Although some G.O.P. lawmakers see the appointment of David C. Weiss as a vindication of their strategy, others criticize the now-scuttled plea deal he struck with Mr. Biden.

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. “David Weiss can’t be trusted and this is just a new way to whitewash the Biden family’s corruption,” 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.

“The reality is this appointment is meant to distract from, and slow down, our investigations,” said Representative Jason Smith, Republican of Missouri and chairman of Ways and Means, one of three congressional committees looking into the Biden family’s finances.

…

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. “Given the underhanded plea deal negotiated by the U.S. attorney from President Biden’s home state, it’s clear Mr. Weiss isn’t the right person for the job,” Mr. Grassley said.

But Democrat-aligned groups saw something else in the Republicans’ about-face: disingenuousness.

“House Republicans’ opposition to Trump appointee David Weiss’s appointment as special counsel is nothing more than another political stunt,” said Kyle Herrig, the director of the Congressional Integrity Project, an advocacy group that defends President Biden from congressional investigations. “After 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.”

  • Jordan Lund@lemmy.oneEnglish
    56·
    1 year ago

    Because they don’t ACTUALLY want an investigation, or facts, or god forbid an exoneration.

    They just want to keep talking nonsense until the election. It’s Benghazi all over again.

    • whereisk@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 year ago

      They saw what happened when they got their way with abortion.

      They don’t want the noise, not the signal.

  • Orphie Baby@lemmy.worldEnglish
    38·
    1 year ago

    But Democrat-aligned groups saw something else in the Republicans’ about-face: disingenuousness.

  • Nougat@kbin.social
    35·
    1 year ago

    This makes perfect sense when you start from the premise that “everything a Democrat does is wrong.” Merrick Garland, AG under the Biden administration (even though there is a strong separation between the Justice Dept and the rest of the executive branch), and Obama’s SCOTUS nominee (even though he was blocked by McConnell), made the appointment. Therefore, the appointment is wrong.

    • BrooklynMan@lemmy.mlEnglish
      22·
      1 year ago

      it makes sense when you start from the premise that republicans are self-serving liars and bullies who will claim victimhood no matter the circumstances in an attempt to villainize their opponents against whom they have no real, substantive arguments.

      hell, even in 2016, when Trump won the election, he still claimed that it was rigged!

    • jscummy@sh.itjust.works
      10·
      1 year ago

      They also can’t complain about him not having special counsel status any more. It hurts the sideshow they want to kick up in the media.

      Even more important, they now know that this investigation will probably be handled quickly and uneventfully, undermining everything they’ve been squawking about for the past couple years.

    • LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world
      9·
      1 year ago

      Republicans want to forget how “AG” Barr destroyed all norms for judicial impartiality and blatantly acted as djt’s personal lawyer - at times even protecting him from financial burden from all the lawsuits at the expense of taxpayers footing the bill.

      Republicans have no leg to stand on and call Merrick Garland to be partial in any way. All republicans are doing is further proving they are so full of shit.

  • PretentiousDouche@lemmy.sdf.org
    71·
    1 year ago

    I love this. I tuned in to a little Sean Hannity on the radio on my drive home Friday and heard him rail against the selection of Weiss multiple times, while throwing out vague bullet points about why he’s unacceptable.

    My first reaction was that they’re laying the groundwork for when this investigation comes up with nothing, or some really boring crimes (like firearms charges? The Republicans are about gun control now?) and they have to lay the blame on someone so the conspiracy machine can keep pumping out outrage.

    Knowing this is a guy they wanted for the job until he started doing it makes it even more delicious, but as we know when Republican’s beliefs come up against reality it’s the reality that gives, so they’ll have no problem ignoring that this was even ever a thing.