On Monday, 33 members of the United States Senate signed a letter calling for the ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden to be given the protection of “Special counsel” status, in order to avoid any possible political interference from the Biden Administration.
The New York Post reports that the letter, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and signed by 33 Republicans, mentioned the “politicization” of the Department of Justice (DOJ), a subsequent decline in public trust in federal authorities, and numerous whistleblower allegations of corruption and political bias at the FBI as reasons why special counsel status should be granted to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who is currently conducting the investigation.
“Given the politicization of the DOJ under your watch and the importance of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, the undersigned request that you provide U.S. Attorney Weiss the full protections and authorities of a special counsel,” the letter states. “This is one important action that you can take that will go a long way in restoring faith in our governmental institutions.”
The letter was organized by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), and was signed by several others in Republican leadership including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“There is no way of knowing the entire scope of the investigation, but evidence seems to be mounting that Hunter Biden committed numerous federal crimes, including, but not limited to, tax fraud, money laundering, and foreign-lobbying violations,” the letter continues.
Weiss is investigating the numerous foreign business deals that Biden negotiated while his father was vice president, where it has been widely suggested that his father not only knew about the many deals, but actively used his position of power and influence to make the deals happen in exchange for some personal profit. Weiss is the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, and was first appointed by President Donald Trump.
Perhaps the most infamous example of possible corruption during Biden’s tenure as vice president was the case of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings. During Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter was appointed to a position on the board of Burisma, despite having no prior experience in the energy sector, where he earned over $80,000 a month.
The company, however, came under investigation for corruption by Ukraine’s then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. The elder Biden, having been designated as the point man for foreign policy in the Obama Administration, threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid unless Shokin was fired, which then-President Petro Poroshenko subsequently did. Biden has since publicly boasted about this action, including at a foreign policy panel several years later.