{"id":2002854,"date":"2023-08-16T17:45:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T21:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-dojs-reversal-on-hunter-biden-special-counsel-the-media-still-suspect-nothing\/"},"modified":"2023-08-16T17:47:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T21:47:43","slug":"after-dojs-reversal-on-hunter-biden-special-counsel-the-media-still-suspect-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-dojs-reversal-on-hunter-biden-special-counsel-the-media-still-suspect-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite the Department of Justice&#8217;s reversal on appointing a special counsel for Hunter Biden, the media remains oblivious."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafter-dojs-reversal-on-hunter-biden-special-counsel-the-media-still-suspect-nothing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2002854&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Merrick Garland Appoints Special Counsel in\u2063 Hunter Biden Investigation<\/h2>\n<div>\n<figure><figcaption>Merrick Garland (Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The mainstream media largely accepted the Justice Department&#8217;s claim that there was \u200cno need for a special counsel \u200cin the investigation\u200b of Hunter Biden&#8217;s influence peddling.\u200d Then, after a failed \u200cattempt to give Biden a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ghislaine-maxwell-now-accusing-prison-guard-of-abuse\/\" title=\"Ghislaine Maxwell Now Accusing Prison Guard Of Abuse\">sweetheart plea deal<\/a>, the Justice Department \u2063appointed \u200ca special counsel last week.<\/p>\n<p>The media have hardly questioned the reversal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Then:<\/strong> Attorney General \u2062Merrick Garland in June scoffed at\u2062 the idea that the lead prosecutor in\u200d the Biden probe \u2062needed special counsel powers, saying, &#8220;Weiss had, in\u2064 fact, more authority than a special counsel would have had.&#8221; The prosecutor, \u200cDavid Weiss,\u2063 quickly agreed with Garland and denied whistleblowers&#8217; testimony that he had asked to be made a special counsel in the face of internal resistance\u200b to his probe of the president&#8217;s son. That\u200d seemed\u200c to be good enough for the press.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/07\/10\/politics\/david-weiss-refutes-whistleblower-claim-hunter-biden\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>: &#8220;US Attorney Leading Hunter\u200b Biden Probe \u2064Refutes Whistleblowers\u2019 Politicization\u200c Claims&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>US\u2064 Attorney David Weiss, \u2064who is overseeing the Hunter Biden criminal probe, says in a letter obtained by CNN that he did not ask to be named as a special counsel and was never refused authority to bring charges anywhere in the \u2064country, refuting two key allegations from IRS whistleblowers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/10\/us\/politics\/david-weiss-hunter-biden-irs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>New York Times<\/em><\/a>: &#8220;Prosecutor Rebuts\u2064 IRS Official\u2019s Account of Request in Hunter Biden\u200d Case&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>In Monday\u2019s letter\u2014a follow-up to a \u2062less detailed response he sent to House Republicans in late\u2064 June\u2014Mr. Weiss backed up an earlier statement by Mr. Garland that he had been given\u2062 full authority in the case.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/4089454-hunter-biden-prosecutor-disputes-gop-irs-whistleblower-claim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Hill<\/em><\/a>: &#8220;Hunter Biden Prosecutor Disputes GOP, \u200cIRS Whistleblower Claim&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Echoing earlier statements that he had total control over the \u2063investigation, Weiss\u2019s Monday letter is his clearest language yet in pushing back on [IRS whistleblower Gary] Shapley\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/us-attorney-david-weiss-asked-special-counsel-status\/story?id=101009886\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC News<\/a>: &#8220;US Attorney David Weiss Says He Has \u2062Not Asked For Special Counsel Status in Hunter Biden Investigation&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The letter appears to bolster Garland&#8217;s \u200brepeated assurances that he did not\u200b improperly seek to interfere in the Hunter Biden investigation, despite assertions from House Republicans \u2062who have \u200ctaken steps toward initiating impeachment\u200c proceedings \u200cagainst Garland in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/hunter-biden-prosecutor-weiss-contradicts-irs-whistleblower-rcna93509\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>: &#8220;Prosecutor Who Made Hunter Biden \u200bPlea Deal Contradicts IRS Whistleblower, Says He \u2064Had OK to Bring Charges Anywhere \u2064in US&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Weiss\u2019s new\u2063 statement adds context to an assertion by whistleblower Gary Shapley,\u2063 a former IRS \u2062criminal investigator, \u2064who told Republicans that Weiss \u2063spoke to the U.S. attorney\u2019s offices in the District of Columbia and California about\u2064 bringing\u2064 charges, and that those offices were not supportive. Weiss and the Justice Department have not denied those discussions took\u200c place\u2014but Weiss is now essentially saying that, if he believed those charges \u200dwere warranted, he could have brought them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/trump-appointed-prosecutor-contradicts-gop-hunter-biden-case-rcna93457\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSNBC<\/a>: &#8220;Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Contradicts GOP\u2064 in Hunter Biden Case&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The more the U.S. \u2063attorney in the \u200dHunter \u2063Biden case sets the \u2063record straight about his investigation, the more he tells \u200cRepublicans what they don\u2019t want\u2062 to hear.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Now:<\/strong> Garland announced \u200con \u2064Friday that he had \u200delevated Weiss to special counsel after the prosecutor told him the powers were necessary to continue the Biden investigation. \u200bThe media have sounded curiously incurious\u200b about the two men&#8217;s apparent reversals\u2062 of their earlier positions.