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Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Friday elevated the federal prosecutor investigating President Biden’s son Hunter to the status of special counsel after negotiations to revive a plea agreement on tax and gun charges foundered. The move raised the possibility that Mr. Biden could be tried in the politically charged case, which seemed resolved until a few weeks ago. The prosecutor, David C. Weiss, has since 2018 investigated a wide array of accusations involving Mr. Biden’s business and personal life, including his foreign dealings, drug use and finances. But as special counsel, Mr. Weiss, who is also the U.S. attorney in Delaware, can pursue charges in any jurisdiction he chooses without seeking the cooperation of local federal prosecutors. Mr. Weiss, who has been roundly criticized by Republicans over the terms of the deal, asked Mr. Garland on Tuesday to be named special counsel.

Persons: Merrick B, Garland, Biden’s, Hunter, Biden, David C, Weiss Locations: Delaware

Running through the indictment charging former President Donald J. Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election was a consistent theme: He is an inveterate and knowing liar. The indictment laid out how, in the two months after Election Day, Mr. Trump “spread lies” about widespread election fraud even though he “knew that they were false.”Mr. Trump “deliberately disregarded the truth” and relentlessly disseminated them anyway at a “prolific” pace, the indictment continued, “to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.”Of course, Mr. Trump has never been known for fealty to truth. Throughout his careers in business and politics, he has sought to bend reality to his own needs, with lies ranging from relatively small ones, like claiming he was of Swedish and not German descent when trying to rent to Jewish tenants in New York City, to proclaiming that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, Mr, Trump “, Barack Obama Locations: New York City, United States

Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans have accused Mr. Smith, without evidence, of pursuing a politically motivated investigation intended to destroy Mr. Trump’s chances of retaking the White House, including by leaking details of the case. The former president has taken to calling Mr. Smith “deranged,” and some of his supporters have threatened the special counsel, his family and his team — prompting the U.S. Mr. Smith was flanked by a three-person security detail inside his own building when he delivered remarks to reporters on Tuesday. Mr. Mueller was an established and trusted national figure when he was appointed special counsel, unlike Mr. Smith, who was virtually unknown outside the department and drew a mixed record during his tenure. Mr. Mueller had already solidified a reputation as the most important F.B.I.

Persons: Mueller, ”, Goodman, Trump, Smith, Trump’s, Smith “, Edgar Hoover Organizations: Just Security, Trump, U.S

President Biden publicly acknowledged his 4-year-old granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts, for the first time on Friday, saying in a statement that he and the first lady, Jill Biden, “only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”The statement came weeks after a lengthy child support case was settled between the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the child’s mother, Lunden Roberts, who told The New York Times earlier this month that she and Hunter “want what is best for our daughter, and that is our only focus.”President Biden had been under increasing pressure from critics who said that failing to acknowledge Navy publicly went against the image of a loving patriarch that he has nurtured since the beginning of his political career. In recent weeks, the president told his son that he wants to meet Navy when the time is right, according to a person familiar with those discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly. Hunter Biden, who is recovering from a crack cocaine addiction, has said in the past that he fathered Navy at a low point in his life and that he did not have a relationship with her.

Persons: Biden, Joan Roberts, Jill Biden, “, Hunter Biden, Lunden Roberts, Hunter “, ” Organizations: Navy, New York Times

“Demanding that evidence be destroyed is the most basic form of obstruction and is easy for a jury to understand,” said Mr. Goldstein, who is now a white-collar defense lawyer at the firm Cooley. “It is more straightforwardly criminal than the obstructive acts we detailed in the Mueller report,” he said. “And if proven, it makes it easier to show that Trump had criminal intent for the rest of the conduct described in the indictment.”The accusation about Mr. Trump’s desire to have evidence destroyed adds another chapter to what observers of his career say is a long pattern of gamesmanship on his part with prosecutors, regulators and others who have the ability to impose penalties on his conduct. And it demonstrates how Mr. Trump viewed the conclusion of the Mueller investigation as a vindication of his behavior, which became increasingly emboldened — particularly in regards to the Justice Department — throughout the rest of his presidency, a pattern that appears to have continued despite having lost the protections of the office when he was defeated in the election. In his memoir of his years in the White House, John R. Bolton, who served as Mr. Trump’s third national security adviser, described Mr. Trump’s approach as “obstruction as a way of life.”

