Outgoing Attorney General William Barr said Monday he saw no reason for special counsel to take over the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden, which again undermined President Donald Trump.
Trump has been considering urging the Justice Department to appoint special counsel to the investigation, which focuses on Hunter Biden’s taxes, and is currently being handled by the U.S. law firm in Delaware.
“As far as there is an investigation, I think it is handled responsibly and professionally within the department,” Barr said at a press conference two days before his resignation from the Justice Department takes effect.
“And so far I have seen no reason to appoint special counsel, nor do I see any reason to do so before I leave,” Barr said.
“If I thought a special counsel was the right resource, I would name one, but I don’t have one.”
Barr also said he hopes the Biden administration will handle the Hunter Biden probe “responsibly”.
Appointing special counsel is seen as a means of preventing Joe Biden or other officials in his administration from putting any pressure on the US attorney’s office to reassure Hunter Biden.
Special advisers are appointed by the Attorney General to investigate an individual or matter when federal prosecutors or departments of the Department of Justice have a conflict of interest when they handle the investigation.
Incoming Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen declined last week to say whether he would appoint special counsel for the Hunter Biden investigation.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr attends a press conference to provide an update on the investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on the 32nd anniversary of the attack, at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC, USA, December 21, 2020.
Michael Reynolds | Reuters
Joe Biden has said he will not interfere with federal prosecutors’ decision-making.
“It’s not my Justice Department. It’s the People’s Justice Department,” Biden said in a recent interview.
Barr resigned last week after infuriating Trump by contradicting the president’s claim that he lost the presidential election to Joe Biden as a result of massive voting fraud.
Barr had said in an interview with the Associated Press that the DOJ had not seen any evidence to reverse Biden’s election.
On Monday, Barr said he commented in that interview on whether there was systemic or widespread voting fraud.
“I support that statement,” he said.
US Vice President Joe Biden (R) points to some faces in the crowd with his son Hunter as they walk down Pennsylvania Avenue after President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony in Washington on January 20, 2009.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Hunter Biden, a lawyer and businessman, said two weeks ago that he was the focus of an investigation by the Trump-appointed US attorney in his home state of Delaware. The revelation came after the presidential election.
Trump was angry that Barr managed to keep the pre-election investigation secret.
The president has also been agitated for years over the 2017 appointment of former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate his 2016 presidential campaign and contacts with Russians.
Both Hunter Biden and his father have said that Hunter did not commit a crime.
Last week, when Joe Biden was asked by a reporter, “Are you sure your son Hunter didn’t do anything wrong?” he replied, “I am confident.”
Hunter Biden said in disclosing the probe, “I take this matter very seriously, but I am confident that a professional and objective assessment of these matters will demonstrate that I have handled my business legally and correctly, also with the benefit of professional tax advisers. “