WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The criminal charges against 鈥渨ere the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics,鈥� the prosecutor who led the probes said in a that criticized for having maligned the Justice Department when he pardoned his son.
鈥淥ther presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations,鈥� said the report from David Weiss, whose team filed against the younger Biden that resulted in felony convictions that were subsequently wiped away by a presidential pardon.
The report is the culmination of years-long investigations into Hunter Biden that predated the arrival of but became among the most politically explosive inquiries of his entire tenure, capturing Republican fascination on Capitol Hill and ultimately producing a fissure between the Justice Department and the White House over the treatment of the president's son.
The document, as is customary for reports prepared by Justice Department special counsels, provides a recap of the investigative findings. But it is most notable for its steadfast defense of the team's work and for its sharp criticism of the president over remarks he made when pardoning his son last month.
Biden had repeatedly pledged that he would not pardon his son but contended that such an action was warranted because of what he called a 鈥渕iscarriage of justice鈥� and a selective prosecution. He said he believed that his son had been treated "differently" on account of his last name and that 鈥渞aw politics鈥� had infected the decision making of Weiss' team.
鈥淣o reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter鈥檚 cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son 鈥� and that is wrong,鈥� Biden said.
Weiss, who served as U.S. attorney for Delaware during the Trump administration and was kept in his position by Garland before being named to the , took exception to those comments and noted that judges had rejected that assessment as well.
鈥淭he president鈥檚 characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and, on a more fundamental level, they are wrong,鈥� Weiss wrote. He also noted, 鈥淭hese prosecutions were the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics.鈥�
The investigations, which Hunter Biden himself revealed in 2020 when he disclosed that he had received a subpoena related to his business dealings, took a tortured path toward resolution.
He was to have entered a plea in 2023 to a federal gun charge but the deal fell apart in spectacular fashion among a last-minute disagreement between his lawyers and federal prosecutors. He went to trial on that charge in Delaware last year and was convicted. He separately pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in California before being pardoned.
The president's claims that Hunter Biden was mistreated by the criminal justice system echoed in some ways arguments from the younger Biden's legal team, who argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict Hunter after the collapse of what Trump and other Republicans called a 鈥渟weetheart鈥� plea deal.
Not so, said Weiss.
鈥淔ar from selective, these prosecutions were the embodiment of the equal application of justice 鈥� no matter who you are, or what your last name is, you are subject to the same laws as everyone else in the United States,鈥� Weiss said.
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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Colleen Long and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
Eric Tucker And Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press
