A top House Republican accused special counsel David Weiss of indicting Hunter Biden to protect him from the chamber’s sprawling investigation into the first family.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the House Oversight Committee chairman who is leading the congressional probe into Hunter Biden and President Biden, said Weiss was only bringing the minimum possible charges to spare father and son from potentially more damaging revelations from his committee.
Hunter Biden had been in talks to testify before the Oversight Committee next week.
“We think that this is just the tip of the iceberg. We think there are many more crimes,” Comer said on CNN Friday. “And my concern is that Weiss may have indicted Hunter Biden to protect him from having to be deposed in the House Oversight Committee.”
Network anchor Jake Tapper was skeptical of the argument.
“Yes. He indicted him to protect him. Yes. The classic rubric. He indicted him to protect him. I got it,” Tapper responded sarcastically. “He’s facing like 17 additional years in prison.”
“Jake, this whole thing’s been about a cover-up… You indicted him on the least little thing, the gun charge, and not paying taxes.” Comer shot back. “Anybody else in America would already be in prison, would already be in prison. You say he owes $2 million. He may owe $7 or $8 million, if these loans are fraudulent loans. I mean, a loan means you are going to pay it back.”
Team Hunter, however, did not appear happy with the decision by Weiss, who they noted just months ago was ready to let the first son off the hook with misdemeanor charges.
Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said prosecutors only brought the new charges in response to “Republican pressure.”
“Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence — and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full — the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors,” Lowell said in a statement.