The special prosecutor who led a years-long investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter criticized the president for making “baseless accusations” in the matter and defended his investigation in a final report.
In the report released Monday, David Weiss called the prosecution of the president’s son for gun and tax crimes “impartial” and “nonpartisan politics.”
Hunter Biden’s lawyer said the report showed Mr. Weiss’s investigation “was a warning against an abuse of prosecutorial power.”
Biden granted a formal pardon to his son, who was facing conviction on two criminal cases, in early December.
In granting the pardon, the president said his son had been “targeted” and called his cases a “miscarriage of justice” and “raw politics.”
Mr. Weiss called the statements “gratuitous and erroneous.”
“I pursued both cases against [Hunter] Biden because he broke the law,” he wrote in his report.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges earlier in September and was convicted of being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm in June.
The full and unconditional pardon granted to his son by his father came after the president had repeatedly declared that he would not grant him a pardon.
This is not the first time that an American president has pardoned a member of his family.
Bill Clinton pardoned his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton, for a 1985 cocaine offense in 2001.
In 2020, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the stepfather of his daughter Ivanka, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion and illegal payments of campaign donations in 2005.
In his report, Mr. Weiss acknowledged this, but added: “No one took advantage of the opportunity to slander Justice Department officials based solely on false accusations.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax fraud in September, for which he faced up to 17 years in prison.
He was also convicted of three gun-related felonies in June, for which he faced up to 25 years in prison.
Investigations into the president’s son have resurfaced uncomfortable and embarrassing details about his personal life, including his crack addiction and allegations payments to escorts.
President Biden had remained mostly silent during the investigations into his son, but he fiercely defended himself in obtaining a pardon.
“Efforts have been made to break Hunter – who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecutions,” President Biden said.
“By trying to break Hunter, they tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop there. Enough is enough.”
He added: “I hope Americans understand why a father and a president would make this decision.”
The pardon covers the period from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024, “including, but not limited to”, the tax and firearms offenses for which he was convicted.
Mr. Weiss said that because of the unconditional pardon, he could not make any “additional charging decisions” regarding Hunter Biden during this period.
“It would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges are warranted,” he said.
Mr. Weiss has previously defended his investigation into the president’s son.
In 2023, he told the House Judiciary Committee there has never been any political pressure or interference in his work from the Department of Justice.
Mr. Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden has been widely scrutinized on both sides of the political spectrum.
Democrats said it was a politically charged measure and felt Hunter Biden had an unfair target on his back.
Republicans believed the Justice Department was not pursuing charges aggressively enough and showing unfair favoritism toward the president’s son.
Hunter Biden’s guilty convictions came after a failed 2023 plea deal.
A judge refused to approve the deal – which Republicans had called a “sweetheart deal” – that would have allowed Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax evasion charges to avoid more serious gun charges. fire.
In a statement released Monday, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, criticized Mr. Weiss for the deal’s failure.
“Nor does Mr. Weiss explain why he reneged on his own agreement, a reversal that came at the last minute in court as he and his office faced withering attacks from Republicans,” the statement said. Mr. Lowell.