Persons: ”, Goldstein, Cooley, Mueller, Trump, —, John R, Bolton, Trump’s Organizations: Justice Department —

Mr. Biden paid the overdue tax bill in 2021. Mr. Weiss’s office has also charged Mr. Biden in connection with the purchase of a handgun in 2018, when Mr. Biden falsely said on a government form that he was not using drugs. But as part of the deal, the Justice Department, under what is known as a pretrial diversion agreement, said it would not prosecute Mr. Biden on the charge as long as Mr. Biden no longer owns a weapon and remains drug free for two years. As president, Mr. Trump, realizing that Mr. Biden was the candidate with the best chance to beat him in 2020, tried to weaponize Hunter Biden’s business dealings against his father. At the height of the 2020 election, Mr. Giuliani and other Trump confidants believed they had an October surprise that would catapult Mr. Trump to re-election when they obtained a cache of files from Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Biden, David C, Weiss, Harris, —, Justice Department meddled, General Merrick B, Garland, Maryellen Noreika, Donald J, Trump, Hunter, Trump’s, Christopher Clark, Mr, Beau, Clark, Obama, Rudolph W, Giuliani Organizations: U.S, Trump, Biden Justice Department, Court, Biden, Republicans, Justice Department, Republican, Obama Locations: Delaware, Wilmington —, Ukraine, Ukrainian

A federal judge on Wednesday put on hold a proposed plea deal between Hunter Biden and the Justice Department that would have settled tax and gun charges against the president’s son, stunning the courtroom and raising legal and constitutional questions about the agreement. After moments of high drama in which the deal appeared headed toward collapse, the judge, Maryellen Noreika of the Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del., sent the two sides back to try to work out modifications that would address her concerns and salvage the basic contours of the agreement. Under the proposed deal, Mr. Biden would have pleaded guilty to two tax misdemeanors and averted prosecution on a gun charge by enrolling in a two-year diversion program for nonviolent offenders. Prosecutors and Mr. Biden’s team had both started the day confident that the proceeding would go smoothly and the judge would sign off on the deal immediately. As he entered the courtroom, Mr. Biden drew a deep breath and plunged forward to greet the prosecutors who investigated him for five years with handshakes and a smile.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Maryellen, Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Justice Department, Federal, Court, Prosecutors Locations: Wilmington, Del

Hunter Biden, President Biden’s troubled son and the target of long-running Republican efforts to cast the first family as corrupt, is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday in federal court to two misdemeanor tax charges and accept an agreement that will allow him to avoid prosecution on a gun charge. If approved by a judge, the deal, reached by lawyers for the younger Mr. Biden with the U.S. attorney in Delaware, David C. Weiss, a Trump appointee who was kept on by the Biden Justice Department to complete the investigation, would result in no prison time. Republicans have assailed the plea deal as far too lenient. Citing the congressional testimony of two I.R.S. agents who were involved in the federal investigation, House Republicans have suggested that the Justice Department meddled in the case by failing to give Mr. Weiss the full authority over the investigation that it had promised him — an assertion that Mr. Weiss and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland have rebutted.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Biden, David C, Weiss, Harris, —, Justice Department meddled, General Merrick B, Garland Organizations: U.S, Trump, Biden Justice Department, Court, Biden, Republicans, Justice Department Locations: Delaware, Wilmington —

On the eve of Hunter Biden’s court appearance to enter into a plea deal for misdemeanor tax crimes that would allow him to avoid prison time, House Republicans and conservative groups sought to intervene in the case, urging a judge to throw out the agreement he reached with prosecutors. The highly unusual legal maneuvering — which experts said was unlikely to succeed — illustrated the lengths that House Republicans and their allied groups have been willing to go to as they have tried to use Mr. Biden’s legal and personal troubles to inflict political damage on his father, President Biden. Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed a brief in Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter Biden’s plea deal is to be considered by a judge on Wednesday. The committee has heard testimony from two Internal Revenue Service investigators who claim to be whistle-blowers and have told the panel that the younger Mr. Biden received preferential treatment from the Justice Department. Mr. Smith’s brief asked the judge to consider the testimony in deciding whether to approve the agreement.

