The Weiss special counsel investigation was a criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of David Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, as the special counsel on August 11, 2023, three days after Weiss requested such authority.
Since 2018, Weiss had been investigating Hunter Biden as U.S. attorney. In 2023, Republicans asked Garland to appoint a special counsel, some specifically demanding Weiss, a Republican appointed to his role by President Donald Trump. Garland ultimately appointed Weiss, giving him additional authority. However, congressional Republicans then expressed criticism, some stating Weiss was untrustworthy.
A plea agreement negotiated in July 2023 fell through after a U.S. district judge declined to approve it, due to disagreement between the defense and prosecution about the extent of the prosecutorial immunity offered. In September 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on gun-related charges arising from his purchase of a handgun in 2018, when he had an addiction to cocaine. In December 2023, the special counsel indicted Biden on nine additional counts, all tax-related charges. Biden's gun trial began on June 3, 2024, and he was found guilty of all counts on June 11, making him the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be convicted in a criminal trial. Hunter Biden was scheduled to face an additional trial related to the tax charges starting on September 5, 2024. On this day, however, he would instead change his plea to guilty.
On December 1, 2024, President Biden granted Hunter Biden a full and unconditional pardon for all offenses charged by Special Counsel Weiss and for any other crimes he may be alleged to have committed from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024. He said he made this decision due to what he claimed was the "selective" and "political" nature of the charges against his son, which he deemed an extraordinary affront to justice, necessitating his rare interference in the justice system. David Weiss later issued a statement saying "There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case.”
On January 13, 2025, Weiss's special counsel report was released. In the report, Weiss criticized the assertions made by President Biden in his December 1 pardon, noting "Calling those rulings into question and injecting partisanship into the independent administration of the law undermines the very foundation of what makes America's justice system fair and equitable. It erodes public confidence in an institution that is essential to preserving the rule of law...[T]hese baseless accusations have no merit and repeating them threatens the integrity of the justice system as a whole." Weiss also stated that because of the pardon, he was prevented from making "additional charging decision". Hunter Biden's legal team did not review the report prior to its public release.
Investigation
Trump administration In December 2020, Hunter Biden disclosed his tax affairs were under Justice Department (DOJ) criminal investigation. Begun in late 2018, the investigation initially examined possible money laundering, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigators were unable to find sufficient evidence to justify a prosecution.
On December 8, 2020, prosecutors in Delaware served two subpoenas, at least one regarding Biden's taxes. Trump administration attorney general William Barr said in December 2020 that he did not see the need for a special counsel, distancing himself from statements of then-president Donald Trump, who had pressed him to use the DOJ to attack the Biden family during his 2020 presidential campaign.
The investigation was led by David Weiss, a Republican, and Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the State of Delaware.
Biden administration Weiss was asked to remain in his position in the Biden administration to continue the investigation. Garland, the Biden administration's attorney general, said that Weiss had full independence amid claims by House Republicans of DOJ interference. According to Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler—two Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whistleblowers who testified to Congress—Weiss sought special counsel status, but his request was denied. Both Weiss and Garland denied these claims. Garland said that Weiss had "full authority" to bring cases.AG Garland Maintains David Weiss Had Full Authority Over Hunter Biden Case, C-SPAN (June 23, 2023). In a July 10, 2023 letter to senator Lindsey Graham, Weiss wrote he had discussed with DOJ officials being given "special attorney" status that would allow him to file charges in any federal judicial district; that he was assured he would be granted such authority if it became necessary; and that he had "never been denied the authority to bring charges in any jurisdiction". Garland said had Weiss requested special counsel status, his request would have been approved. He added that Weiss would have more power as a U.S. attorney than as special counsel. According to a transcript obtained by news organizations, FBI agent Thomas Sobocinski, who since 2021 oversaw the investigation into Hunter Biden (as special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore field office), disputed Shapley and Ziegler's claims of political interference. In testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Sobocinski contradicted Shapley's claim that Weiss had said in an October 2022 meeting that he was "not the deciding person on whether charges are filed"; Sobocinski, who attended the meeting, said Weiss never said such a thing, and "If he would have said that, I would have remembered it."Luke Broadwater, F.B.I. Agent Undercuts Claims of Political Interference in Hunter Biden Inquiry, New York Times (September 12, 2023).Jacqueline Alemany & Devlin Barrett, Senior FBI agent disputes some whistleblowers' claims about Hunter Biden probe, Washington Post (September 12, 2023). CBS News later obtained what Shapley said were his contemporaneous notes of the meeting in which Shapley wrote, "Weiss stated – He is not the deciding person".
In October 2022, federal agents concluded that there was sufficient evidence to charge Biden with violations of law relating to his tax filings and the October 2018 gun purchase. Specifically, by April 2023, prosecutors were considering bringing four charges: two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion, and a charge related to a gun purchase.
Plea agreement negotiations, collapse, and subsequent plea On June 20, 2023, Hunter Biden and prosecutors entered a plea agreement, agreeing to probation for filing his taxes late and entering into a diversion program on the gun charge in return for broad immunity from prosecution in perpetuity for a range of matters being investigated by the Justice Department. According to The New York Times, judge Maryellen Noreika seemed skeptical about the deal and questioned why it had been filed under a provision that gave her no legal authority to reject it. When questioned, prosecutor Leo Wise acknowledged that there was no precedent for the kind of deal proposed.
Hunter Biden's attorney said the agreement with prosecutors "resolved" the investigation, though Weiss prosecutors said the investigation was "ongoing". Prosecutors later explained that the "ongoing" aspect of the investigation referred to possible charges of failing to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Republicans asserted Biden received a "sweetheart deal" as the son of the president. Legal experts said charges are rarely brought under circumstances such as Biden's.
On July 26, Judge Maryellen Noreika declined to accept the deal, pending clarification of its terms by the parties. House Republicans and conservative groups had sought to block the deal the previous day. Biden attorneys asserted that the collapsed plea deal still gives him an immunity from prosecution on the felony gun charge. Prosecutors said that the agreement was never made valid.
Special counsel and firearm indictment
On August 11, 2023, Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel. The same day, Weiss filed a document stating negotiations had broken down.
On September 14, 2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on three gun charges returned by a federal grand jury in Wilmington, Delaware. Two counts allege that Biden lied on his Form 4473 when he purchased a .38 caliber Colt Cobra handgun in Delaware in 2018, by certifying on the form that he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance; the other count alleges possession of a firearm as a prohibited person (under federal law, addicts of controlled substances may not own firearms,Marshall Cohen, Kara Scannell and Hannah Rabinowitz, Hunter Biden indicted on gun charges, CNN (September 15, 2023). which was found to be unconstitutional by SCOTUS in Robinson v. California). The three counts are felonies with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Biden purchased the gun during a period when he was struggling with cocaine addiction; he possessed the gun for about 11 days, from October 12 to October 23, 2018, until Hallie Biden tossed the gun in a dumpster. Hunter Biden never used the gun to commit a crime. He has said that he has been sober since 2019. The indictment charges Biden with violating the following laws:
18 U.S.C. §922(a)(6): It shall be unlawful...for any person in connection with the acquisition or attempted acquisition of any firearm or ammunition from a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, knowingly to make any false or fictitious oral or written statement or to furnish or exhibit any false, fictitious, or misrepresented identification, intended or likely to deceive such importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector with respect to any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale or other disposition of such firearm or ammunition under the provisions of this chapter; 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3): It shall be unlawful for any person...who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))...to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. 18 U.S.C. §924(a)(1)(A): ...whoever knowingly makes any false statement or representation with respect to the information required by this chapter to be kept in the records of a person licensed under this chapter or in applying for any license or exemption or relief from disability under the provisions of this chapter...shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Question 11.e. on the form asked, "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"
At his initial appearance and arraignment in Wilmington on October 3, 2023, Biden pleaded not guilty on all gun charges. His lawyers have said the statute he was charged under is unconstitutional.
In November 2023, Hunter Biden's attorneys filed a motion for authorization to issue subpoenas for documents from Donald Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other Department of Justice officials. Biden's attorneys contend that the documents that could be obtained by the subpoenas could support their theory that the charges are the result of a "selective or vindictive prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration." Weiss opposed this request, denying that the prosecution is vindictive or selective, and arguing that these claims can only be raised during trial.