Special Counsel David Weiss issued a sharp rebuke to President Joe Biden in his final report, criticizing the president’s handling of the case against his son, Hunter Biden. The report, made public on Monday and covered by The New York Times, denounced Biden’s pardon of Hunter as undermining trust in the justice system.
Hunter Biden was convicted of tax crimes and illegally attempting to purchase a firearm. Despite earlier statements that he would not use the pardon power on family members, Biden issued a full pardon shortly after President-elect Donald Trump nominated far-right loyalist Kash Patel as FBI director.
The move sparked speculation that Biden sought to shield his son from potential political attacks under a Trump-led Department of Justice. Weiss, a former Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, pushed back on Biden’s criticisms of the case against Hunter, calling them baseless and damaging.
“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss wrote in his report. “The president’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith.”
Weiss’s report also addressed the highly unusual nature of the charges brought against Hunter Biden. Legal experts have argued that standalone cases of tax crimes and firearm violations are rarely pursued. Initially, Hunter Biden had agreed to a plea deal, but it fell apart due to a last-minute disagreement between defense attorneys and prosecutors over the deal’s scope of protection.
In his report, Weiss noted that the president’s pardon rendered any further prosecution moot. “On December 1, 2024, before Mr. Biden could be sentenced in either case, President Biden pardoned his son for all criminal offenses he committed or may have committed over the last eleven years. In light of this pardon, I cannot make any additional charging decisions as to Mr. Biden’s conduct during those eleven years.”
Weiss concluded that it would be inappropriate to discuss whether additional charges might have been warranted. His pointed remarks highlight the broader implications of presidential pardons and the perception of political interference in the justice system.