Persons: Hunter, —, Biden, Jason Smith of, Smith’s Organizations: House Republicans, Republicans, Court, Revenue Service, Justice Department, Mr Locations: Jason Smith of Missouri, Wilmington, Del

“Words are incredibly powerful in white-collar cases because in a lot of them you’re not going to hear from a defendant, as they are seldom going to take the stand,” he said. Some aides and allies who interacted with Mr. Trump in the days after the election have previously disclosed that Mr. Trump indicated that he knew he lost the election. In testimony before the House select committee, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, said that in an Oval Office meeting in late November or early December 2020, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he had lost the election. There wasn’t anything — the subject we were talking about was a very serious subject, but everything looked very normal to me. But I do remember him saying that.”General Milley said, though, that in subsequent meetings Mr. Trump had increasingly discussed how the election was stolen from him.

Persons: ”, ” Andrew Goldstein, Trump, Cooley, Trump’s, ” Mr, Goldstein, Mark, “, Mr, Milley, Biden Organizations: Department of Justice, Mr, Joint Chiefs of Staff Locations: Russia

☆ Trump Asked About I.R.S. Inquiry of F.B.I. Officials, Ex-Aide Says Under Oath
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | More About Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Kelly said that his recollection of Mr. Trump’s comments to him was based on notes that he had taken at the time in 2018. Mr. Kelly provided copies of his notes to lawyers for one of the F.B.I. officials, who made the sworn statement public in a court filing. “President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page,” Mr. Kelly said in the statement. It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr. Strzok and Ms.

Persons: John F, Kelly, Donald J, Trump’s, Trump, Strzok, ” Mr, “, Page, Mr, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page Organizations: White House, Internal Revenue Service, Mr, Justice Department Locations: Russia, ’

The U.S. attorney in Delaware denied retaliating against an I.R.S. official who had disclosed details of the Hunter Biden investigation, and denied being blocked from pursuing serious charges against Mr. Biden, the president’s son, in Los Angeles and Washington. David C. Weiss, an appointee of former President Donald J. Trump held over by the Biden administration, defended the integrity of his investigation in a two-page letter sent to House Republicans late Friday, in which he provided the most detailed explanation yet of the five-year probe that culminated in a plea agreement last month that would rule out prison time for Mr. Biden, who was facing misdemeanor tax charges and a separate gun charge. The Department of Justice “did not retaliate” against Gary Shapley, who claims Mr. Weiss helped block a promotion he had sought after reaching out to congressional investigators, Mr. Weiss wrote in the letter to Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Mr. Weiss went on to address, in hypothetical terms, the core of Mr. Shapley’s allegations: that Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys in California and Washington had blocked Mr. Weiss from prosecuting Hunter Biden on felony tax charges during a period when the president’s youngest son was earning millions representing foreign-controlled businesses.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Mr, Biden, David C, Weiss, Donald J, Trump, Justice “, Gary Shapley, Jim Jordan of Organizations: House Republicans, Justice Locations: Delaware, Los Angeles, Washington, Jim Jordan of Ohio, California

☆ Competing Accounts of Justice Dept.’s Handling of Hunter Biden Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At a Senate hearing in March, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, spent seven minutes grilling Attorney General Merrick B. Garland about the Hunter Biden investigation, reading a series of unusually specific queries from a paper in his hands. Did David C. Weiss, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware kept on under Mr. Garland to continue overseeing the inquiry, have full authority to bring charges against President Biden’s son in California and Washington if he wanted to? Had Mr. Weiss ever asked to be made a special counsel? official, Gary Shapley, oversaw the agency’s role in the investigation of Mr. Biden’s taxes and says his criticism of the Justice Department led to him being denied a promotion. He told the House Ways and Means Committee that Mr. Weiss had been rebuffed by top federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Washington when he had raised the prospect of pursuing charges against the president’s son in those jurisdictions.

Persons: Charles E, Grassley, Merrick B, Garland, Hunter Biden, David C, Weiss, Biden’s, Gary Shapley Organizations: Republican, Trump, Republicans, Internal Revenue, Justice Department Locations: Iowa, Delaware, California, Washington, Los Angeles

It is not clear what he meant, but the declaration will have a near-term chilling effect on greater disclosure, effectively preventing Mr. Weiss from speaking publicly about the investigation until it is officially closed. House Republicans sought to portray the testimony by the I.R.S. officials as evidence that Hunter Biden had gotten a sweetheart deal from the Justice Department and that the department had been subject to political influence. In the testimony released by the committee on Thursday, the lead I.R.S. agent investigating whether Hunter Biden committed tax crimes told Congress his team uncovered evidence that Mr. Biden had invoked his father, who was then out of office, while pressing a potential Chinese business partner in 2017 to move ahead with a proposed energy deal, House Republicans said.

