Outgoing Attorney General William Barr said Monday that he saw no reason for a special counsel to take over the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, son of President-elect Joe Biden, undercutting President Donald Trump yet again.
Trump has mulled pushing the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel for the probe, which is focused on Hunter Biden’s taxes, and which is currently being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware.
“To the extent that there’s an investigation, I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally within the department,” Barr said at a news conference, two days before his resignation from the Department of Justice takes effect.
“And to this point I have seen no reason to appoint a special counsel, and I see no reason to do so before I leave,” Barr said.
“If I thought a special counsel was the right tool, I would name one, but I haven’t.”
Barr also said that he hopes the Biden administration will handle the Hunter Biden probe “responsibly.”
Appointing a special counsel is seen as one means to prevent Joe Biden or other officials in his administration from exerting any pressure on the U.S. attorney’s office to go easy on Hunter Biden.
Special counsels are appointed by the attorney general to investigate a person or issue when federal prosecutors or Justice Department divisions have a conflict of interest if they handled the probe.
The incoming acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen last week refused to say whether he would appoint a special counsel for the Hunter Biden investigation.
Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/21/attorney-general-barr-wont-name-special-counsel-for-hunter-biden-probe.html
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