Prosecutors at the office have not publicly disclosed what they are investigating, but documents from the investigation and people who have testified to a grand jury say it includes looking into Hunter Biden’s financial dealings with entities in China and other foreign countries.
Rice and the lawmakers told Garland that “it is increasingly clear that Hunter Biden took advantage of his father’s position as Vice President to develop business relationships with clients in Ukraine, China, and Kazakhstan” and that emails from a laptop believed to have belonged to the younger Biden show he used a case gift from Burisma, a Ukrainian company on whose board he sat, to pay off personal tax liabilities.
Additionally, evidence indicates Hunter Biden helped lobby for foreign groups despite not registering under the Foreign Agents Restoration Act, Garland was informed.
Since Hunter Biden is the son of the president, and the Department of Justice is headed by an official appointed by Joe Biden, an outsider should be tapped to take over the investigation, the letter says.
“We believe that in the case of Hunter Biden a special counsel must be appointed to preserve the integrity of this investigation and any subsequent prosecution. A special counsel would also ensure there is no bias in the investigation or undue influence from the White House,” the lawmakers said.
Reps. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) were among the other signees.
A lawyer who has represented Hunter Biden did not respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Justice couldn’t be reached.
Other Republicans have said previously that a special counsel should be put in place to investigate the younger Biden, though a small number have said they don’t think a special counsel is the correct move.
If Garland does appoint a special counsel, “I won’t have any faith in him,” Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News.
