Raskin: Hunter Biden special counsel does not please Democrats or Republicans

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
Greg Nash
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks to a reporters outside the Capitol before votes on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Sunday that the special counsel appointed to investigate Hunter Biden does not please members of either political party.

“So, from my perspective, it is the rule of law and the justice system working itself out the way that it does. And, you know, obviously, it’s bumpy, and this side or that side doesn’t necessarily prefer this course of events, but our job, I think as political people, is to allow the justice system to run its course,” he told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland last week appointed David Weiss, the Delaware federal prosecutor who has led the investigation into the president’s son, as a special counsel overseeing the investigation. The appointment comes as Biden’s plea deal with Justice Department prosecutors remains on hold after the judge presiding over the case questioned the parameters of the deal.

House Republicans have launched congressional probes into Biden’s business dealings with an aim to connect President Biden to foreign influence while he served as vice president. The federal charges against his son stem only from tax and gun charges, which he pleaded not guilty to last month after the deal was put on hold.

Raskin also pointed out that Republicans are now criticizing the appointment of a special counsel even though many had previously called for one to investigate Hunter Biden.

“Of course, it’s what my Republican colleagues have been demanding and asking for months. And now, they seem to disapprove of it for some reason,” he said.

“But to me, it seems to formalize what has basically been the understanding from the beginning, which is that David Weiss — the U.S. attorney for Delaware who’d been nominated by Donald Trump — can make the decisions about what to charge, where to charge, and when to charge. And with the collapse of the plea agreement that he had apparently worked out with Hunter Biden, now, he wants to be certain that he’s got the authority to go bring charges wherever he wants,” Raskin said.

Updated at 3:27 p.m. ET

Tags David Weiss Hunter Biden Hunter Biden Jamie Raskin Jamie Raskin

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