The Ball Is in Your Court, U.S. Attorney David Weiss

The ball is in your court, U.S. Attorney David Weiss. The Washington Post unveils a big scoop:

Federal agents investigating President Biden’s son Hunter have gathered what they believe is sufficient evidence to charge him with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase, according to people familiar with the case. The next step is for the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, a Trump administration holdover, to decide on whether to file such charges, these people said.

Agents determined months ago they had assembled a viable criminal case against the younger Biden. But it is ultimately up to prosecutors at the Justice Department, not agents, to decide whether to file charges in cases where prosecutors believe the evidence is strong enough to lead to a likely conviction at trial.

…Given the intense political interest in a criminal probe involving the son of a sitting president, Attorney General Merrick Garland has made clear that the U.S. Attorney in Delaware, David C. Weiss, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017, is supervising the case.

Garland has vowed there will be no political or otherwise improper interference in the Hunter Biden case, and has not moved to push Weiss to make a decision, the people familiar with the matter said. It is not uncommon for Justice Department investigations to take years to finish.

Back in 2020, Biden said, “I am confident” that Hunter did not break any tax laws or do anything wrong.

I’m sure Andy and other sharp NR legal minds will weigh in here shortly. But let’s point out that if the U.S. Department of Justice does choose to indict Hunter Biden, it will send a welcome message that no one is above the law, not even the president’s son. It will cause personal and political headaches for the president. But it will also represent at least a small piece of evidence that the DOJ follows the facts and evidence, without fear or favor, and does not give someone a pass for having a powerful, well-connected parent or the right political affiliation.

There is a great deal of speculation that the U.S. Department of Justice is also contemplating indicting former president Donald Trump. Anyone with eyes can see the problem if federal law-enforcement leadership overrules investigating agents and chooses to give Hunter Biden a pass, and then pursues a high-stakes, unprecedented criminal conviction against a former president.

Trump and his allies will argue that Biden’s DOJ is out to get him no matter what happens. But the example of Hunter Biden is just remarkable: here’s the son of a former vice president and current president, with shady business partners from hostile foreign countries, receiving incredibly expensive gifts prompting accusations of influence-peddling, along with self-admitted serious drug addiction, seemingly crystal-clear perjury, a lost firearm, selling paintings to unknown buyers for insanely lucrative sums — all kinds of scandals, potential crimes, and likely crimes, surrounding one deeply troubled figure. And on top of all that, there are claims that the U.S. Secret Service attempted to intervene to help keep Hunter Biden out of legal trouble.

“But what about Hunter Biden?” is the biggest, clearest, and most glaring response to the claim that the U.S. Department of Justice does not turn a blind eye to certain politically connected figures. One federal prosecutor can end that rejoinder once and for all . . . or he can keep the status quo.