With special counsel, Republicans won't take 'yes' for an answer
By: Steve Benen (MSNBC. com)
the only constant in the GOP is their hypocrisy...
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Aug. 14, 2023, 12:46 PM UTC
By Steve Benen
Republican complaints about Attorney General Merrick Garland's actions tend to be reflexive: Whatever he does, GOP officials are against. But as unfortunate as this dynamic is, it's still unusual to see the party effectively declare in unison, "How dare the attorney general do what we asked him to do."
The New York Times summarized the latest problem nicely:
Congressional Republicans have for months repeatedly written to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland demanding he appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the president's son, over his business dealings. Some even demanded that a specific man be named to lead the inquiry: David C. Weiss, the Trump-appointed Delaware U.S. attorney who has long investigated the case. But on Friday, after Mr. Garland elevated Mr. Weiss to special counsel status, Republicans in Congress reacted publicly not with triumph, but with outrage.
It was in April 2022 when several dozen House Republicans wrote to Garland, formally urging him to appoint a special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden case. It wasn't altogether clear why — a Trump-appointed prosecutor was already handling the case, and there was no evidence of political interference — but the GOP lawmakers made the appeal anyway.
Five months later, in September 2022, 33 Senate Republicans didn't just want any special counsel, these GOP senators specifically requested that Garland elevate Weiss to the role.
"Given the politicization of the DOJ under your watch and the importance of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, the undersigned request that you provide U.S. Attorney Weiss the full protections and authorities of a special counsel," the senators' letter read. "This is one important action that you can take that will go a long way in restoring faith in our governmental institutions."
Even at the time, the Republicans' request was tiresome and needlessly partisan: They asserted without evidence that the Justice Department had been politicized under Garland, which was, and is, a baseless claim. Nevertheless, the GOP senators appeared certain that if the attorney general made Weiss a special counsel, this would address the party's concerns.
So much for that idea.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who wanted Weiss to serve as special counsel, told Fox News yesterday that he believes Weiss is a "wildly inappropriate" choice to serve as special counsel. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who signed the same September 2022 letter, also told Fox News that she sees the Trump-appointed prosecutor as a "collaborator." (She didn't say who, exactly, Weiss is collaborating with.)
Meanwhile, on the presidential campaign trail, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who also urged Garland to make Weiss a special counsel, told Fox News that Weiss "is not to be trusted" in the role of special counsel.
This is, of course, just a partial list. Several other Senate Republicans — Wisconsin's Ron Johnson, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, and Iowa's Chuck Grassley, among others — pushed similar complaints after Friday's announcement, despite having requested this specific outcome.
To be sure, each of these GOP senators have roughly the same explanation for the dramatic shift: When they pressed Garland to make Weiss a special counsel, the prosecutor had not yet offered the president's son a "sweetheart" deal. Now that they've seen it, the argument goes, they no longer like the Trump-appointed prosecutor.
The problem with this explanation is that the plea agreement Weiss and his team offered Hunter Biden does not appear to have been an actual "sweetheart" deal, Republicans' rhetoric notwithstanding.
Nevertheless, the agreement has since collapsed, and the case appears headed for trial.
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fascists, crooks and liars...
Maybe it was a different Tim Weiss?
biden should just pardon his son. it's been proven that trumpsters don't have any problems with that...
When DeSantis is elected, I hope he pardons Trump....in case he ever gets convicted of a real crime.
Why would you think DeSantis is going to win the nomination much less find a way to moderate his position so that he is electable?
Why would you want Trump to be pardoned? (There are good reasons, just curious as to what you are thinking.)
That’s never going to happen. Trump could be in a federal prison, and he’d still get nominated at the very least.
Amazing, is it not, that this is an entirely realistic prediction based on the state of the GOP nowadays?
Wishful thinking at the very least.
I understand DeSantis has his fans, those attracted to him...
Who find Ted Cruz charming. Marjorie Taylor Greene smart!
Cruz might not be charming, but he would make an excellent VP
... of a small massage parlor in havana.
Was yours a happy ending!
“…ending!”
…as in every one of your responses, is it an exclamation or a question?
In either case, it is guaranteed to be specious.
You should ask devangelical how happy his ending was after a Havana massage.
“You should ask…”
You should ask how, in any context, you should feel relevant.
Relevant, I don’t know. I only tried to respond to devangelical’s note 2.1.8
I'm always amazed at how dumb liberal pundits believe their readers to be.
Is the author unaware that between 2022 and the anger over Weiss's appointment in August 2023, whistleblowers testified about Weis refusing to prosecute the case normally, and the very public attempted plea bargain that the judge blew up because it was so irregular became public.? This is information that wasn't available in 2022. Or does he just think his readers won't grasp the concept that the publication of additional facts often cause people who aren't idiots to change their opinions. Does he assume that since progressives never let facts get in the way of an opinion, no one else does?
That this argument is a thing doesn't speak well of the author, or his perception of his reader's intelligence.
Also, Weiss isn't eligible to be Special Counsel as he is a member of the government.
Weiss is definitely not "from outside the United States Government".
Garland must think everyone is as stupid and biased as the Democrat media shills and their lemming followers.
Garland definitely has his man.
See everyone in 2027 when Weiss will finally be ready to do nothing for the US taxpayer and American Justice System again.
Wasn't John Durham a US Attorney for the District of Connecticut when he was appointed Special Counsel? I thought he was.
I will agree that Weiss is a horrible choice for special counsel in this matter due to how he's already fucked up so badly. I wonder how much this will continue to impact and delay the House investigation.
house investigation? I think you mean rwnj clown show designed to try and keep trump's multiple federal criminal indictments from distracting the mentally challenged.
of course he's fucking useless, he's a trump appointee...
so why did Biden keep him and why did he get assigned as special prosecutor?
pays to think things through without the veil of rank hypocrisy.
don't ask me. I reject the idea of appeasing republicans. since 2017 I'm in favor of fucking them over whenever, wherever...
[✘]
Fascinating to watch in real time:
"He's doing fine, how dare anyone criticize him" immediately followed by " Of course he's fucking up, Trump appointed him!"
But, but more excuses from the right. What's new?
Perfect
Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Apparently, unless the special counsel is Torquemada, they won’t be happy.
Perfect example, but he is only responsible for around 2,000 deaths during the Inquisition. Vlad the Impaler is probably more to their liking.
Exactly. Expecting Biden to be treated the same as any other person is no different than demanding an inquisitor be appointed. You nailed it.
How dare anyone be bothered the DOJ intentionally let a SOL expire to ensure a cheating taxpayer doesn't have to repay his taxes or be sentenced by the Court, right? Any prosecutor would do the same for you, too!
And now Biden's lawyers are now arguing the signed Diversion Agreement already protects Hunter from prosecution, regardless of the status of the plea agreement, moving forward. Biden's lawyers have a strong case that Weiss already let Hunter off the hook for all of his financial and tax crimes, not just the gun felony Hunter's obviously guilty of.
This is why (from a former fed prosecutor):
It's a long read but it details just how incredibly shady the plea agreement was.
Though some will still insist Weiss can't be criticized, even if Biden walks without a single conviction due to these shenanigans. .....
Oh no, now even the Washington Post's editorial board is starting to notice the obvious:
Strange indeed!