdiction, contradicting assertions from Garland.

They further assert that Weiss had previously sought special counsel status and that Garland had denied it, following the D.C. U.S. Attorney refusing to partner with Weiss on charges in his district.

"Under U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s supervision, Hunter Biden was given special privileges not afforded to other Americans," the committee posted. "Why should Americans believe anything will change now that Weiss is special counsel?"

Weiss's appointment attracted scrutiny in part due to the allegations plaguing the case and his handling of it, but also due to DOJ regulations that a special counsel be named from outside the government, a requirement with which Garland failed to comply.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, has called for Weiss's removal.

"An independent special counsel is needed in this case. It is abundantly clear Mr. Weiss needs to be removed from the investigation of Hunter Biden," Graham said in late August. "To say this has been botched is an understatement. I have been calling for a new set of eyes on this case for quite a while. A huge cloud hangs over the Weiss investigative team and it will only go away when a new independent special counsel is appointed."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.