2024 Republican Candidates Aren’t Impressed by Hunter Biden Special Counsel Announcement

Republican presidential hopefuls took a break from fried food and butter statues at the Iowa State Fair on Friday to weigh in on the news that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to manage the ongoing investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. 

On Friday, Garland tapped U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who was already handling the investigation out of Delaware, as special counsel in the probe into the President’s son’s business dealings and other potential wrongdoing.   

Garland said the appointment of a special counsel reinforces “the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.” 

Although the Justice Department appoints special counsels as a way to avoid conflicts of interest, Republicans were quick to use the opportunity to criticize the Biden administration. Said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: “It seems to me they’re gonna find a way to give him some type of soft glove treatment.” 

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign released a statement from a spokesperson, which alleged the Biden family has “been protected by the Justice Department for decades.”

“If this special counsel is truly independent - even though he failed to bring proper charges after a four year investigation and he appears to be trying to move the case to a more Democrat-friendly venue - he will quickly conclude that Joe Biden, his troubled son Hunter, and their enablers, including the media, which colluded with the 51 intelligence officials who knowingly misled the public about Hunter’s laptop, should face the required consequences,” the statement continued. 

Trump is entangled in his own series of legal problems, including facing dozens of criminal charges in multiple cases stemming from at least two states and the District of Columbia. 

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy reposted a previous post he published on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that called on the FBI and the DOJ to “be fully transparent about these political investigations.”

The post from June of this year called for a special counsel investigation into the Bidens, adding “We the People deserve to know.” 

Writing that although he is “deeply skeptical” of special counsels, “there cannot be a two-tiered justice system in this country.” 

“If there’s a Trump-focused special counsel, there *must* be a Biden-focused special counsel too - to investigate mounting evidence of Biden’s potential criminal violations,” he added. 

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley shared a clip of her appearing on Fox News discussing the Department of Justice, writing on X that, “Americans don't trust Joe Biden's Department of Justice.”

In the clip, Haley goes on to say, “I think this is in response to the pressure that the Biden family is feeling, I think this is in response to the pressure that the Department of Justice is feeling. What I would say is that I think the House needs to keep their foot on the gas, keep this investigation going, don’t let up.”