Special counsel David Weiss asked the court on Monday to reject Hunter Biden's request to subpoena former President Donald Trump and members of his administration as part of his defense against federal gun charges. File Photo by Ting Shen/UPI |
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Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The special counsel investigating Hunter Biden on federal gun charges has asked the judge overseeing the case to reject last month's request by the president's son to subpoena former President Donald Trump and other members of his administration as part of his defense.
Special counsel David Weiss made his opposition in a 32-page court document filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware that argued Biden's subpoena requests are "likely inadmissible," "far-reaching" and for "non-specific categories of documents" on actions and motives of those who did not make prosecutorial decisions in the case.
"This court should decline to allow its compulsory process to be invoked for defendant's unsupported, improper attempt to circumvent the rules applicable to criminal subpoenas, particularly with respect to the claims at issue," Weiss said in the court document.
Weiss, who was been investigating Biden since 2019, filed in September three charges against Biden related to unlawful possession of a firearm in 2018. Biden has entered not-guilty pleas, after a previous plea deal agreement on similar charges fell apart at the last minute in the summer.
Last month, Biden asked the judge for permission to subpoena Trump, former Attorney General William Barr and two other former Justice Department officials of the previous administration, arguing the information they have "goes to the heart of his defense."
Biden's counsel argues that the case against their client is "vindictive or selective prosecution" that arose from "an unrelenting pressure campaign" that began with the Trump administration. They say the so-called campaign violated Biden's Fifth Amendment rights to a fair trial.
"[E]ach of the former DOJ officials had known contacts with then-President Trump concerning Mr. Biden" and "each had a hand in one way or another in the still ongoing investigation of Mr. Biden, either in Delaware or elsewhere," the November court document states.
In his response Monday, Weiss rebutted that Biden not only failed to identify "any actual evidence of bias, vindictiveness or discriminatory intent" of the special counsel but that none of those he wishes to subpoena were involved in the decision to follow through with charging him.
"His arguments ignore an inconvenient truth: No charges were brought against defendant during the prior administration when the subpoena recipients actually held office in the executive branch," he said. "Instead, every charge in this matter was or will be brought during the current administration -- one in which defendant's father, Joseph R. Biden, is the president of the United States."
Weiss continued that Biden "has not shown, nor can he, how external statements by political opponents of President [Joe] Biden improperly pressured him, his attorney general or the special counsel to pursue charges against the president's son."
