(The Hill) — Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Saturday that the investigation into Hunter Biden is going to be a “total sham,” following U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss’ appointment as special counsel.
“The House, they’ve been working on supposedly holding Hunter Biden accountable,” DeSantis told reporters at the Iowa State Fair. “And like, I don’t know what these guys are doing, but I think this special counsel, I think they’re trying to checkmate that investigation.”
“This is gonna be a total sham special counsel,” he continued. “You got the same guy who had been doing it with kid gloves anyways. And I think they’re trying to kneecap the House’s ability to investigate. I’d like to see them get more mileage out of that Hunter Biden investigation. We want to see results.”
Weiss, who has been overseeing the investigation into Biden since 2018, was elevated to special counsel on Friday. While Republicans previously urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel in the probe, many criticized his decision to name Weiss.
The U.S. attorney for Delaware has faced sharp criticism from Republicans since he reached a plea agreement with the president’s son earlier this year.
The agreement, which would have seen Biden plead guilty to two minor tax offenses and enter into a pretrial diversion program on a gun charge, was denounced by many in the GOP as a “sweetheart” deal. However, the plea deal appears to have fallen apart in recent weeks.
Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden has also come under increased scrutiny after two IRS whistleblowers accused the Justice Department of slow-walking the case, giving the president’s son preferential treatment and declining to pursue charges in other jurisdictions with stronger evidence.
The two IRS agents testified last month before the House Oversight Committee, which has also been investigating Biden’s foreign business dealings.