Special counsel appointed to oversee Hunter Biden probe in U.S. | CBC News

Special counsel appointed to oversee Hunter Biden probe in U.S. | CBC News

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he is appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the U.S. president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.

Garland said he is naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s son, as the special counsel.

Just as his appointment as special counsel was announced, Weiss notified a federal judge in Delaware that plea deal talks in the Hunter Biden case were at an “impasse.”

Garland noted the “extraordinary circumstances” of the matter as he made the announcement at the U.S. Justice Department.

Appointment in ‘the public interest’

He said that Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that “in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel.”

Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, is seen arriving for a court appearance in Delaware last month. (Julio Cortez/The Associated Press)

“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel,” Garland said.

The move is a momentous development from the typically cautious Garland. It comes amid a pair of sweeping U.S. Justice Department probes into Donald Trump, the former president and Joe Biden’s chief rival in next year’s election.

It also comes as House Republicans are mounting their own investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings.

Last month, Hunter Biden’s plea deal over tax evasion collapsed after U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by U.S. president Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics.

Republicans had derided that agreement as a “sweetheart” deal as they pushed their own probe.

The Republicans claimed Weiss was being blocked from becoming a special counsel, a claim he and the Justice Department denied.

By being named special counsel Weiss will have broader authority to conduct a more sweeping investigation across various areas.

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