(New York Post) Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss would be given special counsel authority in the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation — as prosecutors said negotiations with the first son about a potential plea agreement had broken down.
In a brief statement at the Justice Department, Garland said Weiss had asked for special counsel authority three days earlier. The AG said he had agreed due to “the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter.”
Meanwhile, in a Friday filing with Wilmington US District Court, prosecutors said talks with Hunter’s legal team about a potential guilty plea to federal tax misdemeanors and a felony weapons charge were “at an impasse.”
“The Government now believes that the case will not resolve short of a trial,” wrote Assistant US Attorney Leo Wise.
Garland’s announcement came 10 months and four days after Weiss allegedly told officials from the FBI and IRS that he lacked authority to charge the first son, now 53, outside of Delaware.
Merrick Garland announced Friday that Delaware US Attorney David Weiss would be given special counsel authority.AP
The attorney general took no questions following his statement.
On July 26, a probation-only plea deal that would have granted Hunter Biden immunity for any and all alleged past crimes blew up in federal court under persistent questioning from US District Judge Maryellen Noreika.
The jurist forced prosecutors from Weiss’ office to admit their investigation into potential Foreign Agent Registration Act violations and other offenses by Hunter was “ongoing” — prompting the first son’s attorney Chris Clark to scrap the deal.
The spectacular implosion came weeks after IRS investigators tasked with overseeing the case testified before Congress that US attorneys appointed by President Biden blocked Weiss from charging Hunter in Washington, DC, and Southern California.
Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal fell apart last month.
IRS supervisory agent Gary Shapley also said Weiss admitted in an Oct. 7, 2022, meeting with half a dozen tax investigators and FBI agents that he had been denied special counsel status by his DOJ superiors.
Garland and Weiss have denied Shapley’s testimony, affirming that the Delaware office had “ultimate authority” to carry out its probe.
