The special prosecutor who led a years-long investigation into Joe Biden's son Hunter criticized the president for making “baseless accusations” over the case and defended his investigation in a final report.
In the report released Monday, David Weiss described his prosecution of the president's son on gun and tax charges as “neutral” and “not partisan.”
Hunter Biden's lawyer said the report showed that Weiss's investigation “served as a cautionary tale about abuse of prosecutorial power.”
Biden formally pardoned his son, who was facing sentencing in two criminal cases, in early December.
While issuing the pardon, the president said his son had been “targeted” and described his cases as a “miscarriage of justice” and “crude politics.”
Weiss called these statements “unjustified and wrong.”
“I brought both cases against (Hunter) Biden because he violated 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 and gun possession in June.
His father's full and unconditional pardon for his son came after the president repeatedly said he would not grant him clemency.
This was not the first time that an American president pardoned a member of his family.
Bill Clinton pardoned his younger half-brother, Roger Clinton, for a 1985 cocaine-related crime in 2001.
In 2020, Donald Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his daughter Ivanka, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax evasion and illegal campaign donations in 2005.
Weiss acknowledged this in his report, but added: “No one used this occasion as an opportunity to abuse public servants in the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.”
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax fraud in September, for which he was facing up to 17 years in prison.
He was also convicted of three felonies related to gun purchases 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 alleged addiction to cocaine. Payments to companions.
President Biden remained mostly silent during the investigations into his son, but strongly defended his pardon.
“There have been efforts to break Hunter — who has been sober for five and a half years, even in the face of relentless attacks and selective prosecution,” President Biden said.
“In trying to break Hunter, they've tried to break me – and there's no reason to think it'll stop here. Enough is enough.”
He added: “I hope that Americans understand why the father and the president made this decision.”
The pardon covers the period from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024, “including but not limited to” the tax and weapons crimes for which he was convicted.
Mr. Weiss said that because of this unconditional pardon, he could not make any “additional charging decisions” related to Hunter Biden during that period.
He added: “It would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges are warranted.”
Weiss has previously defended his investigation into the president's son.
In 2023, He said before the House Judiciary Committee There was no political pressure or interference in his work from the Ministry of Justice.
Weiss's investigation into Hunter Biden has come under intense scrutiny on both sides of the political spectrum.
Democrats said the matter was politically charged and felt Hunter Biden had an unfair target on his back.
Republicans believe the Justice Department was not pursuing the charges aggressively enough and showing unfair favoritism to the president's son.
Hunter Biden's guilty pleas came after a plea deal collapsed in 2023.
A judge declined to approve the deal — which Republicans called a “sweetheart deal” — which would have resulted in Hunter Biden pleading guilty to tax evasion charges to avoid more serious gun-related charges.
In a statement issued Monday, Hunter Biden's attorney, Abby Lowell, criticized Weiss for the botched deal.
“Mr. Weiss also failed to explain why he reneged on his agreement, a reversal that occurred at the eleventh hour in court as he and his office faced violent attacks from Republicans,” Lowell said.
