'Nothing Really Changed': Hunter Biden Lawyer Says Special Counsel Appointment Means Little

On Friday's broadcast of CNN's "The Source," Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell stated that David Weiss has no more power as a special counsel than he did before and noted that both Attorney General Merrick Garland and Weiss himself "have said for weeks, months, that he had all the authority he needed to bring any charge that was merited, at any time that was appropriate, in any place that made sense. ... So, from a practical point of view, nothing really changed."

Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell: “Whatever his title is and whatever happens next, we're confident that that should be the same conclusion. And if it's not, then something other than the facts and the law has come into play.” pic.twitter.com/ZKx1SnHrN8

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 12, 2023

Lowell said, "[W]hat happened today, as a practical matter, is not much different than what was the case yesterday or three weeks from before. The Attorney General and Mr. Weiss both have said for weeks, months, that he had all the authority he needed to bring any charge that was merited, at any time that was appropriate, in any place that made sense. And so, the power that a special counsel has is the power that he has had. So, from a practical point of view, nothing really changed. His title may change."

He added, "First, his title became special counsel today. His powers were the same yesterday. So, what's different? It doesn't make any difference to us, given what we understood to be the case. Once again, people need to understand that the Attorney General and...Mr. Weiss have said for a long time that he had all the authority that he needed to bring any charge that was appropriate in any place. So, what does a special counsel do that he couldn't do? The answer should be nothing different."

.⁦@JonathanTurley⁩ Garland naming Weiss as special counsel: “This is like solving the ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ by making Captain Bligh an admiral.” pic.twitter.com/sIVmpe1vVg

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 12, 2023

This is, after all, the same Weiss who headed an investigation that was trashed by whistleblowers, who alleged that his investigation had been fixed from the outset.

It is the same Weiss who ran an investigation in which agents were allegedly prevented from asking about Joe Biden, obstructed in their efforts to pursue questions and compromised by tip offs to the Biden team on planned searches.

It was also the same Weiss who reportedly allowed the statute of limitations to run out on Hunter’s major tax offenses, even though he had the option to extend it.

It was the same Weiss who did not indict on major tax felonies and cut a plea deal that brushed aside a felony gun charge.

It was the same Weiss who inked a widely panned “sweetheart” deal that caused a federal judge to balk and trash a sweeping immunity grant — language that even the prosecutor admitted he had never previously seen in a plea deal.