Trump on David Weiss appointment: ‘He would not have been picked by me’

Former President Trump questioned the decision to elevate U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss to special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation on Friday, claiming that the federal prosecutor “would not have been picked by me.”

“David Weiss was picked by the two Democrat Senators from Delaware under ‘Blue Slip,’” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He would not have been picked by me.” 

Weiss was nominated by the former president in 2017 and confirmed by a unanimous Senate vote in early 2018. 

The “blue slip” process allows senators to indicate their support for or opposition to judicial nominees in their home state. While both Democratic senators from Delaware supported Weiss’ nomination, his appointment was relatively noncontroversial, according to The New York Times.

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Weiss began investigating Hunter Biden in 2018 and was not asked to resign when President Biden took office in 2021.

He has since drawn the scorn of Republicans, after announcing a plea agreement with the president’s son in June. However, the deal now appears to have largely fallen apart.

“I have a great idea. Why don’t they use Deranged Jack Smith,” Trump said in Friday’s post, referring to the special counsel overseeing the Justice Department’s cases against him. “Weiss has been investigating Hunter for 4 years, giving him the ‘sweetheart’ deal of all sweetheart deals.” 

“But a brilliant Judge in Delaware saw through it all,” he continued. “Now, I read, the Department of Injustice wants a new Judge and Jurisdiction. But so do I, with far stronger reasons than Hunter & Crooked Joe.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks to his vehicle after arriving at the Des Moines International Airport before his visit to the Iowa State Fair, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Weiss’ appointment as special counsel on Friday in response to a request from the U.S. attorney for Delaware. 

“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation had reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a special counsel, and he asked to be so appointed,” Garland said at a press conference.

“Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel,” he added.

The special counsel designation will allow Weiss to charge Hunter Biden with crimes outside of Delaware, should he decide to do so.

While many Republicans previously urged Garland to appoint a special counsel in the case, they largely criticized Weiss’ appointment on Friday.

“If Weiss negotiated the sweetheart deal that couldn’t get approved, how can he be trusted as a Special Counsel?” Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on X, the platform former known as Twitter.