Special Counsel David C. Weiss said in a Monday court filing that he’s opposed to Hunter Biden’s request to dismiss his criminal cases after receiving a presidential pardon from his father.
“The defendant’s motion should be denied because there is no binding authority which requires dismissal of an indictment after a defendant receives a pardon,” Weiss wrote to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where Hunter was found guilty of gun crimes. President Biden, in announcing the pardon, said Hunter was the victim of a political prosecution, but Weiss wrote that the claim was “nonsensical” and when Hunter made the same claims in appeals, 10 judges appointed by six presidents rejected them.
Weiss said that even if Hunter is pardoned, the indictment is still valid, and claims that it was unfair or meritless are “nonsensical,” and that the judge had found that they were supported by “no evidence.” In California, where Hunter pleaded guilty to tax charges, Weiss filed a similar motion.
“If media reports are accurate, the Government does not challenge that the defendant has been the recipient of an act of mercy. But that does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge