OPINION: “It's more than a little ironic that Merrick Garland is contravening the special counsel regulations in the same way that Bill Bar contravened them,” Shan Wu writes. “But what motivates Garland–an apparent stickler for the rules–to break them?”
After spending a half-decade investigating Hunter Biden, the U.S. Department of Justice has now decided that it needs a special counsel to finish the job.that he would name David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, as the special counsel for the prosecution of President Biden’s only surviving son after Weiss requested the appointment and in light of what Garland termed to be the “extraordinary circumstances” of the case which made such an appointment to be in the public interest.
While some commentators have opined that the need to bring charges outside of Delaware may underlie the decision to give Weiss the special counsel title—he will continue to serve as U.S. Attorney as well—such a rationale would appear unfounded because Attorney General Garland could have given Weiss the authority to prosecute outside of Delaware under 28 U.S.C. section 515. This provision authorizes the Attorney General to give any DOJ attorney extra-territorial authority as a “special attorney.
This dual role is inherently at odds with the very purpose of the special counsel regulations which is to have a prosecutor, not a member of the DOJ, handle the prosecution to avoid the conflict of interest.
The public record doesn’t inform us of everything that Garland is privy to and took into consideration. But it does tell us that Garland based his decision in major part on the fact that Weiss asked him for the special counsel title. Given Garland’s previous robust assertions that Weiss had never asked to be made special counsel, it is likely that Garland felt unable to refuse the request once made for fear of looking political.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announces special counsel in Hunter Biden probeTHIS JUST IN: Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that David Weiss has been appointed as special counsel in the Hunter Biden case, saying Weiss will “be guided by the facts and the law.”
Read more »
Attorney General Merrick Garland announces special counsel in Hunter Biden probeGarland said he is naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s son, as the special counsel.
Read more »
Attorney General Merrick Garland says he will appoint a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probeBREAKING: Attorney General Merrick Garland says he will appoint a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe.
Read more »
Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probeAttorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he is appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.
Read more »