US House speaker denigrates appointment of special counsel to lead Hunter Biden probe

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday sought to undercut the appointment of District Attorney David Weiss as special counsel in the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden.

"This action by Biden’s DOJ (Department of Justice) cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption. If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?" he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

McCarthy emphasized that House Republicans will continue their investigations into US President Joe Biden’s family.

Hours earlier, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he appointed Weiss – who was initially appointed by then-President Donald Trump – special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe on tax and gun charges, saying doing so is in the "public interest.”

Hunter Biden agreed last month to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax and another count of illegal possession of a firearm by a drug user. The tax charges are misdemeanors and stem from a failure to pay $100,000 in federal income taxes.

But US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, another Trump appointee, put the deal on pause last month, questioning part of the plea deal that would have kept Biden out of jail on gun charges.

Biden subsequently pleaded not guilty as his defense team and prosecutors work to revise the deal within a 30-day timeframe set by Noreika.

Garland said the House of Representatives and the Senate were informed of Weiss's special counsel appointment.