Although some G.O.P. lawmakers see the appointment of David C. Weiss as a vindication of their strategy, others criticize the now-scuttled plea deal he struck with Mr. Biden.

Congressional Republicans have for months repeatedly written to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland demanding he appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the president’s son, over his business dealings.

Some even demanded that a specific man be named to lead the inquiry: David C. Weiss, the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney who has long investigated the case.

But on Friday, after Mr. Garland elevated Mr. Weiss to special counsel status, Republicans in Congress reacted publicly not with triumph, but with outrage. “David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The reaction was a notable political development, one that underscored both how Mr. Weiss, a Republican, has fallen in conservative circles, and how deeply it has become ingrained in the G.O.P. to oppose the Justice Department at every turn.

“The reality is this appointment is meant to distract from, and slow down, our investigations,” said Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and chairman of Ways and Means, one of three congressional committees looking into the Biden family’s finances.

…

Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who had once called for Mr. Weiss to be made special counsel, said he no longer stands by that belief. “Given the underhanded plea deal negotiated by the U.S. attorney from President Biden’s home state, it’s clear Mr. Weiss isn’t the right person for the job,” Mr. Grassley said.

But Democrat-aligned groups saw something else in the Republicans’ about-face: disingenuousness.

“House Republicans’ opposition to Trump appointee David Weiss’s appointment as special counsel is nothing more than another political stunt,” said Kyle Herrig, the director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group that defends President Biden from congressional investigations. “After months of calling for this, their dismay makes clear that they will stop at nothing to weaponize Congress to interfere with an ongoing investigation and harm Joe Biden.”

  • @kescusay
    115•1 year ago

    They never wanted one, they wanted the lack of one as a political talking point. They know the special counsel is unlikely to discover anything beyond what we already know about him.

    • admiralteal
      47•1 year ago

      There is only one outcome the GOP would find satisfactory in all this: finding President Biden guilty of some crime, impeaching him, throwing him in jail, and making Trump president for life. They don’t actually give one molecule of a shit about Hunter, when push comes to shove.

      No other outcome would be satisfactory and any outcome OTHER than that outcome must somehow be working against their agenda.

      All evidence we have seen suggests that Joe has acted properly even if Hunter didn’t. All evidence we have seen suggests that all the investigations against Hunter have been impartial and reasonable and that everyone has cooperated above and beyond any legal requirement to do so.

      All the braying and whining out of conservatives is only to serve the agenda of giving them power. Any interpretation that they have reasonable concerns is ridiculous. The appointment of this special council can be completely explained and justified by the desire of progressives to see a fair and impartial process happen, even knowing it is actually impossible to satisfy the prejudiced conservatives of such. Looking at it through a lens of how it should or shouldn’t make conservatives happy is a waste of time; they won’t be happy and they consistently behave so unreasonably that their opinions no longer matter.

      • @orphiebabyEnglish
        5•1 year ago

        Trump President for life? So like… six months?

        • @orrk
          6•1 year ago

          then it’s just Trump jr. taking up the throne, you know, like his friends in N.Korea

      • Kata1yst
        12•1 year ago

        the brains of the GOP

        Yeah, I’m gonna have to stop you there.

        • Unaware7013
          20•1 year ago

          Don’t short sell them friend, they accomplished what they set out to do decades ago. They just also now lost control of their electorate, so the brains of the party don’t have much to do with where the party is going now.

          Like the other person said, I don’t think the brains of the party actually wanted the win, they just became the dog that caught the car and now are entirely lost trying to figure out how they’re really the victim in the situation they created.

    • @trias10English
      -18•1 year ago

      I’m not sure. They definitely wanted one, but after that ridiculous plea deal which Weiss got, it’s clear he’s an absolute weasel and company man after all, and this is coming from a hardcore Sanders democrat. That plea deal was insanity – a misdemeanor for lying blatantly about drugs on a federal firearms transfer? And not paying taxes? Imagine if those charges were leveled against an ordinary person, and not a member of the ruling elite.

      There needs to be a special counsel appointed, but fuck this Weiss guy.