Special counsel in Hunter Biden investigation worked with brother Beau Biden

According to the Washington Post, Weiss collaborated with Beau Biden, who worked as the Delaware Attorney General and was Weiss' local equivalent, conducting joint investigations and determining which offices had jurisdiction in a variety of cases.

Beau’s chief of staff in the Delaware attorney general’s office Tim Mullaney Sr told the outlet that the office frequently worked with Weiss' office, but he didn’t believe their relationship extended outside of work.

"We are always working hand-in-glove with federal government; there’s nothing unusual about that."

"It also wouldn’t have been strange for Weiss to run into Joe Biden," the Washington Post reported.

This has led many Republicans to question whether he will be able to independently and properly investigate Hunter.

Weiss previously served as acting US attorney during the Obama/Biden administration, eventually becoming top deputy, and was appointed to investigate Hunter in 2018 by then-president Donald Trump.

In 2022, a group of over 30 Republicans, including Sens. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland "demanding" that Weiss be made special counsel.

"Given that the investigation involves the President’s son," the group wrote, "we believe it is important to provide US 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."

Weiss was subsequently announced as special counsel on August 11, however by then the tune of many GOP politicians had changed in light of information revealing his relationship with the Bidens.

"Despite repeated assurances that US Attorney Weiss had full authority and independence to pursue all the facts, whistleblowers and a botched sweetheart plea deal told a much different story," Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement. "Given the underhanded plea deal negotiated by the US Attorney from President Biden's home state, it's clear Mr. Weiss isn't the right person for the job."

"The special counsel has a duty to pursue all the facts and provide greater transparency about the true scope of his review," he continued. "There's no longer any excuse to ignore critical details that were left out of the plea deal – many of which have long been in the public domain."

Trump also expressed skepticism over Weiss' appointment, suggesting that if he was "truly independent," he would bring proper charges against Hunter.

The president's son was facing charges in Delaware regarding his failure to pay taxes, as well as a gun charge. A "sweetheart deal" originally proposed fell apart in July when the judge discovered in the diversion agreement that Hunter's team had sought to prevent him from facing charges related to his overseas business dealings.