Congressional Republicans have for months repeatedly written to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland demanding he appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the presidentās son, over his business dealings.
Some even demanded that a specific man be named to lead the inquiry: David C. Weiss, the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney who has long investigated the case.
But on Friday, after Mr. Garland elevated Mr. Weiss to special counsel status, Republicans in Congress reacted publicly not with triumph, but with outrage. āDavid Weiss canāt be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familyās corruption,ā Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The reaction was a notable political development, one that underscored both how Mr. Weiss, a Republican, has fallen in conservative circles, and how deeply it has become ingrained in the G.O.P. to oppose the Justice Department at every turn.
āThe reality is this appointment is meant to distract from, and slow down, our investigations,ā said Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and chairman of Ways and Means, one of three congressional committees looking into the Biden familyās finances.
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Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who had once called for Mr. Weiss to be made special counsel, said he no longer stands by that belief. āGiven the underhanded plea deal negotiated by the U.S. attorney from President Bidenās home state, itās clear Mr. Weiss isnāt the right person for the job,ā Mr. Grassley said.
But Democrat-aligned groups saw something else in the Republicansā about-face: disingenuousness.
āHouse Republicansā opposition to Trump appointee David Weissās appointment as special counsel is nothing more than another political stunt,ā said Kyle Herrig, the director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group that defends President Biden from congressional investigations. āAfter months of calling for this, their dismay makes clear that they will stop at nothing to weaponize Congress to interfere with an ongoing investigation and harm Joe Biden.ā
I am so confused why a federal special counsel is being appointed to investigate a guy who is not an elected official. Is it really just because his dad is president, and thatās it? Thatās the bar? Why isnāt this just being investigated in the normal justice channels?
Yes, because his dad is a political leader. There are a bunch of laws that restrict the direct family of elected officials from doing a lot of things.
Also yes, itās because itās a Democrat President and Republicans need to scream Boogeyman at the top of their lungs no matter how ludicrous the claims. Because no small section of their voting base ends up smoking it to get high off outrage. Like a meth head getting out of rehab, every time.
Laws really donāt mean jack shit to the party of ālaw and orderā, especially after the literal orange crime syndicate family we had in office for four years. Itās just a tool for them to try to get their way.
Didnāt stop Ivanka or Jared or the rest of Team Orange.