U.S. President Accused of Undermining Justice System Over Hunter Biden Case

Department of Research, Studies and International News  15-01-2025

Special Counsel David Weiss, who led the investigation and subsequent indictment of Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, has openly criticized the president for comments that he claims undermine the integrity of the American justice system. Weiss accused the president of making “gratuitous and wrong” assertions that the legal actions taken against his son were selective and unfair.

In a comprehensive 280-page final report released on Monday, Weiss addressed allegations made by the elder Biden, stating that such claims not only attack the credibility of the Department of Justice but also erode public trust in the judicial system. According to Weiss, other U.S. presidents who have issued pardons for family members refrained from using those moments to publicly disparage the institutions of justice or to propagate baseless accusations.

Weiss emphasized that his investigation into Hunter Biden adhered strictly to the principles of impartiality and fairness. He reiterated that the charges against the president’s son were the result of thorough and objective inquiries. “This case exemplifies the equal application of justice,” Weiss said, adding, “No individual, regardless of their last name, is exempt from the laws of the United States.”

The report comes after President Biden granted his son a pardon last month, following Hunter Biden’s convictions on firearms and tax-related offenses. This move, however, was coupled with the president’s public statements, in which he claimed that his son’s prosecution was a targeted effort driven by political motives and his familial connection to the presidency. President Biden argued that any neutral observer would see the legal actions as unjust, describing them as an attempt to break his son’s spirit.

“There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been sober for over five years despite relentless attacks and selective prosecution,” the president stated at the time.

The legal troubles surrounding Hunter Biden began when he was found guilty in June of providing false information on a background check form regarding his drug use, which violated federal firearms regulations. Later, in September, he pleaded guilty to evading $1.4 million in taxes, adding further weight to the charges against him. Before sentencing could take place in either case, President Biden intervened by issuing a pardon.

Weiss criticized the president’s narrative, suggesting that these allegations of selective prosecution undermine the foundational fairness of the American legal system. He warned that such statements diminish confidence in the Department of Justice and weaken public respect for the rule of law.

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, offered a sharp rebuke to Weiss’s report, claiming it failed to adequately justify the approach taken by prosecutors. Lowell argued that the investigation was marked by the pursuit of “wild and debunked conspiracies” about the president’s son. In a public statement, Lowell described the inquiry as a “cautionary tale of prosecutorial overreach,” implying that it served as an example of how legal power could be misused.

This high-profile case, deeply interwoven with political tensions, has sparked significant debate about the boundaries of prosecutorial discretion and the role of presidential authority in matters involving family members. With Weiss’s report now public, the controversy surrounding the Biden family’s legal troubles is far from over, casting a long shadow on perceptions of justice and accountability in America.