Merrick Garland's Naming of David Weiss as Special Counsel: Very Fishy

This article first appeared in New English Review. 

"OK, David, you can be the special counsel. That ought to keep the little bastards happy for a couple of years."

Attorney General Merrick Garland is looking like a complete incompetent after today's announcement that he is appointing David Weiss as special counsel in the Hunter Biden investigation. This following a federal judge's rejection of a sweetheart deal that would have let Hunter basically plead to spitting on the sidewalk, a deal engineered by Weiss and his office in Delaware (where he is the US Attorney). So how does this mess go from the US Justice Department settling the case with such a minor plea to the appointment of a special counsel? And why the already-compromised David Weiss, of all people?

It could be argued that it is Weiss who is already familiar with the case, but given the history of this affair, I would argue that it screams out for a fresh face-one who is impartial and not compromised.

And let's be clear: This is not just an investigation into the shady dealings of Hunter Biden and the millions of dollars he has failed to report to the IRS-with good reason it turns out. This case involves foreign actors from countries and governments that are not friendly to the US. It is about influence peddling that involves his father, the current president of the United States, Joe Biden. Garland should publicly acknowledge that the president is also under investigation.

Every day, new revelations come out thanks not to the Justice Department, except for the IRS whistleblowers, who are under Treasury, but thanks to the House leadership of Jim Jordan (R-OH) and James Comer (R-KY). Much thanks also have to go to investigative journalist John Solomon (Just the News.com). It is an embarrassment to the Justice Department that so much information regarding the Biden family has to be uncovered by outside sources.

Everything that Joe Biden has said regarding his lack of knowledge or involvement in his son's business dealings has turned out to be false. New details are coming out regarding the shameful actions of then-VP Biden to force the Ukrainian government to fire the prosecutor (Viktor Shokin) investigating Burisma. And it was no coincidence that Hunter was on the board of directors. In addition, after much wrangling, the House committee investigating the Bidens finally obtained an FBI report wherein a longtime, reliable informant spoke of attending a meeting in Kiev with the CEO of Burisma, who reportedly told him/her that he had paid Hunter $5 million and $5 million to Joe Biden to get that prosecutor fired. According to the unnamed source, the CEO claimed to have taped telephone conversations and text messages between him and both Bidens. These claims need to be corroborated, of course, but the money trails of Hunter's deals are being revealed. They show tens of millions of dollars paid to Hunter Biden-for what? For access to Joe. In addition, we now have the sworn testimony of Devon Archer (Hunter's business partner, also on Burisma's board of directors) that he was present on numerous occasions when Hunter put his father on speaker phone to various overseas business partners. This also should be corroborated, but keep in mind, it wasn't necessary for Joe himself to discuss the details of Hunter's deals. All he had to do was be present, say hello, so that Hunter could show that his father was there and had his back, and meanwhile, Joe could theoretically maintain plausible deniability. 

"It's just golf."

Contrary to Joe's many denials, facts are coming out almost daily detailing how he attended dinners with Hunter's foreign business partners, spoke on the phone with them- followed by 6 or 7-figure money transfers to Hunter. Many of these facts have come to light in the days following the plea deal fiasco in Delaware. Just a couple of days ago, Solomon told Fox's Sean Hannity on the radio that new information was expected to be revealed in the coming week that would show that the elder Biden, in fact, took actions to change government policy in a manner contrary to the advice given by his own governmental advisors. Of course, we must wait and evaluate what comes out in the coming days.

So have the scales fallen from Merrick Garland's eyes? I am speculating, of course, but does the statement by Solomon have anything to do with today's announcement? Have the embarrassment of the failed plea deal and the most recent revelations forced him to appoint a special counsel, something that should have been done a long time ago? And why David Weiss, of all people?

My own suspicion is that Garland and the DOJ are stalling for time. They can now, in theory, go back and start the whole thing from scratch. And you know how long that will take. It will easily stretch out until after the 2024 election. They can continue to respond to questions by stating that the whole matter is under investigation, so they cannot comment. Meanwhile, Garland's other special counsel, Jack Smith, is pushing to put Donald Trump on trial prior to the election, while his counterparts in Manhattan and Fulton County, Georgia proceed merrily along with their Trump cases.

Of course, we must wait and see if our system of justice is really equal to all or a two-tiered system. It is hard for me to say this being retired from the Justice Department (DEA) and proudly so at the time. But I am not proud of what I see going on right now. Time and time again since the 2016 election campaign, I have seen this DOJ and its FBI abusing their power in favor of one political candidate and against another. Those actions in themselves have merited special counsels.