Transition marks precarious period for Russia and Hunter Biden probes
By Jonathan Turley, opinion contributor — 11/12/20 10:00 AM EST
With the conclusion of the election, Washington is now in that precarious period known as the lame duck. Unlike the wounded waterfowl, lame duck presidents tend to be more active in the waning days of their terms. From those midnight judicial appointments of John Adams to those last minute executive orders from Barack Obama, presidents often cement policies or officials before the chiming of the constitutional clock. This year, however, it could be prosecutors who feel the greatest pressure to move.
Months before the election, many Democrats demanded that the Justice Department refrain from bringing additional indictments or releasing new information in either the Russia investigation or the Hunter Biden scandal. Andrew Weissmann, who worked for special counsel Robert Mueller, told prosecutors not to assist the Justice Department to prevent some harmful disclosures for then candidate Joe Biden. However, despite pressure from President Trump, the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr did appear to hold the line before the election as is tradition.
Prosecutors in these investigations may now face pressure to move faster in the final two months of the administration. The obvious concern is that the Justice Department under Biden might scuttle or shut down pending investigations. Democrats in Congress have denounced the examination of the discredited Russia collusion case as a political “hit job†and could justify closing it as a promised reform in the next administration.
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https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/525634-transition-marks-precarious-period-for-russia-and-hunter-biden-probes