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/11\/us\/weiss-special-counsel-hunter-biden.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>: &#8220;Why Naming Weiss Special Counsel in the Hunter Biden Case\u2063 May Not \u2063Change \u200dMuch&#8221;:<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>One oddity about Attorney\u200d General Merrick\u200d B. Garland\u2019s decision to give special counsel status \u200cto David Weiss, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware who has been leading the investigation into President Biden\u2019s son Hunter, is that both Mr. Garland and Mr. Weiss have already said \u200cthe prosecutor was empowered to act independently.<\/p>\n<p>That means making\u2063 Mr. Weiss\u2064 a special counsel may be more of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-dojs-reversal-on-hunter-biden-special-counsel-the-media-still-suspect-nothing\/\" title=\"Despite the Department of Justice's reversal on appointing a special counsel for Hunter Biden, the media remains oblivious.\">cosmetic gesture\u2014essentially formalizing<\/a> what\u2064 has already been the case\u2014than a new reality.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/08\/11\/hunter-biden-special-counsel-investigation-00110872\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Politico<\/em><\/a>: &#8220;Prosecutor Overseeing \u200dHunter Biden \u2063Probe is Named Special \u200cCounsel&#8221;:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>As \u200dspecial counsel, [Weiss] has authority to\u200c bring criminal charges related to his probe \u2064in any part of the country he wishes. Garland\u2062 had said previously that Weiss already enjoyed that authority,\u2064 but two IRS agents told\u2064 Congress that Weiss was blocked from bringing charges in different judicial \u2063districts. Weiss has disputed the agents\u2019 accounts and promised to testify to Congress himself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/what-the-special-counsel-appointment-means-for-the-hunter-biden-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PBS<\/a>: &#8220;What The Special Counsel Appointment\u200d Means For The Hunter Biden Case&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>So, exactly what changed is unclear. But we do know \u2063that\u2064 the attorney general, Merrick Garland, \u2064said, David Weiss came to him, called him on\u2064 the phone on Tuesday, and said he had entered a new stage of this investigation, and he believed it \u200dwas important to appoint him as special counsel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To be \u2062fair, some journalists have tentatively started to ask questions.<\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jake Tapper: &#8220;Does the President need to stop publicly saying that his son did nothing wrong?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Goldman (D-NY): &#8220;President\u200b Biden &#8211; There&#8217;s been\u2063 no evidence to show that he&#8217;s \u200cbeen involved in anything.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NDnc0gyeIo\">pic.twitter.com\/NDnc0gyeIo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DailyCaller\/status\/1691099504894689281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">VIDEO &#8211; Brennan to Mike Turner: Why Would a Trump \u2064Appointed U.S. Attorney \u200dAllow Statute of Limitations Expire For Hunter Biden? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eL6LJS4MtS\">https:\/\/t.co\/eL6LJS4MtS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grabien (@GrabienMedia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GrabienMedia\/status\/1690911601476673536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August\u200d 14, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/08\/11\/politics\/hunter-biden-weiss-special-counsel-analysis\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>: &#8220;Why Was Weiss Named Special Counsel to Investigate Hunter Biden? It\u2019s Complicated.&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p>That [elevation to a special counsel] raises \u2062the question of whether the ongoing Hunter Biden probe has moved closer to the president, \u2064though there \u200dis no public indication that this is the\u2064 case.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2023\/08\/11\/doj-merrick-garland-hunter-biden-weiss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington\u200b Post<\/a><\/em>: &#8220;DOJ Names Special Counsel in Hunter Biden Case as \u2064Plea Agreement Falls Apart&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p>The development carries with it significant new legal\u200d peril for the president\u2019s son, \u200dwho may now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/memphis-shooter-detained-after-livestreaming-shooting-rampage\/\" title=\"Memphis shooter detained after livestreaming shooting rampage\">face multiple felony charges<\/a>. It also brings dramatic consequences for his father,\u2063 who\u200d has been unable to shake the political\u2063 albatross of his son\u2019s continuing legal troubles.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But so far, even the\u200d most dramatic contradictions in the case\u2014like Weiss\u200c trying and <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/white-house-says-hunter-investigation-handled-independently-after-judge-rejects-dojs-favorable-plea-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failing<\/a> to give\u2062 Biden a sweetheart plea \u2064deal while the investigation was supposedly\u200d ongoing\u2014have not been enough for the media to aggressively demand answers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merrick Garland&#8217;s appointment of a special counsel for Hunter Biden&#8217;s case surprised the media, who initially agreed with the Justice Department&#8217;s stance against it. However, their opinion shifted after a failed plea deal attempt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":2002855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2002854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2002854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2002855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2002854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}