Special counsel says Biden’s criticism of prosecution of his son ‘undermines’ the justice system
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President Biden unfairly attacked the integrity of the justice system by criticizing the long-running federal investigations into his son Hunter Biden, to whom he granted a federal pardon, according to the outgoing special counsel who led the cases.
“Far from selective, these prosecutions were the embodiment of the equal application of justice – no matter who you are, or what your last name is, you are subject to the same laws as everyone else in the United States,” special counsel David Weiss wrote in a report released on Monday.
“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” the report added. “The President’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith.”
In December, Biden pardoned Hunter, who was facing sentencing on federal gun and tax evasion charges, despite the president previously claiming he would not take such a step.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” the president said of the decision. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.
Weiss, who first began investigating Hunter Biden in 2018 as the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for Delaware, wrote in his report that “other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
