Congressional Republicans have for months repeatedly written to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland demanding he appoint a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, the presidentās 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. āDavid Weiss canāt be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden familyās corruption,ā Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The reaction was a notable political development, one that underscored both how Mr. Weiss, a Republican, has fallen in conservative circles, and how deeply it has become ingrained in the G.O.P. to oppose the Justice Department at every turn.
āThe reality is this appointment is meant to distract from, and slow down, our investigations,ā said Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and chairman of Ways and Means, one of three congressional committees looking into the Biden familyās finances.
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Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who had once called for Mr. Weiss to be made special counsel, said he no longer stands by that belief. āGiven the underhanded plea deal negotiated by the U.S. attorney from President Bidenās home state, itās clear Mr. Weiss isnāt the right person for the job,ā Mr. Grassley said.
But Democrat-aligned groups saw something else in the Republicansā about-face: disingenuousness.
āHouse Republicansā opposition to Trump appointee David Weissās appointment as special counsel is nothing more than another political stunt,ā said Kyle Herrig, the director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group that defends President Biden from congressional investigations. āAfter months of calling for this, their dismay makes clear that they will stop at nothing to weaponize Congress to interfere with an ongoing investigation and harm Joe Biden.ā
Yeah, Iām gonna have to stop you there.
Donāt short sell them friend, they accomplished what they set out to do decades ago. They just also now lost control of their electorate, so the brains of the party donāt have much to do with where the party is going now.
Like the other person said, I donāt think the brains of the party actually wanted the win, they just became the dog that caught the car and now are entirely lost trying to figure out how theyāre really the victim in the situation they created.