US attorney leading Hunter Biden criminal

The Trump-appointed US attorney who is investigating Hunter Biden has been given special counsel status after plea talks between the Justice Department and the president’s son fell apart.

The prosecutor, David Weiss, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland for the new authority after plea talks to resolve tax and gun charges fell apart, with a trial now likely.

Garland’s decision, which he announced Friday, gives Weiss more powers than a typical US attorney and puts the nation in uncharted territory, with three special counsels at the Justice Department currently investigating the sitting president, his son and the previous president.

It’s the latest dramatic turn in the long-running criminal investigation of Hunter Biden that’s impacted President Joe Biden’s White House and has been a priority of congressional Republicans.

The probe appeared to reach its conclusion when a plea deal was announced in June. In a two-pronged agreement, Hunter Biden planned to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and prosecutors would drop a separate felony gun charge in two years if he stayed out of legal trouble and passed drug tests.

Federal prosecutors also agreed to recommend probation, and no jail time, for Hunter Biden.

The GOP had criticized the plea deal, accusing Weiss of giving Hunter Biden preferential treatment.