Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham Disapprove of David Weiss
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz ridiculed Attorney General Merrick Garland’s machinations, such as making Delaware US Attorney David Weiss a special counsel, to protect President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son R. Hunter Biden in his most recent episode of the podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” which dropped Aug 21.
“The idea that David Weiss is now the special prosecutor is utterly absurd,” said Cruz, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to his podcast co-host Ben Ferguson.
Beyond being absurd, Cruz said Garland skated around Justice Department regulations when he gave Weiss his new title.
Appointing David Weiss is, on its face, objectively illegal because he is a sitting U.S. Attorney, so he doesn't meet the DOJ guidelines of being from outside the DOJ. But Merrick Garland wants him; he knows he has his patsy here. He knows he has a guy that will protect Joe Biden no matter what.
“David Weiss, when he was leading this investigation, was prepared to sign off on zero charges whatsoever for criminal conduct that Hunter Biden unquestionably had committed,” he said.
Cruz, a graduate of Harvard Law School, said he dismissed the idea that Weiss, who ran the case against Hunter for the previous five years, would suddenly become a hard-edged prosecutor now that he is a special counsel.
David Weiss was perfectly prepared to give not just the sweetheart deal but the super, super sweetheart deal, the sweetheart deal where Hunter Biden pleads guilty to nothing. That's what Weiss was prepared to do. And it was under Weiss's leadership that the obstruction of justice occurred, that they gave repeatedly heads up to Hunter Biden to enable him to frustrate the investigation. It was under David Weiss that DOJ officials inserted themselves into the investigation to make sure that zero questions were asked about Joe Biden.
The Texan said DOJ’s goal was never justice in the Hunter case.
The objective of the Department of Justice from day one was to protect President Joe Biden; it was a political objective. And by the way, that political objective is precisely the reason the Special Counsel law exists because when you have a political Attorney General, like Merrick Garland, they have political incentives.
Cruz said Hunter's failed plea deal betrays the degree to which Weiss was ready to wall off Hunter from future prosecution.
Sadly, and by the way, if you look at the draft wording of the agreement, let me read you some of it. "The Department of Justice agrees not to criminally prosecute Robert Hunter Biden and the affiliated businesses, namely: Owasco P.C.; Owasco LLC; and Skaneateles LLC, for any federal crimes arising from the conduct generally described in the attached statement of facts, or for any other federal crimes relating to matters investigated by the United States.”
It is important to point out that Hunter is obsessed with New York’s Finger Lakes, which is why he uses Finger Lake names, such as Skaneateles and Owasco, as calling cards or toe tags.
This obsession is in full view whenever the president’s son takes off his shirt to reveal his back tattoo of the Finger Lakes topography.
Cruz said this walling off was designed to prevent the democratic process from working its influence; that is to say, political appointee Weiss was trying to prevent another political appointee from unwinding the deal.
This immunity that they were negotiating was designed to protect against that. What these emails going back and forth reveal is that Hunter's lawyers were terrified that in a couple of years, there would be a Republican president — and an attorney general who was not a Democrat partisan and a hack — and that Hunter would actually be prosecuted for what was indisputably a repeat pattern of felonies.
The senator said the staff prosecutors and the Hunter legal team worked together to prevent a Republican administration from making things right in two years.
“Garland and David Weiss were more than happy to go along with that.”
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The appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate a highly-charged political matter is never going to please everyone, of course. Most notably, the subject(s) of any such investigation and their avid supporters likely won't be keen on the appointment in general, and whoever is selected for the role is sure to draw scrutiny and criticism from those concerned he or she will pursue political ends (different from their own) rather than justice.
But the selection by Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss by Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as Special Counsel regarding the Hunter Biden investigation was not only a day late and a dollar short, as they say, but fraught with potential conflicts of interest and plenty of grounds to question whether he can truly operate independently as the role requires.
As Bonchie noted when the appointment was announced:
Weiss remaining on the case is controversial given the allegations of corruption that have surrounded his office and the DOJ. A sweetheart plea deal that broke department protocol was originally given to Hunter Biden before a judge asked enough questions to expose it, leading to lawyers from both sides leaving empty-handed. Because of that ordeal, there’s not going to be much faith by many Americans in Weiss going forward that he will handle the case in an unbiased manner.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has now joined the chorus of calls to remove Weiss from the investigation and replace him with an independent actor. (See also: Grassley Declares Weiss Unfit for Special Counsel Job, Pledges Ongoing Congressional Investigation Into Biden Family Bribery.)
On Monday evening, Graham, citing the New York Times' Saturday deep dive into the collapse of Hunter Biden's plea deal, called for Weiss to be replaced:
An independent special counsel is needed in this case.
It is abundantly clear Mr. Weiss needs to be removed from the investigation of Hunter Biden. To say this has been botched is an understatement.
I have been calling for a new set of eyes on this case for quite a while. A huge cloud hangs over the Weiss investigative team and it will only go away when a new independent special counsel is appointed.
As we reported, both the Times and Politico were provided access to numerous email communications between Hunter Biden's lawyers and Weiss's office, which set forth efforts to reach a "resolution" of the investigation into Biden. Neither story elicits confidence that Weiss can objectively and effectively fulfill the Special Counsel role.
Then, too, there was the piece from the Washington Post on Sunday pointing out the fact that Weiss used to work alongside Hunter Biden's brother Beau when he served as Delaware Attorney General. As Bob Hoge observed:
Whenever a left-wing news outlet writes something negative about someone in Bidenworld, you have to wonder why. Is Hunter Biden Special Counsel David Weiss next to be thrown under the bus?
It's one thing for congressional Republicans like Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and now Graham to call for Weiss's dismissal. When media outlets like Politico, the New York Times, and the Washington Post start reporting critically on his efforts — even if their motivation for doing so may differ from the Republicans' — chances are better than even that his days in the role are numbered.
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