Persons: Weiss, Biden, Hunter Biden, Jason Smith, ” “, Mr, Zhang, ” Organizations: Republicans, Justice Department, Republican Locations: Missouri

☆ I.R.S. Agent Told Congress of Hunter Biden Invoking His Father in Business Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Luke Broadwater | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The lead I.R.S. agent investigating whether Hunter Biden committed tax crimes told Congress his team uncovered evidence that Mr. Biden had invoked his father, who was then out of office, while pressing a potential Chinese business partner in 2017 to move ahead with a proposed energy deal, House Republicans said. In testimony made public on Thursday, Gary Shapley, an I.R.S. agent since 2009 who supervised the tax agency’s investigation into Hunter Biden, said his team used a search warrant to obtain a July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message from Mr. Biden to Henry Zhao, a Chinese businessman. In the message, provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by Mr. Shapley, Mr. Biden told Mr. Zhao that he was sitting with his father and that “we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”“Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,” Mr. Biden wrote, referring to other participants in the proposed deal.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden, Gary Shapley, Henry Zhao, Shapley, Zhao, ” “, Mr, Zhang, ” Organizations: Republicans, Mr Locations: Chinese

☆ Hunter Biden Reaches Deal to Plead Guilty to Misdemeanor Tax Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | Adam Entous | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hunter Biden agreed with the Justice Department on Tuesday to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and accept terms that would allow him to avoid prosecution on a separate gun charge, a big step toward ending a long-running and politically explosive investigation into the finances, drug use and international business dealings of President Biden’s troubled son. Under a deal hashed out with a federal prosecutor who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Biden agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his 2017 and 2018 taxes on time and be sentenced to probation. The Justice Department also charged Mr. Biden but, under what is known as a pretrial diversion agreement, said it would not prosecute him in connection with his purchase of a handgun in 2018 during a period when he was using drugs. The deal is contingent on Mr. Biden remaining drug-free for 24 months and agreeing never to own a firearm again. Mr. Biden is expected to appear in court in Delaware in the coming days to be arraigned on the misdemeanor tax charges and plead guilty.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden, Mr Organizations: Justice Department Locations: Delaware

The deal would be contingent on Mr. Biden remaining drug free for 24 months and agreeing never to own a firearm again. Mr. Biden is expected to appear in federal court in Delaware in the coming days to be arraigned on the misdemeanor tax charges and plead guilty. As president, Mr. Trump had long sought to tie Hunter Biden’s business deals and personal troubles to his father. Image The Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden continued after his father became president. Allegations promoted by Republicans that the elder Mr. Biden’s Justice Department went easy on his son are unlikely to fade away.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Hunter Biden’s, Biden, Mr, Hunter, Christopher Clark, Ian Sams, Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, David C, Weiss, General Merrick B, Garland, Clark, “ Hunter, ” Mr, Burisma, Haiyun Jiang, Obama, Beau, I.R.S, Seamus Hughes Organizations: Department, The, United States Attorney’s Office, District of, Republicans, Justice Department, House Republicans, Trump, Credit, New York Times, Prosecutors, United, Mr, Yale, Obama, Biden’s Justice Department, Congressional Republicans Locations: Delaware, District of Delaware, Ukrainian, China, United States, Ukraine

The deal would be contingent on Mr. Biden remaining drug free for 24 months and agreeing never to own a firearm again. Mr. Biden is expected to appear in federal court in Delaware in the coming days to be arraigned on the misdemeanor tax charges and plead guilty. Image The Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden continued after his father became president. Allegations promoted by Republicans that the elder Mr. Biden’s Justice Department went easy on his son are unlikely to fade away. supervisor who had been overseeing the investigation into Hunter Biden hired a lawyer and went to Congress, alleging political favoritism in how the investigation had been handled.

