Special Counsel David Weiss urged a Delaware federal judge on Tuesday to deny Hunter Biden’s request to subpoena former President Donald Trump along with former Attorney General Bill Barr and other former Justice Department officials, calling the demand “without merit” and nothing more than a “fishing expedition .”
Defense lawyers for the 53-year-old eldest son had asked US District Judge Maryellen Noreika to issue subpoenas for Trump, Barr, former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue earlier this month.
Attorneys claim statements made by former officers show that there was “partisan ambition” behind the five-year criminal investigation into Hunter. Weiss disagreed.
“The motion is without merit and should be denied,” Weiss wrote in a filing submitted to a Delaware federal court opposing the subpoena request.
“Not only does the defendant’s motion fail to identify any actual evidence of bias, vindictiveness, or discriminatory intent on the part of the Special Counsel, his argument ignores an inconvenient truth: No charges were brought against the defendant during the previous administration when the recipient of the subpoena actually held a position in the Executive Branch, ” added the US Delaware lawyer.
Weiss argued that Hunter Biden’s request to call Trump and Barr should be denied, and “is not worth it”. AP
Weiss noted that all of the charges filed against Hunter — three felony counts related to lying about being addicted to cocaine when he bought a gun nearly five years ago — were brought “during the current administration — one in which the defendant’s father, Joseph R. Biden, is President of the United States and Merrick B. Garland is the Attorney General who was appointed by President Biden and personally appointed the Special Counsel.”
“Defendant has not shown, nor can he, how external statements by political opponents of President Biden improperly pressured him, his Attorney General, or the Special Counsel to pursue charges against the President’s son,” Weiss argued.
Hunter’s defense team claimed that the government’s investigation into the first child was politically motivated. Saquan Stimpson – CNP
He further stated that “allegations of vindictive and selective prosecution were not trial defenses” and “were never argued to the trial jury.”
Hunter’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Bartholomew Dalton, are seeking to obtain records or communications related to the investigation since January 20, 2017 — including diaries, journals, memoirs, memos and notes from Trump, Barr and two other former DOJ officials.
The attorneys argued that statements, congressional interviews and social media posts by each have hinted at a “near-relentless public pressure campaign” by Trump, 77, to prosecute Hunter for his own “partisan ambitions.”
They hope to get documents related to their subpoena request by Dec. 1.
Barr, Rosen and Donoghue all took office after investigations into Hunter’s alleged violations of tax and firearms laws began in November 2018.
Weiss noted that Hunter Biden was never indicted during the Trump administration. AFP via Getty Images
“The defendant’s blanket subpoena request contains many of the same requests as the type of fishing expedition that the court has condemned as improper,” Weiss argued.
Hunter is expected to go on trial on three gun-related charges next year. He may face further tax fraud charges in Washington, DC, or Los Angeles for missing payments for the millions of dollars he earned between 2017 and 2018.
House members are also conducting an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, 81, alleging he may have abused his position as vice president, profited from his son’s overseas business dealings and interfered in a government investigation into his son.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
