WASHINGTON – On Monday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joined U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and 31 of their Republican colleagues in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding special counsel protections and authorities be extended to U.S. Attorney David Weiss to conduct the investigation into Hunter Biden.

“Given that the investigation involves the President’s son, we believe it is important to provide U.S. 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,” the senators wrote.

Over the last two years, Sens. Johnson and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have led the investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign financial entanglements. In May, the senators sent a letter to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss seeking transparency on steps the Justice Department (DOJ) has taken to prevent interference in the Hunter Biden investigation. The senators hoped to ensure the DOJ provided Weiss with the resources necessary to credibly complete the investigation free from external pressures or limitations.

“Indeed, Senators Grassley and Johnson have conducted an investigation for several years that has resulted in the public disclosure of facts that support those criminal concerns, including the disclosure of financial records showing the Biden family’s close financial connections to the communist Chinese government and questionable foreign nationals. It is clear that Hunter Biden thrived off of a “pay to play” culture of access to his father, then Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for financial compensation,” the senators continued.

“Given the politicization of the DOJ under your watch and the importance of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, the undersigned request that you provide U.S. Attorney Weiss the full protections and authorities of a special counsel.  This is one important action that you can take that will go a long way in restoring faith in our governmental institutions,” the senators concluded.

Sens. Johnson and Cornyn were joined on the letter by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelley Moore-Capito (R-W.Va.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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