WASHINGTON – The Justice Department on Monday released a final report from the special counsel who charged Hunter Biden with tax and gun crimes before his father, President Joe Biden, pardoned him.
Special counsel David Weiss said in the report that the president could not “rewrite history,” suggesting that Biden’s criticism of the case against his last surviving son when he announced his clemency decision had defamed “the public servants of the Justice Department.” based solely on false accusations.”
Biden described his son’s prosecution as a “miscarriage of justice” in the official White House statement announcing the pardon, which prosecutors working for Weiss disputed in a subsequent court filing.
“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine public confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss wrote. “The President’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity of not only the staff of the Department of Justice, but of all public servants who make these difficult decisions in good faith.”
Biden pardoned his son early last month, shortly before Hunter Biden was expected to be sentenced in connection with his conviction for violating a statute rarely used by federal prosecutors that makes it illegal for drug users to own guns. Biden had repeatedly said during the 2024 campaign, even after dropping out of the race over the summer, that he would not forgive his son.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Weiss’ report “conveniently omits his proposal to resolve this investigation in 2023 with a pair of misdemeanors and a diverted weapon charge recommended by US prosecutors.” career”.
Lowell also said Weiss had not explained why prosecutors “pursued wild (and debunked) conspiracies” that expanded the investigation.
“What is clear from this report is that the investigation into Hunter Biden is a warning about the abuse of prosecutorial power,” Lowell added.
Weiss, who enjoyed bipartisan support when he was appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware during President Donald Trump’s first term, remained at the Justice Department at the start of the Biden administration. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him special prosecutor in 2023.
The Justice Department is also expected to issue a report on special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to stay in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
Zoe Richards contributed.