Shortly after John F. Kelly took over as Mr. Trump’s chief of staff in July 2017, Mr. Kelly and other aides grew concerned that some documents were likely presidential records and might go missing if they were kept in the residence. They impressed upon Mr. Trump that the papers had to be tracked, but he was not especially interested, the people said. Aides started examining the boxes to check for presidential records, but Mr. Trump still found ways to bring items to the residence. The same was true when Mr. Trump left the White House, according to one person briefed on how he behaved. The charging document includes photos detailing just how many dozens of those cardboard boxes Mr. Trump had amassed.

Persons: John F, Kelly, Trump’s, Trump Organizations: Air Force, White

☆ Judge in Trump Documents Case Has Scant Criminal Trial Experience
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aileen M. Cannon, the Federal District Court judge assigned to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case, has scant experience running criminal trials, calling into question her readiness to handle what is likely to be an extraordinarily complex and high-profile courtroom clash. Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election. She had not previously served as any kind of judge, and because about 98 percent of federal criminal cases are resolved with plea deals, she has had only a limited opportunity to learn how to preside over a trial. A Bloomberg Law database lists 224 criminal cases that have been assigned to her, and a New York Times review of those cases identified four that went to trial. In all, the four cases added up to 14 trial days.

Persons: Aileen M, Cannon, Donald J, Trump’s, Judge Cannon, Trump, ’ Organizations: Federal, Bloomberg, New York Times, Mr, Mar Locations: Florida

The federal indictment of former President Donald J. Trump has unleashed a wave of calls by his supporters for violence and an uprising to defend him, disturbing observers and raising concerns of a dangerous atmosphere ahead of his court appearance in Miami on Tuesday. In social media posts and public remarks, close allies of Mr. Trump — including a member of Congress — have portrayed the indictment as an act of war, called for retribution and highlighted the fact that much of his base carries weapons. The allies have painted Mr. Trump as a victim of a weaponized Justice Department controlled by President Biden, his potential opponent in the 2024 election. Experts on political violence warn that attacks against people or institutions become more likely when elected officials or prominent media figures are able to issue threats or calls for violence with impunity. The pro-Trump mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was drawn to Washington in part by a post on Twitter from Mr. Trump weeks earlier, promising that it would be “wild.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Biden Organizations: Justice, Trump, Capitol, Twitter, Mr Locations: Miami, Washington

Donald Trump is facing seven federal criminal charges. They relate to his handling of classified material upon leaving office and then obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them. Michael S. Schmidt, who covers national security and federal investigations for The Times, talks about what this will mean for Mr. Trump, and for President Biden, whose administration will now be prosecuting his biggest potential rival for the White House.

Persons: Donald Trump, Michael S, Schmidt, Trump, Biden Organizations: The Times, White

For months, people in Mr. Trump’s orbit have been puzzled by and wary about the low profile kept by Mr. Meadows in the investigations. As reports surfaced of one witness after another going into the grand jury or to be interviewed by federal investigators, Mr. Meadows has kept largely out of sight, and some of Mr. Trump’s advisers believe he could be a significant witness in the inquiries. Mr. Trump himself has at times asked aides questions about how Mr. Meadows is doing, according to a person familiar with the remarks. Mr. Meadows was around for pivotal moments leading up to and after the 2020 election, as Mr. Trump plotted to try to stay in office and thwart Joseph R. Biden Jr. from being sworn in to succeed him. Those texts served as a road map for House investigators.

Persons: Meadows, Trump, George Terwilliger, Trump’s, Joseph R, Biden Organizations: White House, Capitol Locations: Meadows

☆ Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Cite Landmark Gun Ruling in Bid to Stave Off Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Biden is under investigation for several potential offenses, including whether he had lied on a federal firearms application in 2018 when asked if he was addicted to drugs. It is unclear if Mr. Weiss is receptive to that suggestion. A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time, Mr. Biden was struggling to remain sober. But such federal prosecutions are relatively rare, and seldom pursued as stand-alone charges.

Persons: Biden, Christopher Clark, Weiss, Hunter Biden, Bryan David Range, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Third Circuit, Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: U.S, Delaware, Pennsylvania

In the month since the settlement, Fox has refused to comment in detail on the case or the many subsequent setbacks. That has left a string of unanswered questions: Why did the company not settle earlier and avoid the release of private emails and texts from executives and hosts? How did Fox’s pretrial assessment so spectacularly miss the mark? Repeatedly, Fox executives overlooked warning signs about the damage they and their network would sustain, The Times found. When pretrial rulings went against the company, Fox did not pursue a settlement in any real way.

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