Scott, Cornyn, 31 Senate Republicans Call for Hunter Biden Prosecutor to be Given Special Counsel Authority

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), along with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and 30 other colleagues, today sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding that U.S. Attorney David Weiss be extended special counsel protections and authorities to conduct the investigation into Hunter Biden.

“There is no way of knowing the entire scope of the investigation, but evidence seems to be mounting that Hunter Biden committed numerous federal crimes, including, but not limited to, tax fraud, money laundering, and foreign-lobbying violations,” the senators wrote.

“Given that the investigation involves the President’s son, we believe it is important to provide U.S. Attorney Weiss with special counsel authorities and protections to allow him to investigate an appropriate scope of potentially criminal conduct, avoid the appearance of impropriety, and provide additional assurances to the American people that the Hunter Biden investigation is free from political influence.”

“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.  This is one important action that you can take that will go a long way in restoring faith in our governmental institutions.”

Full text of the senators’ letter is here. It was signed by Senators Scott, Cornyn, McConnell, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelley Moore-Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).

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